Here’s Yet Another Good Reason to Finally Take Up Daily Yoga and Meditation

The next time you’re tempted to blow off yoga class and tuck into a pizza, consider this.

British researchers now say mindfulness practices can actually alter the genes linked to depression and inflammation-related illnesses. They may even reduce feelings of loneliness in older adults.

Researchers reviewed 18 studies with a cumulative total of 846 participants, including both experienced practitioners and non-practitioners. After sifting through all the data, they discovered that yoga, tai chi and even simple breath-regulation exercises produce “the opposite of the effects of chronic stress on gene expression.”
That’s a fancy way of saying mindfulness can shield your genes from being affected by stress.

The previous studies looked at how mindful awareness practices affected people with serious illnesses like breast cancer and leukemia, as well as individuals with medical issues like insomnia and high blood pressure.

The studies consistently showed positive genetic changes that researchers say appear to be a direct result of purposeful mindfulness.

In fact, one study revealed that participants at a four-day meditation retreat had longer-lasting benefits and reported fewer depressive symptoms than study participants who were sent on a four-day non-meditative vacation.

The study’s researchers are unable to fully explain the phenomenon and say more analysis is needed to understand how and why mindfulness exercises appear to reverse the effects chronic stress has on our genes.

Stress is No Laughing Matter

We kid around about the stress of trying to binge-watch the new season of our favorite TV show or trying to remember where we left our favorite coffee mug. But the reality is, stress is no joke.

Too many of us spend sleepless nights worrying about the cost of health care, work or retirement. Stressing about finances while you’re pregnant can lead to a lower birth weight in newborns.

In fact, the American Psychological Association says stress plays a role in the six leading causes of death.

June 21 is International Yoga Day, and that seems like the perfect time to organize a plan of attack to manage the stress in your life.

Simple Ways to Bring Mindfulness Exercises Into Your Life

If you haven’t gotten on board the mindfulness train yet, these tips will help you get started. Pull up a yoga mat and give them a look.

• Take a few minutes every day to work through this simple five-step plan to learn mindfulness.  

• Yoga classes don’t have to cost and arm and a leg. In fact, they don’t have to cost a thing.

• If a mindfulness retreat is more your style, see if your employer will foot the bill for you to take a sabbatical.

• Working from home can be particularly stressful, so be sure to make mindfulness a part of your self-care routine.

• All the tree poses in the world won’t help save your genes if you’re constantly on stress overload, so make a plan to help you breathe a little easier.

Now, put on your yoga pants, take a cleansing breath and meditate for five minutes. Your genes will thank you.

Lisa McGreevy is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She really wants to try the Yoga With Goats classes the internet is talking about but worries she’d pass out from joy.

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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Singing it forward

Gilbert veteran records CD to help struggling vets

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Rising Unemployment Pushes Hawaii to Consider Universal Basic Income

The idea of a universal basic income, or UBI, has been gaining popularity over the last few years.

If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, you can learn more about it here. But the gist of it is that everyone in a society receives a guaranteed income to cover the costs of needs such as shelter and food.

While it’s been toyed with in various countries around the world, it’s never been implemented in the U.S. (Alaska’s “dividend” program is the closest thing to a UBI America has seen.)

But recently, Hawaii state representatives unanimously passed a bill to explore the possibility of introducing a UBI into the Hawaiian economy.

Hawaii May be First State to Adopt Universal Basic Income

State Rep. Chris Lee, who first heard about the concept of UBIs on Reddit, proposed the bill, titled House Concurrent Resolution 89. His concern, he said, is that automation will make jobs in service industry-heavy Hawaii increasingly rare.

The cost of living in Hawaii is higher than in any other state in the U.S., and if already low-paying service jobs disappear, Hawaii’s already immense homelessness crisis may surge. The UBI would hopefully alleviate that problem.

Hawaii’s Next Steps

Both houses in the State Legislature passed the bill, which will assemble a working group comprised of people from various areas of public life.

The group will assess the state’s potential problems regarding automation and the service industry and submit studies on UBIs for the State Legislature to consider.

We’ll keep an eye on this situation as it develops and be back with updates on Hawaii’s decision to explore offering its residents a UBI.

Grace Schweizer is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder. She’s not sure what she’d do with the security provided by a UBI, but she’s got a few ideas.

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

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This Online Bank Can Help You Make an Extra $500 Without Noticing

I’ll be the first to admit, I’m better at spending than I am at saving.

I’ve got bills to pay and places to be, and that makes it hard for me to save up a nice little nest egg.

It’s like I have to trick myself into doing it. I have to outsmart the primitive lizard brain inside me that’s ready to burn through all my cash.

That’s why saving for retirement with an automated 401(k) plan works for me. Those 401(k) contributions get taken out before I ever see my paycheck. I never see that money, so I’m never tempted to spend it.

But what about saving money outside your retirement fund? What about socking something away for an emergency? How about saving for a car or a wedding or a down payment on a house or an amazing vacation, or for whatever else you want?

Me, I’ve gotta trick myself. If I really want to save that money, then I’ve got to put it somewhere other than my wallet, where I guarantee it will get spent.

Just like with my 401(k) contributions, I have to automate it.

Tricking Yourself Through the Miracle of Automation

There are easy ways to set up automatic withdrawals from your checking account into your savings or retirement accounts (or, even better, both!).

One way to do this is to push 10% of your paycheck into a separate, hands-off account with Chime Bank, which helps you automatically save every time you get paid.

The FDIC-insured account comes with more than 24,000 fee-free ATMs, zero overdraft fees and doesn’t require a minimum or monthly payment.

Plus, when a slice of your paycheck gets automatically funneled into your secret stash, well… what you don’t see, you won’t miss, right?

Chime also has a feature that helps you save when you spend. It rounds up your purchases to the next dollar and puts the difference into your savings account.

Not only that, but it also rewards you with a 10% bonus on round-ups every week. You get your bonus on Friday, right before the weekend. You can earn up to $500 in bonuses per year.

Really, this is about taking financial control away from your primitive lizard brain and its yearning for shiny, shiny things.

This is about letting your brain’s frontal lobe use its higher cognitive functions to formulate and execute a successful, long-term savings strategy.

In other words, it’s a wicked sneaky ninja move against the lizard brain.

It’s a Jedi mind trick you use against yourself.

I’m not even kidding here, people. This kind of thing is all that works for me.

Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links. Adding these links helps us keep the lights on in The Penny Hoarder HQ, which makes it a lot easier to play shuffleboard after a long day of deal-seeking!

Mike Brassfield (mike@thepennyhoarder.com) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. His lizard brain is mighty.

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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Wanted: Company Seeks Hundreds of American Kids for Paid Voiceover Work

Attention, parents! Do you have a child between the ages of 3 and 8? Can your child speak?

(If your child is anything like mine, your child speaks a lot.)

If so, here’s an opportunity for you. It’s from a rapidly growing international company that you’ve probably never heard of.

Appen, a language technology firm that works with tech giants like Apple, Facebook and Google, is looking for American kids to do paid voiceover work. You can apply here.

Kids chosen for the gig will do voiceover recordings of 100 to 500 short phrases. They must be U.S. residents and native speakers of American-style English.

(You know, American English as opposed to British English. It’s the difference between saying “apartment” or “flat.” “French fries” or “chips.” “Line” or “queue.”)

The Australia-based company will pay participants $10AUD to $50AUD, depending on the total number of recordings they do. Based on the current exchange rate, that’s between $7.50 and $37.50 in American dollars.

Appen is looking for 1,000 kids in the 3-5 age group, and 500 kids in the 6-8 age group. You must have a PayPal or Skrill account to be compensated. (Skrill is like a British version of PayPal.)

Once a parent signs their child up, they’ll receive an email with instructions. The voiceover work can be done in a quiet room at home — all in one sitting, or over several shorter periods over three weeks.

Appen prefers that it be done on an Android phone or tablet, or a laptop.

What’s This For, Exactly?

You might wonder what your child’s beautiful, crystal-clear voiceovers will be used for, and that’s a good question!

You see, Appen works on speech recognition systems for high-tech products like Apple’s virtual assistant Siri, or Amazon’s virtual assistant Alexa.

These voice-based assistants must be able to answer your questions or obey your commands. (Think: “Siri, call Mom.”) To do that, they must be able to understand tone, regional accents and local idioms.

That’s where Appen comes in.

Founded by an Australian linguist, the company sells voice data that helps computers learn to interpret speech.

As the Australian Financial Review newspaper explains, “The need for this data has exploded thanks to the creation of products such as Amazon Echo, Microsoft’s Cortana and Samsung’s new voice assistant Bixby.”

To do its job, Appen compiles a massive amount of voice data from a network of hundreds of thousands of freelancers.

Now that network of freelancers could include your kids — if you apply here.

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

Mike Brassfield (mike@thepennyhoarder.com) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. His kids are chatty.

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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They Nap, You Hustle: 14 Ways To Earn Money While Your Kids are Asleep

Raising a family is hard work. The greatest mistake a stay-at-home parent can make is to plan on a flexible schedule and tons of free time to run a home business.

But if you’re flexible and you manage your time cleverly, you can make extra money while your kids are asleep.

“On a perfect day, my youngest naps around 9 a.m. for an hour and then they both nap for about two hours in the afternoon,” says Ami Spencer Youngs, freelance writer and mother of one- and three-year-old boys.

“Some days it doesn’t work out,” she admits, “but when it does, it’s good found time to get some emails sent, invoicing done or some other administrative stuff that might take up time later when I could be focusing on billable work.”

Not every day will yield that glorious uninterrupted work time. Some days, you’ll have to squeeze in a few minutes of work during your child’s power nap, or after you’ve put your kids to bed.

Here’s how to make money from home, whether the kids are out for a few minutes or a few hours.

You’ve been running around all day, and your brain is fried. The baby is finally asleep.

But now you’ve only got 20 minutes before the rest of the kids come home from school — and the baby wakes up again.

Here are eight ways to make money during a short nap — with minimal brain power.

1. Take Online Surveys

Earning potential: $7-$8 per hour

The pay per hour isn’t high, but the energy you’ll put into taking surveys is minimal. If you sign up for several survey sites, like Swagbucks or Ipsos, you could start a steady stream of revenue.

Complete 10-20 surveys in your free minutes to earn an extra $50 per month.

2. Watch Videos

Earning potential: $20-$225

It won’t be quite like getting paid to watch Netflix, but sites like Swagbucks pay you to watch videos. Brands pay the company to get their clips in front of as many people as possible, and it passes some of those earnings on to you.

The videos cover everything from entertainment to travel, so you’re bound to find something you’ll enjoy.

And if you don’t want to actually pay attention, you don’t have to. This writer figured out how to make the videos run in the background — on mute.

3. Earn Sign-Up Bonuses

Earning potential: $100-$250 per bonus

Banks and credit card companies are always looking for new customers — and are willing to reward you for being one of them.

If you’re smart with your savings and credit, why not earn money for the financial services you’d be using anyway?

Here are some of our favorite bank offers. Some of them require you to actually leave the house, but you can open several of them online.

Once you’ve earned a bank account bonus, take a look at credit card sign-up bonuses.

Follow our guide to choose the cards with the best bonuses and how to ensure you’ll be able to meet spending requirements. Apply for the credit cards online, use them for your normal purchases to earn cash or travel rewards.

4. Sell Your Junk Mail

Earning potential: $20 every six to 10 weeks

SBK Center is a market research company that will pay you for your junk mail and email.

Start by applying to be a Consumer Panelist. Then forward your junk email to SBK, and send it your junk direct mail in the self-addressed, stamped envelopes it provides.

You’ll earn points for each piece of qualifying mail you send. Once you earn 2,000 points, you’ll receive a Visa gift card. These work just like debit cards, so you can spend the money you earn nearly everywhere.

Frequent users can earn up to $20 in points every six to 10 weeks. It’s not a huge source of income. But it’s easy, and you’re getting the junk mail, anyway — why not get paid for it?

5. Become a Mail Decoy

Earning potential: $100 per month

If you want to earn more money from your junk mail, consider signing up for additional mailing lists. The Hauser Group will pay you to tell it about the mail you receive.

Run out to the mailbox while your child’s asleep, and report when you receive mail from certain mailing lists, like specific catalogs and flyers.

The company will pay you 25 cents for each piece of decoy mail you report. Consistent reporting can boost the amount of mail you receive, so you could eventually start earning about an extra $100 per month.

6. See If You’ve Got Unclaimed Money

Earning potential: Varies

This woman got a check for $50,000 when she learned of a life insurance policy her brother had forgotten about. A payout that high isn’t common, but around $1,000 is. That makes a quick online search worth it, right?

Every U.S. state has unclaimed property programs, as do Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta, Canada.

Here are some instances where you might have unclaimed money:

• Inactive bank accounts

• Contents of safe deposit boxes

• Utility security deposits

• Uncashed paychecks

• Uncashed dividend checks

• Unclaimed trust distributions

• Unclaimed refunds of mortgage insurance

• Forgotten retirement accounts

7. Browse Class-Action Settlements

Earning potential: Varies

Speaking of claiming surprise money, I recently submitted my information to claim $50 worth of free StarKist tuna from a class-action settlement. These opportunities pop up all the time, and most consumers have no idea they could qualify.

That’s because these cases often don’t make headlines. And you can’t be expected to search online for potential lawsuits for everything you purchase!

Instead, use your free minutes in the day to scan through Top Class Actions, which keeps updated listings of — you guessed it — top class-action lawsuits and settlements.

You won’t have to wade through legal jargon to understand what you’re owed. The site summarizes settlements clearly, and you can usually claim your money online pretty easily.

And don’t worry; not every settlement requires you to provide proof of purchase to claim your money. That could be tough, as they’re often for products you may have purchased more than a year ago.

If your kids are a little older or tend to take longer naps, you’ve got a bit more time to work with — sometimes an hour or more.

“I’ve been known to try to make these magical hours happen by putting the boys in the car after lunch and going for a drive,” says Youngs.

“If all goes well, I can park, pull out my Surface and my lap desk that I keep in the vehicle, and get an hour to 90 minutes of focused work done before anyone wakes up.”

These options are a little more involved than the ones above, but you’ll still be able to accomplish a fair amount of work during your child’s hour-long nap.

8. Fulfillment by Amazon

Earning potential: $400 to $9,000+ a month

Through Fulfillment by Amazon, you buy items you’d like to resell, then send them to Amazon — which handles the rest of the selling process, from storage to shipping to customer satisfaction.

Choose to sell anything you want (that fits Amazon’s categories), ideally something you know well. The Penny Hoarder founder Kyle Taylor sells toys, and he made $10,000 through FBA in November and December 2014.

FBA offers a great opportunity to do a little bit of work during each nap. One day, you might research buying opportunities — sales or promotions where you can buy your inventory at a discount.

The next, you might upload your items to Amazon and package them for shipping to the distribution center. Amazon has a partnership with UPS, so you might be able to ship directly from your house.

9. Find and Sell Unused Gift Cards

Earning potential: Varies; in 2014, a study estimated $750 million in gift cards went unredeemed.

The last time you received a gift card, did you spend it right away, or tuck it in your wallet for later?

Chances are, you’ve got a few gift cards lying around — so turn them into cash.

Take a few minutes to go through your wallet, purse, dresser, junk drawer or anywhere else you might have tossed a gift card. Then check sites like Raise, Gift Card Granny, CardCash or even eBay to see which one will help you sell your card for the most money.

For example, right now on Raise, one seller is asking $49.59 for a $52.68 Target gift card. So you won’t quite make back the card’s full value, but hey, you’re getting paid for something you weren’t using!

10. Sell Stock Photos

Earning potential: $1 per photo

You may have tons of untapped money-earning potential in your daily life. Pull out your camera while walking the dog, playing at the park, grocery shopping or just playing with blocks in the living room.

These are all valuable moments — and people are willing to pay for photos of them.

To get started, check out our beginner’s guide to selling stock photography. Then use naptime to edit, upload and list photos for sale on microstock sites.

You don’t even have to invest in a professional camera to get into the stock photography game! Download an app called Foap to sell photos directly from your iPhone.

11. Find Short-Term Freelance Gigs

Earning potential: $5-$50 per gig

Hammering out an online task or two each afternoon could help pay for a much-needed date night next weekend.

What you’ll do varies wildly.

For $5 or $10, you might design a simple logo for a client through Fiverr, tag photos through Mechanical Turk or promote someone’s website through Gigbucks.

When you have more time (and want to earn a bit more money), grab a proofreading assignment from Upwork, complete virtual odd jobs through TaskRabbit or scan online gigs on Craigslist.

If you’re able to wake up before your kids a few days a week, or otherwise carve out a few uninterrupted hours while they’re down for the count, you’ll probably find it easier to work on these earning opportunities than you would in short power-nap bursts.

They might not be quick money-makers, but these options can help you lay the foundation for future growth — for example, something you might want to pursue once your kids are in school.

12. Start a Freelance Business

Earning potential: limitless!

Whether you choose freelance writing or personal shopping or even calligraphy, you’re probably going to need a little more time to focus than a 20-minute nap will give you.

However, you can still start a freelance business while your kids sleep — if you’re strategic about it.

“If only my youngest is napping, I focus on short tasks like responding to emails, updating and sending out invoices, and writing notes and doing research for blog posts,” says Spencer.

But she takes advantage of the longer, quieter periods to do the bulk of her creative work.

“When I have more time and both boys are sleeping, I’ll flesh out those blog posts, work on document creation and editing for clients, and do other more focused tasks.”

Dipping your toes in the freelance waters? Try some of these in-demand virtual assistant services, like formatting blog posts in WordPress or curating content for social media.

13. Find or Create a Product to Sell

Earning potential: up to you!

Can you sew adorable Halloween costumes?

What about cute holiday ornaments and decorations?

If you prefer to work with a keyboard over a glue gun, why not create a fun Helvetica T-shirt or package your experience as an ebook or digital course? Or find a generic product to sell under your own private brand?

You’re probably not going to turn a profit in a weekend, but a few long naps or post-bedtime work nights could help you lay the foundation for your new business.

14. Start a Blog

Earning potential: up to you!

It’s definitely not a quick way to make money, but starting a blog can eventually help you earn some cash.

“As I worked to develop my blog, it began to attract advertisers,” says Cat Alford, blogger and mom of twins, told The Work at Home Woman.

“It was very slow at first, and I used to only receive one email from advertisers every month or two.”

“Now, I field emails every day, and in the last three months, I’ve made a full-time income from my website after only making pocket change for several years.”

Here’s our step-by-step guide to starting a blog, from coming up with an idea to figuring out how to make money from it.

How Will You Make Money While Your Kids Sleep?

Whether you have 10 minutes or two hours, you can earn extra money while your kids are asleep. It might not be enough to cover your mortgage payment (yet!) but every little bit helps.

Your Turn: Do you make extra money while your kids are napping or after they go to bed? Share your stories in the comments!

Disclosure: We have a serious Taco Bell addiction around here. The affiliate links in this post help us order off the dollar menu. Thanks for your support!

Heather van der Hoop is senior editor of The Penny Hoarder. When she’s not reading, you can usually find her playing along with Jeopardy! or climbing rocks, mountains and trees.

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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Summer Heat is Officially Here. Keep Cool With Free Tea From La Madeleine

Wednesday, June 21 is the first official day of summer — which means it’s about to get real hot up in here.

Instead of telling you to take off all your clothes (unless you really want to — that’s cool, too), we’ve found a refreshing deal to make the transition into summer bearable.

Ready for a cold iced tea — for free?

Here’s how to snag one.

How to Score Free Iced Tea from La Madeleine

La Madeleine, a French-inspired bakery and restaurant chain, is offering customers a free signature mango iced tea or classic iced tea on Tuesday, June 20.

The deal is limited to one per customer at participating locations, while supplies last.

To get your free iced tea, simply say “summer” to your cashier.

There are currently over 70 La Madeleine restaurants in the U.S., with locations in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia.

Want this cool deal, but not sure if there’s a location near you? Head to La Madeleine’s website to find a location near you.

Happy summer!

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

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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United’s Basic Economy Class Proves That Airfare Really Can be Too Cheap

In theory, United Airline’s basic economy class sounds like a great idea. Pay a little bit less to fly? I’m all ears.

According to The Economist, people are flocking for these low fare tickets in droves. United’s chief financial officer, Andrew Levy, even reported that 30-40% of economy-class passengers have chosen these lower-priced basic economy fares since they were introduced earlier this year.

But after taking a closer look, I’m scratching my head because this isn’t exactly a deal.

And, as reported by Business Insider, customers are confused about the restrictions that come with basic economy tickets — and they aren’t happy about them.

Listen up, Penny Hoarders: I read the fine print for you.

Here’s what you really need to know about these basic economy-class fares — and how much they actually cost you.

United’s Basic Economy Class: Nowhere Near a Deal

Since it began earlier this year, the program has been so successful that United expanded it to all domestic markets last month, as reported by The Economist.

Basic economy customers are paying $15-$20 less than they would for regular economy-fare tickets. However, these cost cuts come at a significant price.

Riding basic economy means you are only permitted one personal item on board. That’s it.

According to United’s website, those who have luggage will have to check it and pay the checked baggage fee, which is $25 for the first bag.

If you’re thinking of being sneaky and bringing a carry-on with you, you’ll get hit big. You’ll pay the applicable checked bag fee plus a $25 handling charge if you bring it to the gate.

Ouch.

These baggage fees mean you’re paying the same amount you would for a regular economy fare. And if you try to sneak on a carry-on and get caught, you’re paying more than a regular economy fare.

It doesn’t stop there. Basically, your regular economy-class privileges are stripped away when you purchase these basic economy tickets.

Traveling with family? Sorry, you can’t sit with them.

Want a window seat? Sorry, you aren’t allowed to pick your seat. What do you think this is, Burger King?

Need to change your flight? Nope. Not allowed.

You board the plane last. Now that just sucks.

Oh, let’s not forget: Even if you’re a MileagePlus or Premier member, you won’t get the fancy benefits of your membership, such as upgrades, qualifying dollars and more. (You still earn your frequent flyer miles, though.)

But there is some good news: According to United, you can bring a “small musical instrument” that fits in the overhead bins.

But if you do bring your sad trombone, you can’t bring your small personal item. So what will it be: your purse or your trombone?

Is There Ever a Time When These Tickets Actually Worth It?

I want to believe this basic economy class is a good idea, but I’m struggling here.

If the price difference between basic economy and regular economy is only $15-$20, the checked bag fee eliminates the savings entirely — and actually adds $5 to your overall cost (or more, if you try to sneak a bag on board).

The only time these tickets might actually be worth it are if you’re traveling without luggage.

But I have a really hard time believing that anyone actually does that — unless, maybe, you’re on a quick flight for business and only need to bring your briefcase.

Otherwise, these fares just don’t make sense.

You end up paying more to have less.

It’s another lesson for the books: Sometimes deals aren’t deals in the end. Read the fine print, and proceed with caution!

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

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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Fan of Ipsy or Warby Parker? Both Are Hiring Work-From-Home Reps Now

Ask anyone with a work-from-home job and they’ll tell you: it’s pretty rad to be able to earn an income from the comfort of your own home (and in your “please, don’t look at me” sweats, no less).

And when you come across awesome work-from-home jobs with companies whose products you use and love — well, that’s just the cherry atop the proverbial sundae.

Right now, Ipsy and Warby Parker are looking to fill work-from-home roles — read on to see if these positions are right for you!

2 Companies Filling Work-From-Home Jobs Right Now

These two awesome companies are hiring people to work from home, so apply today!

1. Customer Care Representative at Ipsy

Ipsy (the beauty-box company behind your fave monthly subscription, Glam Bag) is looking for Customer Care Representatives to work from home in four states: California, New York, North Carolina and Texas.

You’ll respond to customer queries and questions in a professional and positive manner, recommend solutions to their issues and share relevant insights into company processes to ensure a heightened overall customer experience.

You should be perceptive and empathetic, and should be able to adapt your tone and your problem-solving approach to fit a variety of challenges and situations. You should be consistent and innovative, as well as able to take control and responsibility when working through issues with customers.

You’ll need a bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience, including one to three years in a customer-centric industry, strong computer skills and exceptional verbal and written communication abilities. You must be willing to work one weekend shift per week.

Details about pay and benefits are not listed, but we’ve reached out to the company and will update this post when we hear back.

Apply for this job.

2. Customer Experience Advisor at Warby Parker

Warby Parker is an online eyeglass store that allows customers to test-drive frames through its home try-on program.

The company is currently looking for a part-time Customer Experience Advisor to work from home.

You’ll assist customers via email, helping them throughout the ordering process with everything from styling advice to basic order completion inquiries. You’ll also process orders and will work to maintain customer relationships while channeling queries to the appropriate teams.

You should be a creative problem solver and an expert communicator, and should take ownership and pride in your work (being a fan of the brand is a must!).

You should be able to work at least 15 hours per week, and should be based near the Nashville area as you’ll need to be at the Nashville office for two three-day training periods.

We’ve reached out to the company to inquire about pay and benefits and will update this post when we find out more information.

Apply for this job.

If you’re looking for a good work-from-home job, but you aren’t based in the required cities mentioned here, be sure to like our Jobs page on Facebook! We post awesome work-from-home jobs there whenever we find them.

Grace Schweizer is a junior 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.

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Dogs Eat Free at Einstein Bros. Bagels This Week, but Humans Have to Pay

Who’s a good dog?!

Don’t answer that — we know your favorite dog is your own. You’ve got the framed photos on your desk to prove it.

Whether you’ve already twisted your boss’s arm into letting you bring your dog to the office for Take Your Pet to Work Week or you know your dog really can’t be trusted with a day job, there’s a freebie all dogs (and their owners) can bark about.

Einstein Bros. Bagels is offering free doggie bagels all week.

How to Get a Free Doggie Bagel This Week

Visit your local Einstein Bros. Bagels between June 19 and 23 to get a free doggie bagel with purchase.

You’ll need a coupon, so head to Einstein’s Dogs Eat Free website to print one or have it sent to your phone.

Show your coupon when you’re picking up your morning coffee and bagel, and you’ll receive one doggie bagel.

The coupon is not valid at hospital, airport, hotel, college or military base locations, so you may want to check with your nearest shop before making any promises to your furry best friend.

Einstein Bros. Bagels has more than 700 locations across the U.S., which is probably about as many hiding spots your dog has for the chew bones he wants to save for later.

And just remember, you probably can’t take your dog inside the bagel shop. I know, it’s tough being a dog.

The Freebie Doesn’t End on Friday!

Einstein Bros. Bagels will extend the Dogs Eat Free offer though the summer, according to a release. Every Tuesday, you’ll be able to pick up a free doggie bagel. Check the Dogs Eat Free website for an updated coupon.

Lisa Rowan is a writer and producer at The Penny Hoarder. The way she fawns over dogs in public, you’d think she’d just get one of her own already.

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

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How to Build an Unbreakable YouTube Brand

One billion hours of video.

That’s how much content is viewed each and every day on YouTube!

That translates to 46,000 years of content annually.

Another amazing thing about YouTube is the amount of time users spend on it.

Believe it or not, the average YouTube session is 40 minutes.

That dwarfs the amount of time people spend on Instagram and Twitter.

Talk about engagement!

Here are a few other ridiculous stats that demonstrate YouTube’s potency:

But here’s what I find really interesting.

Only 9% of US small businesses have a YouTube channel.

That’s kind of crazy if you think about it.

I mean YouTube is second only to Facebook in terms of users.

You would think more brands would be taking advantage of it.

But this is a good thing and means that YouTube offers plenty of opportunity.

You just have to seize that opportunity.

But how do you go about building a YouTube brand?

Furthermore, what are some of the similarities among top YouTube channels?

I’d like to share with you some key strategies that have worked for some of the biggest YouTube brands.

I’ve developed some sort of a template, and following it will help you build a successful, unbreakable YouTube brand that’s distinctly your own.

Come up with a unique angle

One of the most popular channels of all time is Epic Rap Battles of History (ERB).

They’ve featured rap battles that range all the way from Steve Jobs vs. Bill Gates:

to Mr. T vs. Mr. Rogers:

It’s pretty hilarious.

ERB has completely killed it and has a massive following.

They had well over 14 million subscribers as of mid-2017.

I’m not saying you have to be as original as ERB, but you definitely need a unique angle.

To decide on an angle, you have to first identify your core audience.

What kind of content would appeal to them?

Would they go for humor and sarcasm?

A lot of the top channels implement humor to some extent.

YouTube is also a place where people openly embrace their weirdness, so it’s generally okay to be a little out there.

Or should you be professional and go for an educational angle?

It depends on your demographic and its collective taste.

I recommend doing some brainstorming to decide on a basic direction to take.

Of course, this will evolve organically over time, but you’ll need to establish a core identity and preferably one that stands out.

Also keep in mind that most people use YouTube for one of two reasons.

They either want to be entertained or informed, and in some cases both.

Make sure you have a mission and a clear idea of the direction you’re going to take right from the start.

Create a killer “home video”

There’s a path that most YouTube users take when learning about a brand or channel.

They’ll first land on an individual video.

They’ll watch it, and if they like it enough to want to learn more about you, they’ll click on the link to your home profile.

Your home video will automatically play there.

This will basically make you or break you in terms of gaining subscribers.

Either they’ll be compelled to subscribe to your channel, or they’ll head elsewhere.

So, you need to completely crush it with your home video.

More specifically, it needs to encapsulate what your brand and channel are all about.

There are a few ways to approach this.

You could:

• create a video specifically for your homepage, describing your channel and telling viewers what they can expect
• feature one of your top videos that captures the essence of your brand/channel
• create a compilation of the top highlights of previous videos

Whatever approach you take, just be sure you connect the dots for first-time viewers so they know what to expect if they subscribe.

Make full use of the About section

Every YouTube channel has an About section that explains the concept of the channel.

Many first-time viewers will check this out to learn more about you.

The information you include in this section will influence whether or not they choose to subscribe.

Don’t haphazardly or carelessly fill out this section.

You want to explain the details and highlight any points potential subscribers should know.

Here’s a good example of a rock solid About section from Fine Brothers Entertainment:

Notice that it gives a clear, succinct description and also mentions the posting schedule.

Here’s another good example from The Needle Drop, one of the most popular music review channels:

This is yet another opportunity to build a homogeneous brand identity and pique the interest of those unfamiliar with you.

Don’t overlook the About section.

Create consistency

“It takes five to seven impressions for someone to remember a brand.”

In order to make your brand both recognizable and memorable, it’s super important to have consistency on your channel.

There are two main ways to accomplish this.

First, your channel should feature recurring characters and themes.

You want to become familiar to your audience to build connections with them over time.

Second, you should strive to stick with a consistent posting schedule.

In order to keep your audience interested and dialed in, you should give them a rough idea of when they can expect new content.

I know I get a little irked and lose interest in channels that go MIA all of a sudden.

It’s generally considered best practice to upload at least one new video a week.

However, two or three videos is even better.

I find the one to three video mark tends to be ideal.

It’s the sweet spot that keeps subscribers interested without fatiguing them with excessive content.

In terms of the best time to post, there’s an article from Tube Filter that offers some good advice on this.

According to their research, these are the best hours to post a video each day:

There’s also evidence suggesting viewership begins rising on Thursday and spikes on Saturday.

And this makes sense if you think about it.

Unlike most other social networks, like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, where you can casually scroll through your feed with minimal time investment, YouTube requires a larger commitment, where users often view content in larger blocks.

This makes the weekend the ideal time for viewing.

Plus, people can be stealth about checking most of their social sites at work, but YouTube is trickier.

Usually, they’ll need to wait until they’re off work to indulge.

Keep this in mind when establishing a posting schedule for your videos.

Make live video part of your repertoire

Live streaming is a fairly new concept on YouTube.

But it’s starting to spread like wildfire.

According to Mediakix, “YouTube Live video views have grown by 80% and livestreams increased by 130% between 2015 and 2016.”

And here’s the thing about live video.

It’s absolutely perfect for brand building.

There’s a certain closeness viewers experience with brands through live streaming. There’s an intimate vibe to it.

You can even answer questions and respond to comments in real time and interact with your audience in a way that’s not possible with any other medium.

Research from Livestream also found that

live video is more appealing to brand audiences: 80% would rather watch live video from a brand than read a blog, and 82% prefer live video from a brand to social posts.

This is definitely something to experiment with if you haven’t done so already.

However, there is one caveat.

You must have at least 1,000 subscribers to be eligible for live video.

But this number has actually dropped dramatically, considering the minimum number was 10,000 earlier in 2017.

Collaborate with relevant YouTubers

What’s one of the quickest ways to crank up the exposure of your blog/website and bring in an influx of traffic?

One word: guest-posting.

Collaborating with other awesome YouTubers is basically the equivalent of guest-posting via video, which can boost your brand dramatically.

I’ve had success with this strategy.

Take for instance the time I appeared on Tai Lopez’s channel.

That one video generated over 275,000 views:

If you really want to expedite the growth of your YouTube brand, I highly recommend reaching out to relevant YouTubers in your niche.

It’s really easy.

Find a person’s contact information on their About page, and click on “Send message:”

Introduce yourself, tell them how much you like their channel and explain your idea for a collaboration video.

You don’t even need to do the video face to face—you can record footage, interacting remotely through FaceTime, Skype, etc.

This way, you can leverage someone else’s subscriber base to quickly grow your own following.

Conclusion

It’s really hard to beat YouTube as a brand-building platform.

The massive built-in audience (1.3 billion users as of March 2017) combined with the intimacy that comes with video is the perfect recipe for building your brand from the ground up.

And like I mentioned earlier, fewer than 10% of US businesses have a YouTube channel.

So, competition is still low.

If you can consistently deliver epic content that informs, entertains or both, you’re way ahead of the game.

Not only can you build an audience, you can build a unique, successful brand your competitors won’t be able to replicate.

What methods have you used to establish your YouTube brand?

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Fight for your rights: “Lagan Homes won’t pay out on faulty windows”

I’m not often shocked by a company’s misbehaviour. When things go wrong, there’s usually a reason for it: a silly mistake that can be put right. But I do get annoyed when firms only decide to behave reasonably towards consumers when the media gets involved.

I’ve been dealing with a property company recently that takes the biscuit when it comes to failing to respond to a complaint. Frankly, I’ve been flabbergasted by its reaction.

When reader JH of Northampton wrote in with a tale of woe about mouldy and misty windows in his new-build home, I assumed the company concerned – Lagan Homes – would be held accountable.

I was wrong.

JH had splashed out £300,000 on a new-build home, but after moving in he reports: “We had a number of issues and these were drawn out painful things to fix.”

• Home extensions: what you need to know

Over time, most issues were sorted out, but then problems grew. Some windows were misting up and mould started growing inside one.

“I contacted the Lagan Group, only to be told that the window company had gone out of business and so there was nothing it could do,” JH says.

“I believe the Lagan Group has a responsibility to put this issue right and after much chasing it sent out a window company to look at and photograph the windows – the company confirmed that the windows were faulty.”

There followed, he told me, months of emails and voicemails chasing Lagan. But all JH got in return were a string of broken promises.

When I contacted Lagan Homes England, I was told: “We do not comment on individual cases.”

• Best deals for home movers

I pointed out that if it refused to discuss the case with me, then I wouldn’t be able to report its side of the story. Its response? “We have engaged and worked with the customer you highlighted. Having conducted a robust assessment we provided him with a complete review of his situation.”

That didn’t square with what JH said. He told me he had been waiting four months for a follow-up to a visit to his home when a Lagan representative “admitted the fault”. and he was expecting the faulty windows to be repaired.

I passed that on to Lagan, which said: “Lagan Homes England have not accepted they are at fault.”

• Five things to consider before buying a listed property

That came as a bit of a shock to JH.

“Why would it take eight months to come to that conclusion and also not communicate that thought?” he says.

“Why would the windows have been viewed on two separate occasions by contractors (organised by Lagan) and by Lagan itself, and both agree that the windows were faulty if it believed it had no responsibility?”

OUTCOME: £400 towards window replacement cost for reader

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Questions About Travel Guides, Trusts, Unwanted Hobby Items, Summer Reading and More!

What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to summaries of five or fewer words. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question.
1. Entrepreneurship versus raises
2. Harassment at work about finances
3. Pulling plug on internet service
4. Travel guides worthwhile?
5. Motivating yourself for better habits
6. Irrevocable or revocable trust?
7. First steps before potential divorce
8. Gifting unwanted hobby stuff
9. Thoughtful gifts for kids
10. Discarding documents from parents’ estate
11. Staying at home better financially?
12. Thoughtful summer reading list?

One of the best parts of being a parent is seeing your kids starting to make independent decisions and that they’re making good ones. They’re choosing, on their own, to be responsible and courteous and kind to others.

For me, seeing my kids showing some really strong signs of walking toward being responsible and mature independent people has been insanely heartwarming. There is literally nothing I want more in this world than to see my kids controlling their own destiny and being good citizens of the world. I want to have a great relationship with them when they are adults, but I want it to be as independent adults, not with their dependence on me. I want to be the kind of parents that they don’t rely on, but that they do want to see sometimes and are still involved in their lives, and I hope that they are the kind of people I’m thrilled to spend my time with.

There are times in which I do miss their infancy and toddler years and early childhood, don’t get me wrong, but I absolutely love seeing them grow up and mature and develop into good people and good members of the community. I had some sense that this would be the most fulfilling part of parenting for me when they were younger, and I was right. I am absolutely, thoroughly enjoying watching them slowly emerge into adulthood, having great conversations with them about it, trying to be the best role model of adulthood that I can be, trying to build and reinforce some strong internal guiding principles for them, and so on.

Over the next several years, all three of my children are going to gradually push away as they become more and more independent, as they should. There will be times when it is not easy. However, I am incredibly happy with the first steps they are taking in that direction.

Now, let’s dig into some questions.

Q1: Entrepreneurship versus raises

I’m trying to decide if it is better to use my spare time to improve my earnings potential in my current career or to dive into a side gig.

It seems to me that entrepreneurship has a very high upside which is a big runaway success but a very low downside which is a big failure that probably ends up costing me money and a lot of time. On the other hand, the masters degree I am considering has kind of a fixed cost and a relatively easy to estimate reward. In all likelihood I will make money by doing the masters degree, but I won’t make a ton of money with it.

Am I reading this right? Or is there something I’m missing.
– Larry

I think you’re spot on with your general analysis. Many, many side gigs and entrepreneurial ventures fail. That’s simply the nature of the game. Ones that you’ve invested in will devour much of that investment, too, if they fail. But, yes, some will succeed and turn into the kind of runaway success that you’re never going to get in your career path.

Entrepreneurship is a much riskier option than getting a masters degree. It has far more upside, but the downside is far worse.

I do want to add something worth noting about entrepreneurship. It’s been my experience that many people fail several times with the first ventures they try and it’s the ones that keep plugging away and learning from the failures that succeed, for the most part. I tried many different side gigs and online writing ventures before The Simple Dollar. Most of them utterly failed to build any sort of following or traction and I would only describe one or two of the things I tried could even be called a moderate success. I failed at things more than a dozen times before The Simple Dollar succeeded, and that’s just the ones I can remember.

Ask yourself this: are you willing to put a lot of your sweat equity into something that might utterly fail but might also wildly succeed? If that sounds like an exciting adventure, then entrepreneurship is probably right for you. If that sounds like a terrible idea, then a masters degree is going to be the best investment of your time and energy.

Q2: Harassment at work about finances

Several people at work yesterday were discussing their 401(k) plans. A lot of people were contributing nothing. Some people were contributing a few percent. One guy was really proud of his 6% contribution. I didn’t say much but then two or three people wanted to know what I contributed. I told them the truth – 20%. They absolutely did not believe me and said I was full of [it]. So I logged onto the site and showed them. Then a bunch of people started criticizing saving that much and told me that I must have no life, etc. I just stopped participating at that point, but it kept up all day with various people telling me that I had no life. It was uncomfortable. Encourage your readers to not share info at work if they’re saving way more than most people.
– Andrew

First of all, I believe it’s generally a poor idea to discuss financial topics at work. It’s one of those issues that’s best reserved for a selected group of friends, not the random collection of people you’re thrown into an office with. If the group is small and you know everyone well, then it’s probably okay depending on the situation, but I would not talk about my finances with any specificity to a large group of coworkers if the situation could at all be avoided.

In your situation, I’d keep in mind that many of the people criticizing you aren’t so much criticizing your choice, but being defensive about their own choices. Someone who is actually saving a lot for retirement in a situation very much like their own demonstrates that some of the internal arguments that they’ve made about why they’re not saving might not be valid arguments. “I don’t make enough!” falls flat when someone else making roughly as much as you is socking away 20%.

I think the best way to respond is to point out the things that they have that you do not. Point out that you’re able to save 20% because you spend a lot of time watching your finances carefully and are careful with a lot of your buying decisions, and that takes additional time and effort that other people may find that they want to use in other ways, and that’s cool.

For me, personal finance isn’t about judging others. It’s about finding a route to the life that you want, and it’s completely okay that others have lives that they want that are different than that. I have many friends who have completely different life goals and ambitions than my own, and they use different techniques in their day-to-day life to achieve those goals. I am very close friends with a couple who do a lot of traveling, lining up all of their vacation time for a huge, expensive trip every few months. I have another friend who is essentially buying up country land to be his outdoor playground. I know other people who choose very much to live in the moment. That’s their life choice, and if they’re happy with it, then I’m happy with it. I can only choose to live my own life.

Don’t let their criticism grind you down, in other words.

Q3: Pulling plug on internet service

When is it time to switch internet service providers? I use [a well known provider] and their speed seems to drop through the floor at random times. I pay for 100 Mbps and most of the time I get that but sometimes at really weird times it drops really low like down to 0.1 Mbps. Whenever I call them, they send someone over fairly quickly within a day or two and they do speed tests and it’s always fast. Getting tired of trying to work on something during hours when it shouldn’t be busy at all (like 4AM or something) and having the internet be slower than molasses.
– David

There are a lot of potential culprits for what’s going on and many of them are out of the hands of the technicians you’re talking to. Slow speeds, particularly in the middle of the night, often occur due to things like routers receiving updates or equipment upgrades, where your internet connection is being routed somewhere else for a while during some equipment fixes.

I sometimes have big drops in my internet speed, too, but I usually have a person here quickly if it’s a lasting problem. That’s far better than other providers I’ve had in the past, where I would have semi-frequent outages and they wouldn’t send a repairperson for a week and then still charge me for the “service.”

Spend some time and make sure that it’s not just an occasional frustration. Many people use their home internet 99.9% of the time without hassle but really remember that 0.1% of the time when it was slow or out of service. Also, read your agreement and make sure you understand the speeds and uptime guaranteed in the contract. Talk to your friends and neighbors in the area and see what they use and what challenges they have.

My guess is that the slow times are within your agreement and that you won’t see much improvement (if any) with other providers and will probably face worse customer service. Unless there’s a real problem here, I wouldn’t seriously consider switching.

Q4: Travel guides worthwhile?

What are your feelings on travel guides? Are they worthwhile purchases? My husband and I are planning on traveling in the coming years and we want to start making plans now but I wonder if the information in travel guides isn’t duplicated online.
– Marjorie

Most of the content in a typical travel guide is duplicated online, but it’s rarely duplicated all in one consistent place like that. The material in a typical travel guide is spread across a bunch of sites like TripAdvisor, Yelp, Hotels.com, the website for that city or region or country, Wikipedia, and so on. Travel guides also have the advantage of never needing a data signal or a charged battery to be able to access them.

In other words, I’m actually a fan of travel guides. I think they’re a good one-stop-shop of information and are usually had at a reasonable price.

However, before you run out to the bookstore and buy a bunch of them, I’d recommend only buying one or two when you’re sure as to where you’re going to travel. If you’re in the process of figuring out where you’d like to go, turn to your local library instead. Check out travel guides on a ton of different areas and study them. Figure out which travel guides you like best and then, when you do settle on a destination, buy your own copy of a travel guide for that area so you can feel free to mark it or highlight it as you see fit.

Q5: Motivating yourself for better habits

How do you motivate yourself to “lock in” a good habit? For example let’s say you want to start getting up earlier but you find it really hard to start getting out of bed earlier. Other than the lame “JUST DOOOO IT!!!” response how exactly do you motivate yourself to make those kinds of changes that are hard at first but really beneficial if you stick with it?
– Jeremy

I don’t think there is a single magic answer to motivation. Different things work well for different people. My wife is often best motivated by other people, for example – gentle encouragement and positive attitudes from people she loves seems to really click with her. If she wants to establish a new habit, she tells some of the core people in her life and we help gently motivate her. That seems to work well for her.

For me, that type of motivation doesn’t really help. I am deeply internally motivated, but it takes me reaching a point where I am deeply unhappy with some aspect of my life before I can change. My wife doesn’t need to reach those depths of unhappiness to get started, because her motivation comes from her love of others. Mine comes from disappointment in myself.

For some people, external motivation works well, and for others, internal motivations are the key. For some people, positive motivation works well – rewarding yourself for good behavior – and for others, negative motivation works well – “punishing” yourself for not sticking with a habit.

My advice to you, honestly, is to experiment. Try different things and see what clicks for you. Try using different external motivators, both positive – a reward for success – and negative – a punishment for failure. Try tapping your key relationships and seeing if they’ll help you get there. Try internalizing your struggles through techniques like journaling and meditation (that’s what works best for me). Different things click for different people.

Q6: Irrevocable or revocable trust?

We have a developmentally disabled child that is reaching adulthood. We intend to care for her for the rest of our lives but after that she will need to live in an environment with some degree of care. We have decided to set up a trust for her but the amount of options are very confusing. We intend to meet with a lawyer to handle all of this but we want some idea of what we’re talking about before we go. Our big question is about the difference between a revocable and an irrevocable trust and which one is better?
– Dana

The big difference between a revocable and an irrevocable trust is whether or not you, as the creator (often called the grantor) of the trust, have the right to alter the terms of the trust once it is created. The only person that can make decisions on behalf of the trust in an irrevocable trust is the trustee, and when you transfer funds to the irrevocable trust, they’re essentially out of your control.

Why would you ever want an irrevocable trust, then? The reason is that the IRS treats it very differently than a revocable trust. Income earned by assets in an irrevocable trust (like stock dividends, for example) are treated as income to that trust, not to you, whereas with a revocable trust, the income is treated as your personal income. This can result in some significant tax savings over time, but you run some risks of things not turning out according to plan.

Honestly, I’d talk to a family lawyer who can dig into your specific situation and help you figure out what’s right for you or direct you to a specialized lawyer who can.

Q7: First steps before potential divorce

Our marriage has been a disaster over the last six months and we can barely stand to be in the same room together. One of us is usually sleeping on the guest bed or at someone else’s place every night and we go days without talking. I am thinking that separation or divorce is going to happen in the near future. What should I be doing to financially prepare myself?
– Lacey

There are a number of smart actions you can do in this situation. The first and biggest one is to start making an inventory of all of your assets – the ones that are clearly yours, the ones that are clearly his, and the shared assets. For example, I don’t think Sarah would dispute my board game collection, nor would I dispute her jewelry, but we have many shared assets. Make a thorough inventory of everything of significance.

Gather up all of your financial records and make digital copies of them, just to make sure you have them. I’d also snag a copy of my credit report and start monitoring it for unexpected changes.

If I were you, I’d also start living a more frugal lifestyle. Divorce is expensive and you’re probably also going to see a big drop in household income.

However, before you commit to divorce, please try to seek counseling and have some serious conversations about things. Marriages often fail because people don’t communicate, and that’s exactly what I’m seeing here. If you at least try to communicate regularly, you may begin to see things in a more eye-to-eye fashion than before.

Q8: Gifting unwanted hobby stuff

I have a bunch of stuff sitting in a storage locker from abandoned hobbies. I have a couple of electric guitars and an amp in there and some golf clubs that are in good shape and a whole bunch of archery gear. I could sell this stuff and make a little money as you suggest on Craigslist or something but what I would rather do is find someone in the community with an interest in this hobby and give them this stuff, preferably someone without a lot of money. I wouldn’t make too much from it anyway and I’d feel better seeing it in the hands of someone who is excited about using it. Suggestions on how to go about this?
– Eric

Honestly, my suggestion would be to go to a local high school and talk to the guidance counselor about it. The guidance counselor may be able to facilitate such a gift and help you find a teenager who might be in a somewhat difficult situation with at least some interest or passion for the stuff you have. That’s where I would start.

If you don’t have hang-ups about religion, I’d stop by a local church of a denomination that you have positive feelings toward and talk to the pastor. Pastors often know the family stories of many of their congregants and may know someone in need who could really take advantage of that gear.

I just want to say that this is the coolest thing you can do with old unwanted hobby equipment – giving it in a targeted way to someone who could really use it but can’t afford it.

Q9: Thoughtful gifts for kids

What are some thoughtful but inexpensive gifts for kids? Always feel like I am buying nieces and nephews junk for their birthday.
– Meghan

The possibilities are endless. Here are just a few I came up with.

Give them a small box with a slot in the top. Inside, include a note that says that the box is for them to store the ticket stubs from events they participate in so that this becomes a box of memories of great events as they grow up. Include tickets for them and some appropriate adult to something local, like a zoo or a baseball game.

Give them a nice notebook and a few pens. Include a note that encourages them to write down their thoughts when they’re frustrated or confused or troubled and see if a good solution doesn’t come to mind while they’re writing. Encourage them to hide it somewhere safe.

Listen to the things they find meaningful in the world, and make a charitable donation to that cause. Give them detailed information about the gift and who and what it helps.

Give them an empty small photo album and a couple of disposable cameras, along with a note telling them to take a picture of all of the things they love the most in the world and then put the prints in that little album.

Those kinds of gifts will really mean something to many kids.

Q10: Discarding documents from parents’ estate

My parents passed away in an accident about six years ago. As their only child, I received the entire estate with a family friend as executor who basically just handed me everything once I was out of a grieving mindset. I am unsure how long I need to hold onto things like their tax returns. Do you have any guidance?
– Marty

I would recommend keeping all of their documents for at least seven years. That’s the general statute of limitations on many such financial claims.

At that time – so, sometime next year – I would contact a family lawyer and ask how long you should hold onto such documents, as that person will give you specific guidance as to the laws in your state.

I wouldn’t discard everything, however. Hold onto things like their birth certificate and marriage certificate and things like that, as any descendants you may have may wish to see those things. You may even wish to have them at a later date.

Q11: Staying at home better financially?

Is it actually possible for it to be better financially for a family for one parent to stay home? Husband makes $51K/year, I make $24K/year working at a zoo. I am due in October. I have been running the numbers to figure out what things will look like after the baby is born and leaning hard on the advice of others regarding life changes and it just looks to me like it will cost more for me to work than it would for me to just stay home. The least expensive childcare that isn’t scary in our area is about $285/week and we already rely on takeout a lot because of our crazy work schedules and there’s no way that gets better if we add a baby to the mix. If I stop working and make all meals at home we don’t spend that $285/week and we probably save $100-150/week in food costs. Figure $400 a week just right there, which adds up to about $20K/year which is around what I bring home. We can also stop driving the car I take to work and maybe even sell it and the gas savings alone puts us over the top. Work is always looking for trained people so I am pretty sure I can return to work when the baby goes to school. Am I doing this right?
– Bailey

You’re doing it right. In many situations, particularly when one partner in a marriage is making much less than the other and doesn’t make much above minimum wage in terms of hourly pay, it is actually better financially for the family as a whole for one partner to stay home. The cost savings from much less car usage (saving then on fuel and insurance and registration) and cheaper food from home cooked meals can add up fast and you also aren’t adding the cost of child care.

Yes, your budget will be tighter, but it won’t be as tight as you might expect. For most of a year, Sarah did the stay-at-home gig without pay and strongly considered leaving work because we realized that we could survive financially (she loved her career, which is why she went back) because we realized that the costs weren’t as intense as we expected.

The thing is, if you do this, don’t expect to sit at home all day cuddling with the baby and watching Netflix. To make this really work, you should spend a lot of time on home economy – prepping meals and so on – and possibly even on a side gig of some kind.

Q12: Thoughtful summer reading list?

Got any suggestions for some thoughtful summer reads? I like reading things that make me reflect on my life and am looking for something new to check out from the library. We’re traveling this summer and will be spending more than 20 hours on plane rides, so a few books would hit the spot!
– Max

To answer this question, I went through the list of books I’ve read that were published in the last two calendar years and picked out ones that I thought were particularly thought-provoking. Here are my top three picks in that regard.

The Complacent Class: The Self-Defeating Quest for the American Dream by Tyler Cowen makes the case that America is in a state of decline – or at least not in a state of advancement – because many in America have become complacent with their lives. They avoid exposure to new ideas and experiences and take very few risks, unlike previous generations, and this has led America to stop growing and innovating at anywhere near the rate that we once did.

Becoming Wise: An Inquiry Into the Mystery and Art of Living by Krista Tippett focuses on how we interact with each other and the universe and with ourselves in the modern world. It’s focused on what wisdom is, where it comes from, and how to cultivate it. It’s tremendously thoughtful, and it’s honestly the one of these three I’m most likely to read again.

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance is a wonderful book about the side of America that rarely gets talked about with any seriousness or depth: the culture of towns and cities left behind by the exit of manufacturing from America in the age of globalism. It’s handled with great care and thoughtfulness and without judgment, and you end up with an appreciation for the mistakes of America’s approach to globalism over the last thirty years.

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

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