MAKE MONEY ONLINE POSTS: 07/13/17

الخميس، 13 يوليو 2017

Socialite Clara Adams focus of Stroudsburg lecture

The Monroe County Historical Association will hold a presentation on the life of world-renowned socialite Clara Adams at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Stroud Mansion, 900 Main St., Stroudsburg.Pocono and Jackson township historian Jim Werkheiser will present “Clara, We Hardly Knew You” as part of the Third Thursday Lecture Series.In 1928, Adams, who lived in Tannersville, played an important role in the promotion of early commercial aviation. She was the first female- [...]

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Board to decide dome's fate

The Hamilton Township Zoning Hearing Board will decide the fate of a church’s effort to take over the Pocono Dome sports complex on Aug 10.The announcement came after testimony was closed in a special exception hearing for the South Korean-based World Mission Society Church of God in its effort to get approval to use the sports dome as a church.Testimony from church missionary and spokesman John Power revealed the church would celebrate an event annually that could draw [...]

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App to help MCTA users

The Monroe County Transit Authority announced Wednesday that it would begin utilizing an app to help keep users more informed with up-to-date information.The app is called ‘Transit’ and is billed as a real-time trip planning and bus location app that aims to make transportation less stressful on users.“Transit makes it easy to use public transportation, not only here in the Poconos, but in many urban areas around the world,” said Rich Schlameuss, [...]

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Taking a Photo of Something Makes Donating It Easier

New research suggests donating precious items is easier after you snap a pic of them. Learn how it can benefit nonprofits at HowStuffWorks.

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Taking a Photo of Something Makes Donating It Easier

We Tried 4 Trader Joe’s Salsas for Under $3 — Here’s What We’ll Be Back for

Did Your Local Walmart Kill its Ad Match Policy? Tell Us All About It Here

In May 2016, Walmart announced it would stop offering its Ad Match program at 500 stores. Then in August, it announced 300 more stores would get the price-matching service nixed.

Since Walmart wouldn’t disclose which stores or markets would see the change — which didn’t seem to be immediate — we forgot all about it.

That is, until Penny Hoarder readers started sending us notes about price match disappearing from their Walmart locations.

We checked in with Walmart this week about the status of the programming change.

The bad news is Walmart wouldn’t confirm which locations this change will affect or which stores still have the price match program.

Customers have reported blue signs popping up at their local stores stating the date the ad-match policy was or will be discontinued at that location. “Instead, we’re lowering our prices on thousands of items,” the signs state.

Why Walmart Axed the Ad Match Program

The good news is Walmart seems committed to lowering prices so you don’t need to scour the weekly circulars so closely.

“In select markets, we’re offering customers even lower prices on the national and private-label brands they trust and want,” Charles Crowson, senior manager for corporate communications at Walmart, said in an emailed statement. “As a result, and in select stores only, cashiers will no longer be able to price match at the register, from an ad or otherwise.”

How to Deal With the Changes to the Walmart Price Match Policy

Curious about what’s happening at your favorite Walmart location? If you don’t see the telltale blue signs at the register, Crowson suggests asking a store manager. He said store associates are knowledgeable about the changes to the program as well.

Meanwhile, it’s a great time to get to know the Savings Catcher app, which compares prices and automatically gives you a credit if Walmart spots a lower price for anything you bought.

The Savings Catcher app is also available by logging in to your account online and entering your receipt number, so if you’re not a smartphone user, you can still take advantage of the program.

Does your Walmart still allow price matching at the register? Let us know!

Since Walmart is keeping mum on the number and locations of stores dropping the Ad Match program, we’re hoping to map the change based on your feedback. We have a super-quick Google form you can fill out (it’s anonymous!). You can also email us at feedback@thepennyhoarder.com, or chat about it in our Facebook comments.

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

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

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Verizon Customers Exposed by Third-Party Data Leak

It's difficult to protect your data these days, and now another information leak is causing millions of Verizon users to change their passwords as soon as possible.

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Don't Give Up on Nuclear Energy

Let's stretch our imaginations for a moment and assume that the Left is right, that global warming will bring apocalyptic warming by the end of the century and that the only way to save the planet from extinction is to stop using fossil fuels right now.

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Here’s Why Scotland Will Give Free Tampons and Pads to Low-Income Women

The “pink tax” — the taxation of necessary hygiene products like pads and tampons — has long been a hotly contested issue.

Over the last few years, there has been plenty of campaigning from the people who are directly affected by it. In the U.S., 14 states and Washington D.C. have eliminated it completely — and that’s a great start.

But imagine a society in which the products that help determine a person’s quality of life weren’t just slightly less expensive — imagine if they were completely free.

Free Feminine Hygiene Products

Scotland imagined it and then took the phrase “dream it, believe it, achieve it” literally. In a move that seems to be the first of it’s kind (organized at the government level), Scotland will be giving out free sanitary products to low-income women through a test program that will hopefully become a regular thing.

The pilot program, which will be rolled out in Aberdeen (Scotland’s third most populated city), is anticipated to benefit more than 1,000 women and girls over a six-month period (pun only slightly intended).

The program is being orchestrated by Community Food Initiatives North East (or CFINE), a Scottish social enterprise and charity. The free products will be distributed through women’s health and housing charities and in four different schools.

The initiative, which is backed by £42,500 (about $54,764) in government funding, will be used as a study of sorts to determine if providing citizens with free sanitary products could be a long-term endeavor.

Monica Lennon, Scotland’s Labor MSP who has long campaigned for the end of “period poverty,” said that while this program will be a great start, she will soon be launching “a consultation on a member’s bill proposal which will give all women in Scotland the right to access these products for free, regardless of their income.”

The Deeper Issue

The chief executive of CFINE, Dave Simmers, notes that the often unmanageable cost of feminine hygiene products is a contributing factor to women being unable to get out of poverty.

“Over a woman’s lifetime,” Simmers said, “sanitary products cost on average more than £5,000 ($8,300), a significant sum for those on low-income. Many cannot afford them and may use inappropriate methods or miss school.”

And that’s a problem that women and girls around the world face every day — and not just in developing countries. It’s a vicious cycle, and it’s just another layer to the wage inequality and price discrimination that leave women struggling to climb the ladder that many men easily scale.

So here’s hoping that Scotland sees good results — and that other countries follow suit.

Grace Schweizer is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder.

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Put Your English Skills to Good Use With This Part-Time Work-From-Home Gig

If you’re reading this post, you obviously have a solid grasp of the English language.

But if you’re securely confident in your English language skills (including grammar, spelling and punctuation), then this work-from-home gig might be a great opportunity for you to earn some extra cash on a part-time basis.

Lionbridge, a company that supplies international organizations with various business services, is in need of native English speakers to do transcription and validation work.

Those hired for the role will spend up to 24 hours a week reviewing audio and online transcriptions for quality and content. Schedules are flexible.

You’ll have to be a speedy typist and a good listener who has a personal computer with high-speed internet access.

Applicants also must be over 18 and pass a language skills test. Having a high school diploma is desirable but not a requirement.

Information about salary and benefits was not included in the job posting for this gig, but I reached out to the company and will update this post once I hear back.

Check here for more information about this position and to apply.

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

Nicole Dow is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.

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7 Ways to Spot a Survey Scam

Every day I get dozens of offers in my inbox asking me to take a survey for cash. It’s a fun way to make a little extra money, but the problem is it’s getting harder and harder to tell which offers are for real and which offers are trying to scam me.

To help us all avoid getting burned, I’ve put together a list of my top seven ways to spot a survey scam.

1. They Ask for Money

This one may seem obvious, but scammy survey sites wouldn’t keep popping up if people weren’t falling for them.

There are hundreds of these scams on the internet and they usually promise you access to “top-paying surveys” — as soon as you hand over some cash. Once you pay the fee, all you get is a small e-book filled with a few links that you could easily have found for free by searching Google.

2. They Post an Ad on Craigslist

It seems innocent enough. A company says they’re looking for survey participants and that all you need to do is email them your contact information.

Stop! These types of offers are usually email farms that collect the email addresses of everyone who responds so they can spam the accounts later with offers for Viagra, etc.

3. They Offer Too Much Money

If a survey is promising $75 for 15 minutes of work, you should click the back button as fast as possible. My rule of thumb with any survey or internet offer is “if it sounds too good to be true, than it is probably a scam.”

4. They Want to Pre-Qualify You… for an Hour

These types of surveys are very sneaky. It’s not uncommon for surveys to begin with a few pre-qualifying questions to make sure you meet the company’s target demographic.

The problem is when the pre-qualifying portion seems to go on forever and asks a hundred questions. When you finally reach the end, the survey says, “Sorry, it doesn’t look like you qualify.”

The trick is that you really just took the survey and they didn’t pay you for it because it was all in the name of “pre-qualification.”

5. They Try Too Hard

Everybody is looking to make an extra buck these days, so it’s not very hard to find people to take paid surveys.

If it seems like a survey operator is pushing too hard for you to take the survey, it is probably a scam.

One red flag to watch for is a web page filled with testimonials from former survey takers. Real survey companies don’t have to put up such a front to attract participants.

6. They Require an Unachievable Minimum Before Sending a Check

This one annoys me the most. You join a survey group, and they promise you a dollar or two for each survey you take.

There’s nothing wrong with that, unless you find out later you must accumulate a ridiculous amount of earnings before they’ll send you a check.

This type of scam is popular because the survey company knows very few people will stick with it long enough to see an actual check.

7. They Lack a Privacy Policy

Always check to make sure a survey company has a privacy policy before signing up; otherwise your email address and personal information could be at risk.

These sites often take your information and resell it to other companies. That means you’ll see a lot more spam than you will cash.

Don’t get discouraged, Penny Hoarders. If you like taking surveys for cash, there are plenty of legitimate companies out there. Here are a few of my favorites.

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FICO Just Released How Much Credit Scores Rise When Negative Marks Go Away

Gather around for today’s lesson, won’t you?

We’ll call it Credit Scores 101. Here are the basics:

Credit scores range from 300 to 850.

The average credit score in the U.S. is 673.

That’s lower than 700, which is widely considered to be a “good” score.

Naturally, we know the best way to raise a low credit score is to strategically pay down your debts and to correct false information in your credit history.

Ah, but here’s what we don’t know: What about those black marks on your credit history you can’t do anything about? For example, do you have any late or missed payments on your credit cards or car loans?

Does that bad stuff come off your credit report after a while? And what happens to your credit score when it does?

Now FICO has the answer. The credit scoring company analyzed its own data to get the details.

Delinquencies, like late payments, typically get removed from your credit report after seven years, thanks to a federal law called the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

That improves your credit score. But by how much?

Here’s what FICO found out:

People who had a single delinquency removed from their credit report this way saw their credit scores go up an average of 14 points.

People who had all of their remaining delinquencies removed from their credit report saw their scores increase by an average of 33 points.

The More You Know

One of the key lessons here: It’s worth knowing what’s in your credit report.

As Money Talks News point out, “FICO’s research highlights the importance of your credit report — knowing what’s in it, checking it regularly and disputing errors and other negative information.”

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

It’s a good way to raise your credit score more than 14 points at a time.

Take the example of North Carolina business owner Kenneth Bain. He signed up for Credit Sesame and found out he had a low credit score of 487. Just seven months later, he’d raised it by a whopping 234 points, to 721.

Bain was surprised to find some very old — and fully paid — hospital bills mucking up his score, as well as some other things that were incorrectly reported.

“I looked at what was there (on my credit report) so I would know what I should change, correct and challenge,” Bain said. “I used Credit Sesame as a compass to tell me where to go.”

So, just to sum up:

When an old delinquency gets taken off your credit report after seven years, your credit score might go up about 14 points.

Arming yourself with information, paying down your debts and challenging false data in your credit history could raise your score by hundreds of points.

And a better credit score means a lot when it’s time to get a mortgage, a credit card or a car loan.

Mike Brassfield (mike@thepennyhoarder.com) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. His credit score isn’t quite as terrible as it used to be.

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Apple is Hiring Reps to Work From Home — and the Perks Include Discounts!

If you love iPhones, iPads and and all things Apple, you won’t want to miss this work-from-home job opportunity.

It comes with a bunch of great benefits, including a generous employee discount.

Apple is hiring AppleCare At Home Advisors to work remotely, helping customers fix technical issues with their Apple products.

You can apply from anywhere in the United States as long as you meet a few requirements:

A minimum of two years of technical troubleshooting experience

Customer service and support experience

Availability to work between the hours of 7 a.m. CST and 10:30 p.m. CST, including weekends and holidays

Available for 5-6 weeks of training on a fixed schedule, possibly including weekends

Minimum typing speed of of 40 WPM while talking to customers

A quiet workspace

High-speed internet

Job benefits include “competitive” pay, time off, and participation in the employee stock plan.

AppleCare At Home Advisors are also eligible for an employee discount on a variety of Apple products — including iPads, iPhones, iPods and Apple Watches.

If this work-from-home job sounds too good to pass up, have a look at what Apple at Home Advisors do all day, then head over here to apply.

Lisa McGreevy is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She’s always on the lookout for work-from-home jobs to share with readers so look her up on Twitter @lisah if you’ve got a hot job tip.

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Life Isn’t Permanent: How to Handle (and Utilize) Impermanence in Your Money, Life, and Career

“‘All conditioned things are impermanent’ — when one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering.” – The Buddha

As anyone who has read this site for very long can probably guess, one of my passions is learning about new philosophies and religions and intellectual traditions in order to see what the wisdom of others can teach me about my own life. I incorporate bits and pieces of many different things that I pick up from books, conversations, and life experiences into a hodgepodge of ideas by which I govern my life, a mix that I’m constantly adding to and occasionally removing bits from.

Today, I want to talk about one of the things I picked up from Buddhism – the idea of impermanence. In fact, I consider the focus on impermanence and its meaning to be perhaps the most valuable lesson on modern life that most of us can take from Buddhism.

One of the central tenets of Buddhism is the idea that everything has a life cycle. It comes into being, grows, ages, withers, and decays. People do this. Ideas do this. Thoughts do this. Buildings do this. Plants do this. Buddhism argues that everything does this.

If you take that type of thinking a step forward, you’ll realize that Buddhism thus argues that tomorrow will be different than today and will consist of a mix of ideas and things from today that have aged a bit as well as new ideas and things, each of which are on their own cycle of life.

At the most cursory of glances, this seems to be a depressing philosophy. It means that there’s a constant acceptance that everything is on an endless march toward its end! How can that be joyful?

Actually, it is quite joyful. If you accept that an end is a natural part of everything, two things happen. First, you already have some degree of acceptance that everyone and everything will eventually meet an end, and that’s a normal part of life. More than that, though, you recognize that your time with which to enjoy and appreciate many things is short. Even your own life is short.

When this idea first really clicked with me, it brought a period of intense joy into my life. I began to realize that nothing was permanent, so I needed to say and do the things that were really important now rather than later. I started telling many of my family members and friends that I really cared for them, because I didn’t want me or them to leave this earth without saying that, and recognizing and accepting the impermanence of both of us nudged me in that direction. I started really appreciating today more and more, and I also started appreciating little details of life.

Right now, for example, as I write this, I can hear a robin chirping. I know that it’s a young robin, almost assuredly one of the robins that hatched in a nest on our property. I had the joy of seeing the blue robin’s eggs in that nest this spring and now I can hear robins chirping, likely those same tiny chicks I witnessed in May who have grown much larger in the ensuing months. That robin will eventually grow older and may serve as a parent for another nest of robin’s eggs somewhere else. That chirping robin in the warmth of summer is not permanent; there may be another robin next summer, or there may not be. Why not enjoy it now?

I love the feeling of warm sun on my skin, a sensation that does seem to be very, very common, but in truth, there will come a time in my life where my chances to feel that nice sensation will be very limited.

For now, though, why not appreciate it? The same is true for almost every little experience I have in my day that brings me joy: the smells and sounds of walking in a forest, the feel of a fountain pen etching across paper, the gentle soreness the morning after exerting myself, the feeling of my wife’s skin on my fingertips and the taste of her lip balm after a kiss, and so on. Those things are little joys; why not slow down a bit and appreciate them? I won’t always be able to do so, after all.

Buddhism takes this core idea of impermanence and turns it into what it calls the “four noble truths.” These are, in order (and with some variation based on translation):

There is suffering. Life contains disappointments, failure, and loss. We don’t always achieve what we want. Things we relied on eventually wear out and fall apart. Our things, our relationships, our own bodies and minds. Our children grow up. Our friends and loved ones die. Others drift away. The things that once made us passionate can sometimes dull over time.

Suffering has a cause. The cause of suffering is the pursuit of things which decay. We work so hard to obtain things that are fleeting, and when those things drift away, we experience suffering. For example, many parents often struggle to watch their children grow up because they are attached to those people in their childhood state, and seeing that state drift away is difficult.

The cessation of suffering exists. The cause of suffering is our attachment to things that are transient. We become attached to having things as they are, in their current state. The cessation of suffering comes when we accept that things will change and remove our attachment from the current state of things. For example, love your children as they are, not as they once were, and don’t lament the change.

There is a path to the cessation of suffering. How do you do that? How do you let go of things as they currently are and accept that they change? It’s not simple, but there is a path. Buddhism offers an eightfold path to this type of perspective on the world, consisting of perfected vision, perfected emotion and aspiration, perfected speech, perfected action, perfected livelihood, perfected effort, perfected awareness, and perfected concentration. Practicing that path makes it easier to understand the world as impermanent and remove your attachment to a particular state of the world while still loving it.

All of this may seem interesting, of course, but what exactly does any of it have to do with personal finance? This is The Simple Dollar, after all. Let’s start heading in that direction.

The first thing to realize is that nothing in your life is really permanent. The way your day-to-day life is right now is not the same as it always was, nor is it the same as it always will be. Your job will change. The people in your life will change. Your financial situation will change. Unexpected events will happen and have an impact and change the course of things. Change is the only guarantee.

Knowing that such impermanence is the reality of things, we can prepare for it. We can do things today, when things are as they are right now, to prepare for an uncertain future, so that we’re better able to enjoy the unexpected good things and better able to sustain the unexpected bad things. The only certainty is that the future will contain new things and the fading of old ones, so we should prepare for it.

How do we prepare for it? One key way that many people take is simply having an emergency fund. In other words, just stick money into your savings account for whatever may come, and only tap it when you need it. I do this automatically, so I don’t have to concern myself with it on a daily or weekly basis. It’s simple – just instruct your bank to transfer a specific amount of money each week from your checking account to your savings account, and then don’t touch the savings account until a need arises.

Beyond that, we can save for things like retirement or for the education of our children. We don’t necessarily know that those things are coming, but we can see that many of our paths lead in those directions and that those paths will be much easier for us to follow if we take action today and save for those things.

Another useful way to prepare for an impermanent future to improve yourself. The stronger and more varied your personal skills, the easier it is to handle whatever changes may come your way in life. Work on your communication skills, your physical fitness, your self-control, your ability to not react emotionally to things, your information organization skills, your carpentry skills, and so on. All of those skills widen the possibility that you’ll be able to handle whatever changes may come in your career and your life. You can do this by taking online classes or getting involved in groups that help build skills, like Habitat for Humanity.

Another aspect of impermanence worth considering is the fact that the person you are tomorrow will be different than the person you are today. I often compare myself to who I was 10 or 15 years ago and the truth is that many of my interests and passions and uses of time are quite different than they once were.

What does that imply about your spending? Don’t buy anything you can borrow. I might be really tempted to buy a book or a game today, but will I still like it in five years? Many of the board games I bought several years ago are ones that I have no interest in playing today. Many of the books I bought several years ago are ones I have zero interest in re-reading. Why own these things? Borrow them from the library. Go to a community game night and play them.

Not only that, having piles of stuff means it’s harder to move to a new place. It’s harder to keep things clean and organized. It’s harder to move on to a new phase in life. Your stuff holds you back. It holds you in a spot in your life that might be fading away. In other words, it’s a call to minimalism. More and more, I’m finding that I want to have less stuff because it means that almost everything in life is easier going forward.

It means less money spent on physical items and thus more money that’s free to save for the future or to use to improve myself. It means less time and effort spent on maintaining things. It means more time to devote to other things that I care about and more time to devote to actually using the things that I do still own.

It also has interesting implications regarding your career. Don’t be attached to your job. Instead, look at it as a stepping stone, a place where if you do your best, you’ll be setting yourself up for more options later. (Again, we’re getting back to that theme of self-improvement that runs through all of this. Diversifying your options down the road means you’re better able to handle whatever changes may come.) What skills can you build here? What relationships can you build? What projects can you complete so well that you can show them off in a portfolio or on a resume? If you build genuine value in yourself, then you’re not just taking from your employer, as they have a more valuable employee, too. If you hit a home run with a project at work, you both win. If you build a new skill, you both win.

The final implication I want to discuss in this is one that has become very central to my life. Live your life as though today is the only one that matters.

Many people see that as an excuse to be irresponsible. I don’t. I actually see it as an excuse to be very responsible and productive.

Here’s why: although the statement makes it clear that your focus should be on today, it doesn’t say that your actions don’t have consequences. Everything you do is like tossing a rock into a still lake – it has waves that ripple out into the future in many ways. Many of your best days are the ones where you cast powerful positive waves out from the rocks you throw in. In other words, your best days are the ones where you make the most progress you can on the things you care about by focusing on the moment, by focusing on what you can really do today to make things better.

I can’t control the future, of course, but I can do things today that will roll forward with positive impact and potentially make the future better.

I like to use my children as an example. My children are constantly changing. I look at a picture of them from just a few years ago and I am stunned at the changes in them. I know that if I saw them as they will be a few years from now, I’ll be blown away at the changes.

However, I can’t do a thing about the past, and I can’t really do anything directly about the future, either. The only tool I have to guide them on a great path is right now – this very moment. I can choose to pay attention to them, to listen to them. I can choose to spend time with them in which they are my genuine focus. I can choose to control my emotions when they make a mistake and use every ounce of focus I have to guide them well. Will it be enough? Maybe. Will it be another key segment in a long journey? Absolutely.

You can look at finances in the exact same way. The choices you make today regarding your spending either cause money to drain out of your savings or allow money to stay there for your future self. It is only today when you have that choice – you can’t fix the choices of the past, nor can you do anything about what may happen tomorrow. You only have today to make the best choice.

In order to fuel this concept, I try to avoid looking at myself as unchanging. I will not live forever. I will age. I will not be as physically strong in the future. I will grow tired more easily. My mind may become a little muddled. In short, I’m probably as strong – or close to as strong – mentally and physically right now as I will be at any point after this. Why would I not, then, choose to bear some extra burdens now so that the weight is lifted from the shoulders of my future self? I don’t want to be struggling with work in my old age. I don’t want to be trying to handle a child that I didn’t give my full commitment to as they were growing up. I don’t want to be trying to build a career or trying to save desperately for retirement.

It is far better for me to take on the harder tasks now, when I know I can handle them, rather than later on, when I may not be able to. Life is impermanent. I may not be able to do these things later. I may not be as strong later in life. I may not be as focused later in life. I may not have a great job or a great career later in life. I have all of these things now. Why not use them before they slip away, as things do?

Yes, of course, there is that possibility that I might die tomorrow, that this is my last day, so why shouldn’t I enjoy it? On the other hand, if this is my last day to make a mark on this earth, what better way to spend it than by spending some meaningful time with my children or to do something that leaves as much behind as possible for them as they grow? What better way to spend it than to enjoy the wonderful things that the world already has on offer for me, like the sunshine on my skin and the things I already own, without throwing away elements of my future out of some sense of the unknown?

If this really is my last day on earth, I want to leave it in a state where Sarah knows that I love her, that my children know that I love them, that my parents know that I love them, that my friends know it, too. I want to go away knowing that I found joy in this world without just giving away everything I worked for. I don’t achieve any of that by shirking responsibility and spending every dime that I have. I achieve that by working as hard as I ever have, by focusing on the things that I care about the most in my life, by enjoying the pleasures I already have, and by accepting that none of this is permanent. That’s a pretty amazing day, and a fitting cap to a life well lived, I think. I can send no better ripples into the future than those.

“Ardently do today what must be done. Who knows? Tomorrow, death comes.” – The Buddha

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The post Life Isn’t Permanent: How to Handle (and Utilize) Impermanence in Your Money, Life, and Career appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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Insider Tips on Planning Your Wedding: A 20-Year Vendor’s Money-Saving Advice

From the moment the engagement ring is slipped on your fiancé’s finger, there’s one thing you can count on: unsolicited wedding advice. From your mom to your BFF to the cashier at Safeway, everyone has an opinion on how much money to spend on your wedding.

You’ve probably gone to dozens of weddings with no idea how much they really cost. The reality might shock you. In over 500 weddings as a wedding photographer, I never sat down with a couple who said, “We have an unlimited budget.” Everyone has a budget, and everyone values different things. For example, while you may have a hefty photography budget, you might not care as much about fancy invitations. Discuss what you value most with your beloved before you start scheduling appointments with vendors.

Here is some insider knowledge from a wedding vendor who’s seen enough to know what’s worth saving cash on, and what might not be.

Planners Aren’t Just For Platinum Weddings

A planner may save your sanity by helping you through the major stages of the wedding planning and might even be able to wrangle deals with preferred vendors.

I routinely threw in extra hours, special albums and other incentives to clients who were working with my favorite planner. Why? Because I knew their wedding was going to go smoothly and I would be able to kill it on their photos.

I can’t even count how many times I’ve pinned on boutonnieres, directed guests on where to sit, dug out a sewing kit from my bag to repair a broken bustle and even cut a wedding cake when the bride and groom didn’t know they had to pay the catering staff to do it — all that banquet waitressing in college paid off. Cutting a wedding cake is no joke.

I did these things because I was #teambrideandgroom, but guess what I wasn’t doing when I was doing all wedding planner stuff? My job. During those moments, my camera hung at my side while I did what I could to make sure the show went on.

Not every planner is going to be there the entire day wearing a headset and carrying a clipboard ala J-Lo. Many will offer their services in blocks of time that can help you with just planning the wedding and hiring vendors. Some also offer “day-of” services, meaning they will be at the wedding for part or all day. In any case, it’s worth a call to a few to feel them out and some even offer complimentary consults to see if it’s a good fit.

Having a planner on board means that your vendors can do what they do best rather than running interference for the small but not insubstantial things that always go wrong on a wedding day.

Those Perfect Pinterest Photos Aren’t Always Real Weddings

We know you’re pinning them. Those beautiful, elegant wedding photos of a bride and groom in a sunlit field without a hair out of place with gorgeous floral and baby goats dancing about.

They’re called “styled photo shoots” and photographers and editors love them for magazine and blog content, but they are not real weddings. In real life, the bride and groom would be sweaty from the humidity, bitten by bugs and the goats would be eating the bride’s flowers.

I once had a client who had visited a wedding mill photography studio where the “representative” assured her that it would be no problem to get a photo she really wanted in a park in front of a local bridge in Milwaukee. The only problem was, the photo she had shown them was from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Even Prince Charming can’t turn the Hoan Bridge into the Golden Gate, and she was mortified that they hadn’t corrected her.

There’s nothing wrong with using a photo from one of these managed editorials for inspiration for your own wedding, but be sure to manage your own expectations early on. The wedding industry is a multi-billion-dollar beast that always wants to show you the Cinderella story.

On a wedding day, time is often at a premium. As we talked over timelines, my clients were often surprised at the time commitment it would take to get those beautiful, sun-drenched photos at sunset, which always seemed to coincide with dinner hour. There’s nothing that will make a catering manager more angry than a photographer who drags the couple outside for photos while the prime rib overcooks.

Consider An Off-Date Or Shorter Wedding

This will vary by location, but some venues will offer discounts as much as 20 percent off the venue rental for off-season dates or non-Saturday weddings. Because “off-season” means something different in different areas, just ask the catering manager.

While you may not always get a discount, they may offer an add-on such as a free champagne toast or hors d’ oeuvres for dates they would like to fill.

If you find yourself increasingly stressed by the lists of people your parents insist you must invite, consider ditching traditional plans and embrace the tiny wedding movement.

Or shorten your special day into a brunch wedding. Because the venue may be able to book two events in the same space on the same day, you may get a great deal. Your guests can rave about the Bloody Mary bar and omelets — and you can get to the airport in the early afternoon to jet off to your honeymoon.

Be Honest With Your Vendors

Please don’t try to disguise your wedding as a “party” to your vendors when you inquire about their services. Some couples actually try this tactic to save money because they have heard that vendors will increase prices for a wedding.

It’s simply not true — and we know darn well that that 200 guest “garden party” on a Saturday in June is a wedding. A wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event and has very specific needs. Similarly, using phrases like “reasonably priced” and “doesn’t cost an arm and a leg” when you inquire won’t garner you any favors.

Do your research first to get an idea of the average cost of a service in your area. Set a budget and own it when you contact vendors. Start your conversation with what your budget is, what you might be willing to compromise on and go from there.

Most wedding vendors are small businesses, so they appreciate honesty and want to work with people who give it to them straight.

How hard do you think I worked for the bride in 2009 who cried alligator tears about her dying father and her limited budget, suckered me into a discount and when I showed up on the day she had eight ice sculptures, a stretch Hummer for the 23-person bridal party and fed me a cold turkey sandwich while her “dying” father grinded on the dance floor?

Answer: Not very hard. Let’s just say she got some photos.

Trust Your Vendors

Just like many industries, wedding industry people tend to know each other or at least have heard of each other and the reputations held in the area. Don’t be afraid to ask your venue, your photographer, florist, etc. for their referrals.

Vendors will not steer you wrong because they want to work with people who make their jobs easier, who make them look good and who make you happy. If you have budget concerns, ask your vendors what you can do to reduce costs.

Emily Neubauer, owner of Belle Fiori Florist in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, offers this advice for saving on your floral budget: “By letting your florist choose the most beautiful, fresh and seasonal flowers available in your aesthetic you will always get the best bang for your buck.

“If you love Peonies and get married in late June, we can certainly source them for you, but they are going to be small, expensive, and certainly nothing like the showy blooms we see in May.

“Instead, talk to us about your vision. We may have similar flowers that are gorgeous at the time you marry that we can feature that will be so much more impressive. Show us what you like, what you don’t like, and let us do our thing.”

Don’t Get Caught Up in a Trend

Wedding trends come and go. 2013’s cupcake craze morphed into 2017’s doughnut craze. During wedding planning, you’re going to be barraged by the latest and greatest “must haves” in wedding blogs and magazines, and opinions from every “expert” (that is, your sister who got married in 2003) on what you should do to make your wedding perfect.

It’s so easy to skip the wedding album so you can have the fancy Chivari chairs that you think will impress the guests or forgo the videographer so you can afford a food truck at midnight.

When you are trying to figure out what is most important, think forward. In 10 years are you going to be proud of the fancy chairs (will your guests even remember them?) and the tacos, or would that video of your dad giving a speech mean more to you?

There are only a few legal requirements to be married. These include a marriage license, a witness and someone to marry you — for around a few hundred bucks. Everything else is a “want.” With some savvy planning you can get what you want and still have that happily ever after.

Kimberley Anderson is a newly retired wedding photographer who spent 20 years in the trenches. She still can’t believe how many things there are to do on a Saturday besides going to a wedding. Now you can find her helping local area wedding businesses with blogging and social media.

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This is What Happens When You Borrow Money From Your 401(k)

Christine Cummings and her fiancé recently found their dream home. However, neither of them had been in the home-buying market for quite some time, and they thought they wouldn’t need their down payment until the closing date. But when they went to sign their mortgage papers, the bank asked for the lump sum — that they didn’t have — in less than a week.

The hurdle? Cummings, the vice president of marketing for All Set, is an immigrant from Germany who’s here on a working visa. She worked in Europe for more than 30 years, and the majority of her savings was sitting in a European bank. Because international money transfers involve a lengthy process, she wasn’t sure she would get her portion of the down payment in time.

An idea popped into her fiancé’s head: After hearing his friends talk about taking short-term loans from their 401(k)s, he decided to explore the option. He realized getting the loan would be as easy as logging into his account and paying a fee of less than $20.

So, they did it. They took the 401(k) loan, made the down payment on the house and reimbursed the account as soon as Cummings’ funds from Germany arrived.

“There was a little bit of a thought process because we’re both under the understanding that you don’t want to touch your 401(k), you know, until you retire,” said Cummings. “But since we knew we had the money and that we had to do it to beat the processing time for the money from Germany, we just decided to go for it.”

401(k) Loans: Part of a Bigger Problem

While Cummings had enough money to cover her down payment, not everyone else is in a similar situation.

In general, Americans are lacking when it comes to having cash on hand.

According to a recent GoBankingRates study, 69% of Americans have less than $1,000 in their savings accounts.

Ouch.

This means they often don’t have the means to cover emergencies, let alone make major purchases, such as a home.

So, some folks are tempted to take a loan from their 401(k)s.

There are rules associated with doing this, though.

Forbes reports that most 401(k) plans allow you to take out loans, although specifics vary by plan. Typically, you’re allowed to borrow up to 50% of your entire account balance up to $50,000 You must repay the loan within five years, although the repayment schedule can usually be extended to 10 years if you use the loan to pay for a down payment on a home.

But is it really a good idea?

We spoke to some experts to find out.

When is it OK to Take a 401(k) Loan?

Some financial planners say taking money out of a 401(k) strategically can work to your benefit.

Pedro Silva from Profo Financial Services says taking money out of a retirement fund can be appropriate if the money is put toward a long-term goal that helps you build a better future.

Silva says it may be appropriate to use a 401(k) loan to eliminate consumer debt, buy a home or start a business, but he also warns of situations when you should never take out a 401(k) loan.

“401(k) loans should typically not be used for treating ourselves as in vacations or for depreciating assets, such as a car or a boat,” he said.

But Travis Sickle of Sickle Hunter Financial Advisors in Tampa, Florida, says he finds it difficult to justify taking money from a 401(k) for anything but retirement.

A retirement account is a long-term investment, he says, and taking money out prematurely means you’re missing out on the opportunity for continued growth.

You’re also paying interest on your loan, although it’s usually at a modest rate.

MarketWatch reports that plans usually set a default interest rate that’s about 1 or 2 percentage points above the prime rate. That means those who have borrowers who don’t have good credit could pay less interest with a 401(k) loan than they would if they took out a loan from a third-party lender.

Still, unless your situation is so dire that it prevents you from having “a roof over your head and food on the table,” Sickle doesn’t advise taking out a 401(k) loan.

What Happens When You Take Money From Your 401(k) Early?

It’s important to note that a 401(k) loan is not the same thing as a 401(k) hardship withdrawal.

A loan is a set amount of money you take out of your account and promise to pay back; a hardship withdrawal is money that you take out of the account preretirement and don’t have to pay back.

While 401(k) loans are generally easy to obtain (there aren’t many requirements or specifications as to what you can use a 401(k) loan for), hardship withdrawals are much more regulated by the IRS. Only certain situations, such as down payments for houses, funeral expenses, medical expenses and more are grounds for taking out a 401(k) withdrawal.

If you end up withdrawing money from your 401(k) early — before age 59 ½, although there are some exceptions — you’ll owe income tax on the amount you withdraw and pay a 10% penalty.

If you leave your job for any reason, you’ll likely have to repay your loan within 60 days — otherwise, it is considered an early withdrawal and subject to income tax and the 10% penalty. Same goes for if you don’t make a payment for 90 days.

Why it Could Get Harder to Borrow From Your 401(k)

The Wall Street Journal reports that many employers see 401(k) loans as a major risk to the ability of their employees to retire (and make way for younger employees who work for less pay). Many companies are taking steps to make it harder for employees to borrow from their 401(k) plans.

These precautionary steps include requirements that employees wait 90 days after repaying a 401(k) loan before taking out another one or meet with a financial counselor before borrowing from their retirement accounts.

Alternatives to 401(k) Loans

After reading about 401(k) loans, you might be feeling a bit uncomfortable with all of the risks and contingencies.

If you’re still in a bind and are considering taking money out of your retirement account, check out our article about ways to avoid penalties when you take money out of your 401(k).

If you’re still wondering about your options when it comes to taking out a loan of any type, check out our article about the best and worst ways to borrow money.

Another option? If it’s not an emergency, hold off on the purchase. If you don’t have the money now, it might not be a good time to make it.

This article contains general information and explains options you may have, but it is not intended to be investment advice or a personal recommendation. We can’t personalize articles for our readers, so your situation may vary from the one discussed here. Please seek a licensed professional for tax advice, legal advice, financial planning advice or investment advice.

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

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The Overlooked Job Skill That Could Be the Key to Your Next Raise

It’s time to come clean about something that brings me shame: Up until a few years ago, I was a “hunt-and-peck” typist. I only used five fingers, and I had to look down at the keyboard every few seconds while I worked.

I know, I know. I was supposed to learn “touch typing” — all 10 fingers dancing around the keyboard without looking down, choreographed by muscle memory — during a middle school computer class. Unfortunately, I spent more time secretly playing computer games with my friends than focusing on learning the craft of typing. (Sorry, Mrs. Ames.)

When I started freelance writing, I figured it was time to get my act together and learn how to type like an adult. I was sick of slogging through assignments doing the five-finger shimmy.

I eventually got my act together, and I’m so glad that I did. Not only am I more efficient with my work, but the latest research suggests that remote workers who can type well are giving themselves a big leg up in the workplace. Touch typing on a physical keyboard, so overlooked in a world of smartphones and voice recognition devices, could hold the key to quicker promotions, more prestige, and higher paying positions.

The Research

A recent study out of the University of Iowa showed that those who can type quickly are more likely to emerge as leaders of remote groups. That’s a direct correlation between typing speed and being perceived as a high performer.

It goes without saying that high performers at work get promotions and raises more quickly. Thus, better typing skills should lead to higher salaries. Somewhere, Mrs. Ames is reading this and thinking, “I told you so!”

The Iowa study found that “individuals who can type faster are able to more quickly communicate their thoughts and drive the direction of a team.” In my experience, that is spot on.

I’ve been a part of innumerable Skype chats with people from all over the world. When things get tense and critical business decisions have to be made, my chat window will fill up with little “thought bubbles.” These indicate that multiple people are typing at once.

Whoever gets their thoughts written (coherently) and sent the fastest has the best chance of driving the conversation. It’s simply human nature. We want to follow a fearless leader, and quick, decisive writing indicates someone who is bold and confident. My company has a fairly flat structure, where input from many voices is taken into account. In offices like that, speed definitely matters.

Furthermore, the nature of both chats and email chains is such that any responses must at least acknowledge the content that came before it. If you completely disregard what someone has said before you, you run the chance of coming across as arrogant and also confusing people. If you want to have your voice heard, it’s best to be a fast responder.

But accuracy matters as well. If you’re always replying quickly but you misspell a bunch of words, that will reflect poorly on you. The researchers noted that individuals were only perceived as leaders after “taking into account both speed and accuracy.”

That being the case, you want to take the advice of legendary basketball coach John Wooden: “Be quick, but don’t hurry.” You’ll be much better equipped to do that if you’re a confident touch typist.

The Rise of the Remote Workforce and ‘Business Chat’

Each year, more and more Americans are spending time working outside the office. As of 2017, “43% of employed Americans said they spent at least some time working remotely,” according to the New York Times.

These workers are relying more and more on Skype, Slack, and similar “business chat” technologies. Slack, in particular, has been growing like crazy. The young company is already valued at over $1 billion. There’s a lot more “business chat” going on via keyboard communication than even just a few years ago. Meetings are dying, and text-based chats are taking their place.

If the rapid adaptation of chat services by big companies is indicative of a trend toward more written communication in the workplace, than employees who can type clearly and quickly will only increase in value over time. This applies whether you work remotely or not.

Resources: Teach Yourself How to Type

If you’re hiding in the hunt-and-peck closet and you’re ready to step out into the light, a quick Google search for “how to type” will serve you well. There are tons of free online tools to help you improve your skills. I found the free lessons at Typing.com to be intuitive and challenging. Plus, they make it easy to chart your progress.

Most community colleges offer typing courses as well. If you learn better with an in-person instructor, those would be a great option.

In my case, breaking my bad habits was really hard at first. Muscle memory is powerful. Try eating your morning cereal with your weak hand, and you’ll get a small feel for just how difficult it is to build up new fine motor skill pathways.

But, keep in mind that this is not like learning to speak fluent Mandarin Chinese. Within a few months, you can go from being an embarrassingly slow typist to one that is above average. I am living proof.

Summing Up

If you’re interested in learning one skill that has a low barrier of entry and a high return on investment, touch typing is a great choice.

Steve Charlier, who led the Iowa study on typing and leadership, puts it best: “Individuals who can type fast are simply able to communicate more information within a given period of time. In turn, adept users of electronic communication are more likely to set strategy, drive conversations, and influence work teams as a whole.”

If you have dreams of improving your standing at work, becoming a great typist can be one of the keys to making them a reality.

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