Common Work-at-Home Scams You NEED to Stay Away From

By Holly Reisem Hanna You've seen it before: Get paid thousands to start Easy jobs from home No experience necessary Earn thousands today Unfortunately, in the work-at-home niche, scams abound. Some work-at-home scams are more obvious than others (and occasionally legit opportunities may sound like a scam, too). It's hard to weed out the legitimate, […]

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Mother-daughter team up to train dogs for the deaf

Leonardo walked through the sliding glass doors and up the staircase of the Monroe County Courthouse. The yellow lab/golden retriever mix passed through the metal detector at the top of the stairs, and a sheriff’s deputy used a metal-detecting wand to scan Leonardo’s vest.Fortunately, all it contained was poopie bags and business cards.Natalie and Linette Martino of Saylorsburg trained Leonardo as a service dog for a hearing-impaired California woman. He [...]

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Here’s How a Proposed Spending Bill Could Affect Your Financial Aid Award

Sometimes, keeping up with all of the complex decisions being made in this country feels like an insurmountable task.

And it might be — I mean, no matter your political leanings, the sheer volume of issues up for debate means that staying up to date will leave you dizzy, at best.

The truth is, there’s a lot on the line for people from all walks of life as we navigate a confusing landscape of upheaval and realignment. The decisions being made affect all of us in one way or another.

We have to pay attention sometimes — and this is one of those times.

So let’s talk about a federal spending bill that was up for consideration last week, because it has the potential to affect you or someone close to you (like your teenager who’s gearing up for college).

Wait, What Exactly Are We Talking About?

The fiscal year 2018 House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill was approved by the House Appropriations Committee with a vote of 31-21 on Thursday.

It still needs to pass through the House and the Senate before heading to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature, but the subcommittee approval is the first step in the process of instating the new budget.

This bill (which is different than the budget Trump proposed in May) affects the Federal Pell Grant Program, among many, many other things.

And the Pell Grant Program? Well, that affects how much federal financial aid low-income college students are given each year.

A Pell Grant is a need-based subsidy provided by the federal government that helps low-income students pay for college. A Pell Grant is awarded based on a number of factors, including income and whether the student is enrolled full time or part time, and is the foundation on which the rest of the student’s financial aid is structured.

What Does This Spending Bill Propose?

The bill will cut about $2.4 billion from the Education Department’s budget, and will rescind another $3.3 billion out of the Pell surplus. (Here’s a brief overview of the Pell surplus, along with a bit of its history.)

The bill will also freeze the maximum Pell Grant award at $5,920 per year, meaning that over the next several years, the money awarded will have less purchasing power behind it as inflation and the cost of college continue to rise.

“The current maximum Pell Grant covers the lowest share of college costs in over 40 years,” according to Jessica Thompson, policy and research director for the Institute for College Access & Success.

Freezing it at this amount is a move that Thompson calls an “assault on equitable access to higher education,” as students will have to start borrowing more than their higher-income peers in order to achieve the same level of education.

This will only serve to perpetuate the vicious cycle that many low-income families are trapped in — a sickening merry-go-round of too-little aid, too many loans, too-high interest rates, and, in many cases, the need to drop out of college indefinitely (thus leading to lower-paying jobs and, subsequently, a cross-generational lack of access to higher education.)

Trump must sign the bill by Oct.1, which is the start of the 2018 fiscal year. That’s when we’ll find out what the future of the Pell Grant Program will be — and what that means for students who depend on that financial aid.

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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This Is Why You Could Get an Amazing Deal on a Gently Used Car This Summer

If you’re in the market for a different car this summer, the outlook is sunny.

If you need to trade in a vehicle to make that switch, things could get a little cloudier, but we’ll get into that in a minute.

Vehicles were flying out the door at dealerships due to the booming economy over the last few years. Unfortunately for car dealers, all those new cars they leased are now flooding the lightly used car market, which could make this summer the best time to buy a car we’ve seen in years.

Here’s what you need to know to take advantage of the hot summer car market.

Sedans and Subcompacts Are the Way to Go

When gas was upward of $4 per gallon, people were dropping their SUVs and pickup trucks like crazy. That’s not the case anymore. With gas prices down, SUVs, crossovers and pickups are all the rage.

This has led to sedans and subcompacts overflowing dealer lots, and dealers want to get rid of them. Badly.

Research the market and see if there is a car that looks right for you. If your budget can handle it, the best deals are on those lightly used end-of-lease vehicles that are returning to dealerships. In other words, the best values are on 2- to 3-year-old vehicles with very low miles. You might be able to get a used car with fewer than 20,000 miles on it for dramatically less than you’d pay for a new one. There are good deals on older vehicles this summer too, but the best bang for your buck is with a newer used car.

Skip the Trade-In and Sell it Yourself

The flip side of this summer’s buyer’s market is that dealers don’t really want your old car. If you try to trade it in, you may get a fraction of what it’s worth. Instead, look up your vehicle’s make, model, year and mileage on websites like autotrader.com to see what similar cars are going for.

For instance, my 1998 Lumina shows a $300 to $600 estimated trade-in value on Kelly Blue Book. On Autotrader, I can find similar cars going for $2,000 or more. Even if I sell it for less than what others are selling for, I’ll still come out ahead compared to the trade-in value.

Here’s the caveat: If you have an SUV, crossover or pickup to trade in, you may still get a good offer. Those vehicles are a hot commodity right now, and dealers are much more willing to shell out decent coin to get them.

The Buyer’s Market Will Continue (for Now)

If you’re ready for a different vehicle right now, there are some great deals out there. But if you’re not quite ready yet, don’t sweat it; sources like Morgan Stanley believe used car prices will crash in the next couple years.

As always, go in with a plan, know what you’re willing to pay and negotiate a better price. This summer, you hold all the cards.

Tyler Omoth is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder who loves soaking up the sun and finding creative ways to help others. Catch him on Twitter at @Tyomoth.

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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Everyone’s Flipping Out Over $3 Groceries, but Do We Really Need Brandless?

Do the labels on your groceries matter to you?

Or do you brush aside brand loyalty and grab whichever option is cheapest?

A new company is trying to meet you in the middle with a fixed-price selection of groceries, household and personal items in its online store, where everything costs $3.

Brandless, which launched last week, is trying to remove the “BrandTax” from the stuff you buy on a regular basis. All its products have minimalistic labels that explain only the product and nothing about Brandless itself.

Ignore that “BrandTax” is suddenly a compound, trademarked buzzword here. It is actually a real thing.

Brandless identifies it as “the hidden costs that come with buying a national brand.” A lot of the hidden costs come not from the quality of the product, but instead from the way the product is marketed to customers.

Big brands spend big money to get their products in front of customers, whether through ad campaigns, partnering with rebate apps, paying for prime shelf space at grocery stores or all of the above.

So instead of fighting to get its products on your grocery store shelves, Brandless is going directly to consumers by selling online. It’s disrupting something, right?

Not this time. Not yet.   

Grocery Shopping Is More Complex Than Ever

Online shopping and its myriad algorithms have had a major hand in upending the game where companies with big budgets get the most airtime. Seemingly endless options lead most shoppers to choose many items based on price alone, rather than their attachment to a certain brand. The glut of options online and savvier shoppers at grocery stores mean the only thing left to compete on is price.

“Brandless is about limiting the choice,” co-founder Tina Sharkey told Marketplace. “It’s about curating the just what matters. It’s overwhelming to use a web service with a database of millions and millions of products to figure out the ones you want, how to shop, how to identify the values.”

Brandless is up to 115 products so far, with categories for food, personal care and beauty items, and even office supplies and basic kitchenware.

Everything Brandless offers looks nice, but what market gap is it really trying to fill?  

The company isn’t even claiming that it’ll save you tons of money. It’s about getting quality without high prices. But that just-right Goldilocks combo does come with a catch. Orders don’t get free shipping until you’ve spent $72. Brandless B.More members who pay $36 per year only have to spend $48 to get free shipping.

Brandless will grow, but with current offerings of just more than 100 products, there’s no compelling reason to go online, choose $50 or more worth of home goods, and wait patiently for them to arrive.

Is Store-Brand Stigma Over?

Shoppers have already found ways to deal with the paradox of choice, a phrase coined by Barry Schwartz, who argues, “With so many options to choose from, people find it very difficult to choose at all.”  

Now, some store-brand products have cult followings (we see you, Trader Joe’s everything). Some entire chains, like Aldi, have built a whole business model on shoppers caring more about price tags than looks.

At warehouse clubs, part of the appeal is access to a lot of private-label goods. On Amazon, the company’s own lines are some of the fastest selling.

And grocers are relying so much on their private-label brands being moneymakers, they’re suing each other over naming rights.

People are done caring about what’s fancy. They have abandoned some of the need to keep up appearances. They’ve moved on to cheap and easy.

So the barbecue sauce you could snag from Brandless for $3 might cost less at your local grocery store. Same for the cotton balls, the dish soap and the bag of pasta. Brandless makes it easy to shop by values — organic, gluten-free, kosher, non-GMO — but elevated house brands have cropped up in traditional grocers too.

“Everything’s $3” is a nice calling card, but it may not be enough during these grocery wars.

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

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

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This Is Why it Could Soon Get a Lot Easier to Sue Your Credit Card Company

How closely do you read the fine print when you sign up for a credit card, bank account or payday loan?

By signing on a bunch of dotted lines without having fully squinted at all the legalese details, you may have given up your right to sue your financial institution as part of a class-action group.

But a new rule the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau adopted last week seeks to give you the right to sue.

Is Arbitration-Free the Way to Be?

By limiting customers to arbitration or individual small-claims lawsuits, financial institutions prevent customers affected by the same practices from pooling their power as a group. Arbitration can be prohibitively expensive, and filing in small-claims court can take a long time and comes with fees of its own.

The CFPB illustrates the issue with this example in a video: If your bank charges you $20 by mistake and won’t give you a refund, you probably don’t have the time or money to sue the bank on your own. You just say “Goodbye, money, nice knowing you” and resign yourself to the power of the bank. But who knows how many other people who use the same service have experienced the same inconvenience?

The new rule wouldn’t prohibit arbitration clauses as long as those clauses don’t restrict consumers from taking part in group legal action. Specific language for such clauses in new contracts will have to follow guidelines set forth by the CFPB. If you open a new account after the rule goes into effect, you’ll have this additional protection.

The new rule could go into effect next year, unless Congress blocks it using the Congressional Review Act, which allows lawmakers a final say on new federal regulations. If Congress doesn’t like the CFPB rule when it gets published in the Federal Register, members have 60 legislative days (days when Congress is actually in session) to vote against it by majority vote.

Why Big Banks Hate Class-Action Lawsuits

By limiting the ways consumers can take legal action against them, financial institutions almost guarantee they won’t have to answer to customers after messing up.

When the CFPB collected data for a 2015 report to Congress about arbitration practices, it asked consumers what they’d do in the event of noticing an incorrect fee on their credit card bill.

“Consumers rarely consider bringing formal claims in any forum, arbitration or litigation, as a response — even after exhausting more informal procedures, such as customer service,” the report noted.

Consumers were also found to be “generally unaware” of the arbitration clauses in their credit card contracts. They also don’t know about arbitration clause opt-outs they might have been able to sign up for. Only 2% of consumers with credit cards told the CFPB they would consider legal action to resolve an issue involving a small amount of money.

“By forcing consumers to give up or go it alone — usually over small amounts — companies can sidestep the court system, avoid big refunds, and continue harmful practices,” the CFPB said in a press release. “The CFPB’s new rule will deter wrongdoing by restoring consumers’ right to join together to pursue justice and relief through group lawsuits.”

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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Pilot Flying J Will Celebrate National Hot Dog Day All Week With Free Food

For whatever reason, hot dogs seem to be popular these days.

If you use Snapchat, then you know the dancing hot dog has gained serious attention lately.

I’m talking about this dude:

You know what that means? It means this year’s National Hot Dog Day is going to be one for the ages.

If you’re in the mood for a free hot dog (or maybe another treat!) this week, you’re in luck: A popular travel center is offering free food (including hot dogs) in observance of National Hot Dog Day.

Sorry, dancing hot dog man, we’re about to eat all your friends.

How to Get Free Food From Pilot Flying J This Week

Starting July 19, Pilot Flying J will offer a free roller-grill item to anyone who brings in this coupon. If you don’t have a printer, don’t worry — you can show the cashier the coupon on your phone.

Pilot Flying J will limit this deal to one per customer per day (I know, bummer), but the good news is it’s valid in the U.S. and Canada.

If you’re not a fan of hot dogs, you can choose from cheese smokies, cheeseburger links, Tornados, chicken rollerbites, tamales and eggrolls.

The deal runs through July 26 at 11:59 p.m., which means you could eat free food every day for a week.

Pilot Flying J is a chain of truck stops in North America that has more than 750 locations. You don’t have to be a truck driver to enjoy it, either — its stores are open to everyone.

So, whether you’re a hot dog lover or not, get ready for some free food this week from Pilot Flying J.

Enjoy!

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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Hurry to IHOP to Feast on a 59-Cent Stack of Pancakes This Tuesday Only

It’s July, and I’m sure you’ve I’ve already given up on New Year’s resolutions, so I’m all ears when it comes to this delicious food deal.

And since I’m oh so nice, I’m here to share it with you. (How does that Chainsmokers song go? “If we go down, then we go down together?”)

Get ready — cheap pancakes are coming.

How to Get Cheap IHOP Pancakes This Week

There’s something so beautiful about IHOP. Whether you’re 16 and there at 1 a.m. because there’s nothing better to do or 35 and taking your kids in for a treat, it’s pretty charming.

Plus, what’s life without some fluffy buttermilk pancakes?

No matter how old you are, you’ll want to take part in IHOP’s 59th anniversary celebration, which will include 59-cent short stacks of buttermilk pancakes

You read that right: three delicious pancakes for a little more than half a buck. I’ll take it!

The offer is valid on July 18, the breakfast chain’s 59th anniversary, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sorry, but the offer is limited to one short stack per customer (but I know you could eat more), and only dine-in customers are eligible.

You don’t need a coupon either. Just head in and order your 59-cent pancakes.

Thanks, IHOP! Turning 59 looks good on you. 

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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How You Could Earn an Extra $180 This Year… Doing Pretty Much Nothing

How would you feel if you had an extra $180 right now?

You’d probably feel preeettttty good — I know I would.

And recently, I figured out an easy way to earn that over the course of the next year. All you need is the help of your favorite technological devices.

Here’s what you’ve gotta do…

How to Get Started With SavvyConnect

The key is to use a platform called SavvyConnect.

Install its software on your devices — phone, tablet, computer — and let it work in the background. While you browse the internet, it “unobtrusively includes you in behavioral market research.”

In return for your contributions, SavvyConnect will pay you $5 per device, per month. If you install three devices, that adds up to $180 over the course of a year!

And once you install the software, it requires ZERO effort on your part.

The software is compatible with iPhones and iPads running iOS 8.0 or higher, but you can’t download it onto a Macbook (I tried). I guess two out of three ain’t bad. You can also download it on Android devices running OS 4.1 and newer, as well as on computers running Windows XP SP3 or higher.

If you aren’t comfortable sharing your information, there are still other ways to earn with SavvyConnect.

The easiest? Refer your friends and family to the platform.

For every project your referrals complete, you’ll earn $5-$15. And for every project completed by someone they refer (indirect referrals), you’ll earn another $2-$6.

Don’t forget they’re earning money, too.

“In order for you to qualify for these incentives, your referrals (direct or indirect) must install and keep active the SavvyConnect software,” the website explains.

Alternatively, you can complete surveys with parent company SurveySavvy — once you fill out an online profile, it’ll send relevant surveys your way.

And, as a member of SavvyConnect, you might be eligible for “exclusive high-paying” surveys, according to the website.

There is one notable downside to the company: It pays via check. In the mail. I don’t know about you, but that seems pretty archaic to me.

Still, if you’re (nearly) effortlessly earning money, it might be worth tolerating the old-fashioned payment method!

Disclosure: Here’s a toast to the affiliate links in this post. May we all be just a little richer today.

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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Hertz is Hiring Work-From-Home Sales Agents — and You’ll Get a $150 Bonus

Sales jobs suck sometimes, but you might feel more in control of how much money you make.

Plus, sometimes you find companies that offer a wealth of bonuses — like Hertz.

Right now, Hertz is hiring a work-from-home sales specialist. Per the job listing, Hertz promises a $150 sign-on bonus, plus a $500 guaranteed bonus in your first month of bonus eligibility.

You can also get paid up to $1,100 in bonuses your first year.

Another “bonus”? You’re working from home!

Hertz is Filling Work-From-Home Sales Jobs

As an Express Rent sales specialist you’ll work 40 hours a week.

Hours of operation are 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. all week, so that’ll be the window you need to make yourself available. Overtime is possible, too.

You’ll receive a “competitive” base hourly pay, as well as all those bonuses. (I reached out about base pay and will update this article as soon as I hear back.)

As noted, you’ll be working with the Express Rent sector of Hertz. This allows customers to walk up to a kiosk at any number of locations — airport or otherwise — and select a rental car through a live video chat with a representative.

And surprise! That’s your face on the video.

Hertz is looking for someone driven by sales, as you’ll hustle to sell additional products like extended coverages, upgrades and fuel options.

You’re Qualified to Work in Sales at Hertz If…

Hertz is looking for someone who has at least a year in sales and customer service. You should be able to operate a computer and type at a decent speed.
Because you’ll be on video, you should also be able to “project a professional appearance,” as well as engage with a variety of customers.

You should understand maps and driving directions, too.

Training is approximately five weeks long and all virtual.

If you’re interested in this work-from-home opportunity, here’s the complete job listing. You can apply right online, too.

If you’re not into video chat or sales, our Facebook jobs page shares a ton of other opportunities.

Carson Kohler (@CarsonKohler) 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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The Minimalists Break Down Getting Rid of Stuff and Simplifying Your Life

Hiring Managers Are Definitely Googling You. Here’s How to Impress Them

Find $2,000 in Savings Every Year Just by Visiting Your Local Library

My public library has saved me a bundle over the years.

This year, I’ve saved about $2,000 using my library as a free resource, and it’s really paying off —  my family is excited to use what we’ve saved to take a five-day vacation to the San Juan Islands this summer.

The following estimates are based on personal experience and savings, but they should work for most small families.

1. Books, of Course

With the convenience of Amazon and the prevalence of inexpensive e-books, it might be tempting to buy a new book occasionally. If you were to buy all the books your family reads, the cost would add up.

Interlibrary loan programs make it possible to reserve even brand-new releases for pickup. Sure, you’ll have to wait awhile to read the bestsellers, but your piggy bank will thank you.

If your family purchases two books per month for around $15 each, getting those books for free from the library will save you around $30 per month. That’s a savings of $360 per year.

2. Movies and Television Shows

Opting out of cable, satellite and Netflix could easily save you at least $50 per month, depending on your current entertainment solution.

For example, the basic Netflix subscription starts at $7.99 per month, and Dish network’s lowest price is $49.99 per month. To cut the price and still give everyone something fun to watch, our solution is to check out your library’s free-to-borrow DVDs.

The DVD section at your local library likely stocks your favorite action and romance movies, and it will often carry full volumes of television series and popular documentaries. Making the switch from Dish Network saved my family $600 per year.

3. Internet and Computer Access

If you’re looking to reduce your monthly internet bill (who isn’t), the library has computers and free internet available for use. You typically need to be a member of the library and have to sign up for an allotted time to use the internet.

Before I had a computer, I used the library computers to apply for jobs online. Library computers often pack otherwise expensive programs like Microsoft Word that can help you build your resume or complete school projects.

Xfinity’s cheapest plan for internet service is $19.99 per month, but you can only get that price if you live on the West Coast. Prices for Spectrum are higher on the East Coast, starting at $44.99 per month. If you don’t pay for the internet at home, you could save at least $240 per year.

4. Meeting Rooms

If you have a playgroup or writer’s meetup, or you need a place for business meetings, some libraries have free conference rooms available.

Before I discovered this, I researched office spaces for my writing group. The cheapest space I found near me was $25 per hour through Davinci Workspaces. Our monthly meetings would have cost $50 to $75 each.

Instead, I reserved space at the library. It only required a fully refundable deposit. Check your local library’s web page for more information about its available rooms and requirements. Holding meetings at your local library could save you or your group over $600 per year.

5. Free Storytime and Games

As a mother to small children, I know how important it is to get them out of the house for some entertainment now and then.

There’s a fair number of places that provide play equipment but charge a fee or require you to buy food or beverages. A monthly visit to the local pizza play place would cost $12 for one child to play and eat.

Skip it and go to the library’s free storytime instead. My library also has some floor puzzles and lots of board books for little ones. There is also a park across the street, so I pack sandwiches and make it a whole day of free fun. This small change has saved me $144 per year.

6. Events for the Whole Family

Instead of taking classes that cost money, you can take advantage of the free events offered at your library. My local library has a summer reading program that offers free books and coupons for fast-food restaurants and theme parks at the end of the program for adults and children. In the past, we’ve scored discount tickets to our local theme park and savings at Dairy Queen.

Your library may also offer writing groups, book clubs and presentations on a variety of topics. Some of the informational talks I’ve seen offered included finance, gardening, parenting and retirement planning.

My local library also has a community theater that offers free performances a few times a year in exchange for a donated book or can of food. If you pay to see children’s theater at the regular price, tickets cost around $15 per person.

So if a family of four attended one play per year that would be $60. Or if your family paid for movie tickets at $10 per person that would be $40. You can see how checking out events at your library a few times a year could  save you $100 or more.

7. Used Book Sales

A few times each year, my library has a used book sale to raise funds and make room for new books. I use these sales to buy stocking stuffers and birthday add-ons for my 7-year-old.

These sales are also a chance to treat myself to a few books that would cost me around $15 each new. Most of the used books are on sale for $1 or $2.

For example, at my library’s sale you could buy 25 early reader books for $2 each —  saving you $50 a year. Even with more than one child, that’s a great assortment of books for your child’s library at a fraction of the cost of new copies.

While it may be an inconvenience to run to the library for things you could buy without leaving the house, the savings have been well worth it for me.

By visiting your local library as an alternative for education and entertainment, you could save at least as much as I did — over $2,000 per year. Even if you only take advantage of a few of my recommendations, you’ll likely wind up with enough savings to take a trip or pay off some debt.

Melissa Uhles is a freelance writer, novelist, and mother. Living as a creative person in expensive cities for many years ignited her frugal spirit.  

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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Class Action Alert: Get Up to $105 From These 5 Companies’ Settlements

Watching ‘Game of Thrones’ With Your Parents’ Password? You’re Not Alone

I’m not big on gifts. I live in an apartment the size of a postage stamp with no room for anything that isn’t a necessity.

So when my older brother asked me what I wanted for my birthday last year, it was easy. I wanted his Netflix password.

For the past few months, I’ve been using his account from about 300 miles away.

I don’t own a TV, but there are still a few shows I like to keep up with like “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” and “Insecure.” And while I’m not a fan, I know pretty much everyone else in the world will be at home Sunday night to catch the new season of “Game of Thrones.”

All three shows are on HBO, and I don’t pay to watch those either.

Instead, I use my mom’s Xfinity account. While I don’t have access to local networks, like ABC and NBC, I can watch live broadcasts on HBO, HGTV, Food Network and other cable channels she has at home.

I’m Not Alone in My Netflix Password Sharing

My only responsibility? Pay my monthly internet bill. I am a 28-year-old millennial and, according to a new Reuters study, I’m not alone.

Of the people in my age range (25 to 34) who answered a recent survey, 15% said they stream video content with an account and password that belongs to someone they don’t live with.

About 21% of adults between ages 18 and 24 said they use someone else’s account to access streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and HBO Go.

While younger adults are the most likely to satisfy their entertainment needs by freeloading off an account someone else pays for, about 12% of all people said they did the same.

Honestly, I’m surprised the numbers aren’t even higher.

The Gravy Train Will Keep Running — For Now

If you, like me, are happily saving money on subscription services by not paying for them at all and using someone else’s, you should know those companies are probably aware of what you’re up to.

But stopping you is not at the top of their priority list — at least not yet.

According to Time, HBO Go and Netflix would love it if you’d stop freeloading, but they also know implementing strict usage rules might alienate existing customers. Instead, the companies look at this as a means of advertising their services.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings even said a kid who uses a parent’s or sibling’s account is more likely to eventually sign up for an individual account when they are financially able.

Hastings sees password sharing as a way to make sure you know exactly what you will miss if you ever get sick of asking mom for the new password or want something else for you birthday from your older brother.

If the rules changed overnight and suddenly cut my access to my brother’s Netflix and my mom’s cable, I would probably try to tough it out for a bit before I gave in.

Eventually, though, I’d probably pay for HBO Go first and then Netflix. The rest of the cable channels are nice to have for an uneventful Friday night, but I don’t see myself ever paying for cable again.

Desiree Stennett is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. When her birthday comes around this year, she’ll probably ask her brother to get a Hulu account and give up the password to that too.

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 Post Will Make You Think Twice About Throwing Away Your Receipts

Honestly, I’ve always hated receipts.

They usually roll around like tumbleweeds in the backseat of my car.

Or, after a night out, my purse is stuffed with ’em.

The worst mess occurs in my inbox after a night of impulse shopping on Zappos.

They’ve always reminded me of money I’ve spent, which I don’t love thinking about. And just when I do need them — for a return or a warranty — they disappear. Just like that.

But recently, I discovered I need to treat receipts with more care. That’s because I could be earning money back with them.

Do I sound crazy? Probably, per usual. But here’s what I’m talking about.

1. Take a Picture of Your Receipt Using Ibotta

Ibotta is an easy-to-use cash-back app that’s partnered with more than 50 retailers, just about anywhere you’d do any kind of shopping.

Before heading out on a grocery run, I find items on my shopping list within the app. Strawberries? Check. An ear of corn? Check. I add each cash-back opportunity to my rebate list within the app.

Then I shop.

When I get home and am unloading my groceries, I take a photo of my receipt then scan the items’ barcodes.

Bam. Cash back.

Some cash-back opportunities I’ve recently taken advantage of include:

• 25 cents back for any item

• 25 cents back on strawberries

• 50 cents back on frozen fruit snacks

• $1 back on a box of tea

• $5 back on a case of Shiner Bock beer

The app works the same for stores like Walmart and Target, too. Even drugstores like CVS.

The app is free to download. Plus, you’ll get a $10 sign-up bonus after your first rebate. 

2. Don’t Delete Your Amazon Receipt

That’s my first inclination.

*Delete.*

I don’t really want evidence of my online shopping binge to linger, but I found a free tool that makes me reconsider. Paribus gets you money back for your online purchases when an item’s price drops.

For example, I buy a pack of cat toys on Amazon. (This, unfortunately, is not abnormal.)

Next week, the price drops $1. Paribus registers that change and contacts Amazon to get me a refund. I’ll get 75% of that difference; Paribus takes a 25% service fee.

Paribus is partnered with more than 25 online retailers, so chances are, you’ll get some money back.

Signing up is free.

Bonus: Read about seven other ways to save money each time you buy something online.

3. Use Your Receipt to Earn Cash After Eating Out

If you’re a fan of eating out, there are a bunch of ways to save money — without even planning your night out ahead of time.

Subtotal is an app that allows you to earn money back — just by looking at your receipt’s subtotal.

When your server brings you the bill, open the app. Find the restaurant you’re dining at, and enter the bill’s total. Subtotal then generates a barcode, which your server will scan to pay — like a gift card.

You can score up to 10% back, which automatically appears in your credit or debit card account within a week.

Some of our favorite restaurants featured on the app include 8.1% cash back at Applebee’s, 5.25% cash back at BJs Restaurants and 7.5% cash back at California Pizza Kitchen.

There’s also 8.1% cash back at Krispy Kreme and 6.75% back at Papa John’s.

Check out the full list of eateries, and download the app for free for Apple devices and Android devices.

4. Take Those Silly Surveys… Seriously

You know that 4-foot long CVS receipt I mentioned?

There’s, of course, a link to a survey at the end of it. Sure, you think you’ll never win anything for telling CVS you had a positive experience and that your cashier was a delight.

But you actually can.

Penny Hoarder Lisa Rowan has won money from CVS because she took the time to hop online.

I have to say, I treasure my Chick-fil-A receipts. More times than not, I have a survey offer. I answer a few quick questions and get a free chicken sandwich.

Yum.

5. Check For Coupons or Specials

I’ve been complaining about that long CVS receipt, but it actually contains some pretty sweet deals, including $5 back on my next purchase.

It’s also tailored to the items I typically purchase, so I often receive coupons for stuff like packs of gum and boxes of razors, which I’m always stocking up on.

Now, my only issue is keeping track of that receipt and remembering it the next time I venture into the store…

6. Don’t Forget Those Tax Deductions

Here’s your taxes 101 refresher: Tax deductions are expenses you can subtract from your taxable income, so they lower your tax bill.

Don’t forget to keep track of tax deductions (yup, keep those receipts) because they’ll add up.

Here are a few examples of deductions:

• Charitable contributions (anything you donate to Goodwill!)
• Home office equipment
• Payments you make to your traditional IRA
• Some higher education tuition and fees
• Mileage if you use your personal vehicle for work purposes
• Relocation expenses (if you moved for a job)
• Student loan interest you’ve paid

Want to know more about deductions? Here ya go.

7. Remember: You Might Have a Warranty on That Product

If your favorite pair of socks gets a hole or your backpack’s zipper gets all janky, remember to check into the product’s warranty.

Many companies offer lifetime warranties — including these 43. Oftentimes, you’ll have to hold onto your receipt to nab these perks.

Carson Kohler (@CarsonKohler) is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder. She’ll never look at receipts the same way again.

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15 Tips for a Happy Retirement

After the 2008 financial crisis Steve and Mary made the tough choice to delay their retirement.

Even though their savings was adequate, it just didn't feel right.

They had a vision of their “happy retirement” – spending time with their grandkids, buying a small lake house, traveling to Greece – and none of that seemed likely with all the doom and gloom that existed.

We even ran several illustrations and stress tests on their financial plan, but that wasn't good enough.

The decision was made.

Their happy retirement would have to come later.

Did Steve and Mary ever retire? More on them in a bit…..

Situations like this occur all the time. But it doesn't take a financial crisis to cast doubts if someone can actually retire.

Many factors play into that.

If a happy retirement is what you're seeking, here are 15 tips to make it happen.

1. Control Your Spending!

This could be the single biggest step in making sure that you never outlive your money. It’s especially important during the first years of retirement.

That’s when you may look at your retirement portfolio, and assume that there’s plenty of money to cover the next 20 or 30 years. That may be the case, but not if you drain your savings early in the game.

It can be easy to see your retirement as one long vacation. That may be what it is from a standpoint of no longer needing to work, but you certainly don’t want to be spending your money at anything like vacation levels.

Health insurance costs for retirees can get out of control very quickly.  Make sure your nest egg is safe by adding one of the medicare supplemental insurance plans to your standard Medicare coverage.

Unless you’re a millionaire many times over, you’ll need to handle money in much the same way you have all of your life – making sure that you live within your means.

That doesn’t magically change the day that you retire. And in more ways than one, it becomes more important than ever.

2. Make Time for Family

If you have children, do you remember when they were young?

Did you ever wish that you had more time with them back then?

Between work and managing the household, there isn’t always a lot of quality time when your kids are young.

Once you retire, you’ll have plenty of time. No, you can’t go back and make up for the time you didn’t have earlier in life. But you can resolve to spend more time with family.

This is especially important if you have grandchildren. Just as was the case with your own children, your grandchildren will be young for just a few years. Savor this time with them, since you don’t have work eating up your time any more.

This was uber important for Steve and Mary.  Their first grandchild was just a year old and they had another one on the way.  They were elated to spend time with in retirement.

3. Don’t Get Burned on Taxes

If you are like most retirees, most of the money that you saved for retirement was merely tax-deferred, and not tax free. That means that the funds in your retirement plans will be taxable upon withdrawal in retirement. You’ll have to manage those withdrawals in a way that will minimize your income tax liability.

This will be especially important early in your retirement life, if you continue to earn some sort of active income sources, such as a business or part-time job. The more that you earn from these sources, the less you should withdraw out of your retirement plan. That will enable you to continue to defer taxes on your retirement savings until after you are no longer receiving the additional income.

As counterintuitive as this sounds, many well-heeled retirees actually have higher income in retirement than they did during their working years. That can easily happen when you have income from multiple sources.

Though no single source may replace the salary that you had during your working years, the combination of several can easily exceed it. That’s why taxes can continue to be a concern even after you retire.

4. Consider a Part-time Job to Stay Active

Even if you don’t need the extra income, holding a part-time job may be an excellent way to stay active. This will not only keep your mind sharp, but it may also help to keep you socially involved.

Though we normally think of earning a living as being primarily a financial activity, there actually is a stronger social element that we generally think. Work gives us a sense of purpose, and keeps us involved with people. It’s likely that during your working years that many of your friends were also your coworkers. That doesn’t need to change in retirement.

Realize also that if you are in your early or mid-sixties when you retire, you still have decades of life ahead of you. You’ll need to fill that time with both purpose and social involvement. A part-time job can provide both.

5. Don’t Forget About Long-term Care Insurance

This is one of those retirement issues that most of us don’t want to think about too deeply. Ironically, the fact that people are living so much longer is actually increasing the likelihood that some form of long-term care will be necessary in the distant future.

That being the case, it’s always best to buy any type of insurance as early in life as possible, and when you’re completely healthy. That’s when it will be the least expensive, which will allow you to be able to purchase coverage that will give you the best benefits possible.

6. Have Your Estate Planning in Order

Even if you have put off estate planning up until this point in your life, you’re at a point where it is now unavoidable. This is especially true if you have substantial retirement assets, as well as a large amount of real estate equity. Estate planning is necessary in order to ensure the smooth transfer of your assets to your loved ones upon your death.

A will will not always accomplish that purpose. The advantage of estate planning is that it not only provides a blueprint for the distribution of your estate, but it can also provide additional financial resources, in the likely event that they are necessary.

For example, if you have a large estate, that estate may be subject to income taxes. If it is and the liability will be large, you can take out a life insurance policy that will cover the taxes. This will ensure that your loved ones will receive the full benefit of your entire current estate.

7. Know Exactly How Much You Need to Live On Each Month

Though it may seem unpleasant to have to be tied to a budget in retirement, it’s also absolutely necessary. With no budget, it’s very likely that you’ll plow through your retirement savings in a lot less time than you need for them to last.

Hopefully, your retirement planning also included strategies for lowering your living expenses. This could have included getting out of debt, paying off your home mortgage, and eliminating employment related expenses. All of that effort should keep the amount of money you need each month for necessary expenses to an absolute minimum.

But you will still need to carefully manage and budget how much money you spend on discretionary purchases and activities. When you’re retired, you’ll be looking for activities and purchases to fill the hours – and that’s where a budget comes into play.

8. Have a Good Financial Advisor

Managing a large retirement portfolio can be a big job, especially when you have retirement on your mind. You may even find that you have less interest in it than you did while you were accumulating it during your working years. This is where a good financial advisor can be worth the fees that you pay many times over.

A financial advisor has the ability to look at your situation from afar, to make observations and develop strategies that you may be totally unaware of. It also has to be considered that the financial landscape is getting more complicated all the time.

As you get older, you may find you have less patience or comprehension. That’s why it’s best to develop a strong relationship with the competent financial advisor very early in your retirement life. Whatever you do, don't hire somebody like this.

<cough>I might know a decent one here.<cough>

9. Have a Portion of Your Assets in an Annuity For Safety

There’s something of a conundrum for retirees when it comes to investing, at least in the current investment environment. Interest based on fixed income investments is too low to provide sustainable cash flow. And while the stock market has been good for the past few years, investing in it is much more risky than it is with fixed income investments. For that reason, you may want to have at least some of your money in an annuity.

Not all annuities are worth having (stay from variable annuities), but the right ones can be a form of insurance that will both preserve your income, and protect your investment principal. For example, you can have money in an annuity to provide you with a lifetime income, but doesn’t take a big drop in value every time the stock market falls.

If you're still not sure if annuity is right for you, here are 15 reasons when you shouldn't buy an annuity and 5 scenarios when you should.

10. Have a Portion of Your Assets in AssetLock™

As I just covered, investing in stocks carries risk. Risk and retirement are two factors that don’t fit together well. And let’s cut to the chase – the most frightening aspect of investing in stocks from a retiree’s standpoint is the possibility of a stock market crash. But at the same time, investing in stocks is absolutely necessary since current interest rates will not provide a comfortable retirement.

The issue then is, how to protect your retirement portfolio from market crashes.

There actually is a product in place that can help you do just that. It’s called AssetLock™. It allows you to select a predetermined amount of downside (loss) that your portfolio should experience during the period of time that you are invested.

It’s something like a stop loss order for your entire portfolio. For example, you can set a loss limit at any level that you feel comfortable with – 5%, 10%, 20%. That will keep you from being blindsided by sudden stock market reversals. You can monitor and adjust your limits from your home computer, smart phone, or tablet.

The 50% loss in your stock portfolio could take years to overcome. Those may be years that you won’t have as a current retiree. If you can cut that loss to say, 15%, you will have spared yourself the worst of the market crash. AssetLock™ Value can help you do that.

11. Make Out a Bucket List

Most of us have plans and goals throughout our lives, but work has a way of forcing us to delay accomplishing them. Once you’re retired, the work and time factors are no longer an issue. That means now is the time to do all of those things that you wanted to do all of your life but simply didn’t have the time.

This is why it’s so important to make out a bucket list. A bucket list is simply a list of things that you hope to do or accomplish in your life. You want to commit this to writing for two reasons:

1. Writing it down makes it important, and more likely to be accomplished, and
2. It will allow you to prioritize certain goals that are most important to you

This is one of the more pleasurable activities for a retiree, and that’s why needs take advantage of it early on.

12. Never Stop Learning!

Remember how I said that a part-time job can help to keep you active? You can also do that with learning. The world is much bigger than any of us have time for during our work lives, and we miss so much of it making a living. But once you retire, you will have the time and unobstructed attention to learn all kinds of things that you never could before.

This is an excellent time to master a new craft. For example, earlier in your life you may have considered gardening, painting, writing, or learning a foreign language. Now you have the time to plunge in to any activity that you like. And if you’ve never done it before, you’ll have plenty of time to learn and to master it.

13. Don’t Abandon Your Emergency Fund!

Just like having a budget, an emergency fund is one of those good practices from your working years that needs to continue into retirement. Even in retirement, you’ll continue to have emergencies – those significant unexpected expenses that seem to come out of nowhere.

An emergency fund will prevent you from having to tap into your retirement savings every time you have an unexpected expense.

This will be an important tax strategy too.

Anything that you pull out of a qualified retirement plan will be subject to income taxes. That means that if you’re using your retirement savings as your emergency fund, your expenses will be increased by the tax liability. A well-stocked emergency fund can prevent the need for tapping your tax-sheltered plans for unexpected expenses.

14. Take Even Better Care of Your Health Than Ever Before

Whatever level of health you have, make a commitment to at least maintain it, and hopefully to improve it. Health is a major X factor as we age, and it should never be taken for granted. No matter how well you kept to your plans for retirement from a financial standpoint, if your health degrades in a serious way, your life will change, possibly forever.

If you’ve never had an exercise program in the past, start one the day that you retire. Also commit to getting regular medical checkups, and improving your diet wherever possible.

Good health results in a higher energy level, as well as an improved outlook on life. You’ll be going through major changes when you retire, starting with the loss of a lifetime career. Good health can help you to work through that, and to enjoy a better quality life.

15. Do Your More Exotic Traveling Early in Your Retirement

As a rule, the more distant or exotic your travel plans are, the earlier they should take place in your retirement. Health is of course a major factor here. You want to be certain that you’re undertaking the most adventurous travel plans while you’re still relatively young and in excellent health.

As well, if you plan to go to some out-of-the-way destinations, like a jungle safari or climbing the Himalayas, you may find those locations to be too remote later on in your life, when you may be more dependent on other people and on the healthcare system.

Steve and Mary's Happy Retirement

Back to Steve and Mary…They were finally able to retire.   Steve intended to postpone his retirement by four years, mostly because he still loved his job.  Well, three years into that plan his job role changed significantly and he wanted out.  We ran a few more illustrations and I showed him that he and Mary would be able to retire more than comfortably.

That was all he needed and he resigned.   That was over 3 years ago and since then they've traveled overseas twice (Greece and Paris) and spend a good chunk of time with their grandchildren.

They are in fact enjoying a happy retirement.

The post 15 Tips for a Happy Retirement appeared first on Good Financial Cents.

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These Are the Best Ways I’ve Discovered to Get More Facebook Followers Free

Facebook marketing is somewhat of a double-edged sword.

On the one hand, Facebook had 1.94 billion monthly active users as of Q1 2017.

That’s the most users of any social network by far.

On the other hand, its organic reach is lousy.

According to a study by Social@Ogilvy,

Organic reach has declined to just six percent.

This means that out of 100 of your followers, only six will actually see the content you post.

That’s not ideal.

This means one thing.

You need to grow your following.

If you apply Social@Ogilvy’s findings:

• having 100 followers means six people would see your post
• having 1,000 followers means 60 people would see your post
• having 10,000 followers means 600 people would see your post

…and so on.

Although the interaction rates across social platforms naturally decline as followings grow…

…it’s obviously beneficial to have a large following.

That’s how you make real headway, generate leads and boost sales.

With years of Facebook marketing under my belt, I’ve learned a thing or two about building a following.

Here are some of the best ways I’ve discovered to get more Facebook followers free and grow your network organically.

Strive for transparency

There’s no lack of megalithic, faceless, overly corporate brands these days.

They’re a dime a dozen.

But these aren’t usually the types of brands people connect with and relate to.

If I had to use one adjective to describe what people love and admire in a brand, it’s transparency.

I don’t care how far we advance as humans and how much technology is integrated into our lives, we all have a deep, innate desire to connect with others.

And let’s be honest.

It’s hard to do that when a brand shares nothing about its philosophy, values, culture and general underpinnings of its activities.

But what does create a connection is being honest, straightforward and transparent.

This is what gets results.

Take TOMS for example.

They posted this video snippet featuring their founder Blake Mycoskie talking about the darkest period of his life, his fear of failure and how it helped motivate him in his business.

He clearly expressed his vulnerability, which is something we all feel at some point.

Needless to say, content like this was an asset to TOMS.

Just look at their massive following.

This isn’t to say you need to take it to this level and discuss your deepest, darkest fears or anything like that.

But it goes to show that putting yourself out there has its benefits and can help you build your following.

I’ve made it a point to incorporate this formula into my Facebook marketing, which is evident in several of the pictures I’ve posted.

And just look at the engagement levels.

Rock solid.

And this is no coincidence.

I don’t care how serious or formal your brand is, a little transparency goes a long way.

Make it a point to throw in some “behind the scenes” posts every now and then.

Post videos

Don’t get me wrong, posting good old-fashioned articles is fine.

I do it all the time.

But that’s what everyone is doing.

Most people get tired of the same old format, and their interest gradually wanes.

I’ve found posting alternative types of media, and video in particular, is a great way to spice things up and get people excited about my content.

Let me give you an example.

On average, the posts on the Neil Patel Facebook page receive a reasonable amount of engagement by most brand’s standards.

Not too shabby. I’ll take it.

But in terms of comments, it’s a little lackluster.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve posted multiple articles on Facebook that received numerous comments.

But take a look at what happened when I posted a video recently.

There was solid engagement in terms of likes and shares.

But check out the comments.

There’s no comparison.

The point I’m trying to make here is that people love video.

They eat it up.

Just look at how the number of Facebook daily video views grew in just one year.

It’s ridiculous!

As engagement increases, so do your odds of gaining more followers.

I know I’ve had tremendous success with video and can say with certainty it’s been a contributing force in helping me gain over 900,000 followers.

Video is definitely something you’ll want to incorporate—if you haven’t done so already.

It’s just starting to hit its stride and is poised to dominate social media (and the Internet in general) over the next few years.

Promote your Facebook page with a Follow button

Think of all the different ways your audience interacts with your brand.

There’s your homepage, landing page, personal email, newsletters, social networks and so on.

Each of these presents an opportunity to grow your Facebook following.

It’s simply a matter of making it as convenient as possible for people to follow your Facebook page.

I recommend creating a Follow button and installing it everywhere where it makes sense.

It looks something like this.

Creating a button is fairly simple, and this guide from CCM will walk you through the process step by step.

Once you’re done, you’ll get a piece of code to copy.

All you have to do then is paste the code into the source code of your site or wherever you want to feature your Follow button.

That’s it.

What I love about this tactic is that it doesn’t require any additional effort once you’re set up.

Anyone who comes into contact with your content instantly becomes a potential Facebook follower.

With a single click, they’re following your brand.

If you want to increase the odds of someone following you even more, include a Follow button on a popup.

That’s what Wishpond did, and it seemed to work for them.

However, I would use caution if you go this route because over-the-top interstitials can result in penalties from Google, especially if they dramatically diminish the user experience.

You can learn more about it in this article from Search Engine Land.

But as long as you’re not obnoxious about it, you should be good to go.

Utilize Facebook groups

As of early 2016, there were one billion people using Facebook groups in some capacity.

And I can see why this number is so high.

Facebook groups are a great way to exchange thoughts and ideas with other like-minded people.

Each group focuses on a very specific niche so users can get great input from experts and enthusiasts.

Here’s the “Being Boss” group—a community for creative entrepreneurs and business owners.

As you can see, it’s got a sizable number of members.

Groups also present an excellent marketing opportunity and are perfect for getting more followers.

There are two ways to go about leveraging Facebook groups.

Option #1

One way is to simply join groups relevant to your industry and area of expertise.

This tends to be the easier route because you can join a group that’s already well established and has plenty of followers.

What you want to do is get in the habit of consistently engaging with the group by leaving great comments.

It takes some time, but believe me, people will take notice.

After a while, you’ll be on the radar of other group members.

You should inevitably pique their curiosity enough so that they check out your Facebook page.

Many of these people will ultimately follow you.

Option #2

The other option is to create your own group from scratch.

I’ll be honest with you.

This takes a significant amount of time and energy.

Generating initial interest and getting the ball rolling can be difficult.

But the payoff is huge if you can get solid membership.

Just think about it.

If you’re the admin of a group, you’ll get an immense amount of exposure.

After all, your profile is one of the first things people will see when landing on the group page.

You also have a high level of control.

You make the rules and can share files and tag various members to spark a discussion.

And generally speaking, you can expect a considerably higher level of engagement with a Facebook group than you would with a typical Facebook page.

The bottom line is building a thriving Facebook group is going to increase your visibility in a big way.

More people will end up landing on your brand’s page, and your following should increase.

For me, it’s worth putting in the time when you look at the long-term impact.

If you need some direction on how to grow a Facebook group effectively, check out this post from NeilPatel.com.

Conclusion

Facebook’s reach isn’t exactly stellar.

But you can jump over that hurdle by simply growing your following.

While there are a myriad of ways to go about this, the points I mentioned in this post are the ones that have worked the best for me and my clients.

This will provide you with a framework for gaining more followers organically without having to invest any money into paid promotions.

What’s your number one strategy for increasing your Facebook following? What are your favorite free methods?

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Questions About Water Filters, Credit Limits, Lifestyle Inflation, Banking Errors 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. Income change and credit limits
2. Water filter advice
3. Figuring out lifestyle inflation
4. Upgrading wardrobe to “professional”
5. Finding specific used items
6. Best place for Roth IRA?
7. Value of rice cooker
8. Resolving banking error
9. Parking money in retirement
10. Next step after healthy savings
11. Simple at-home bodyweight exercise routines?
12. Best home repair / DIY magazine?

Recently, my father celebrated his birthday. He’s in his seventies now, yet I have memories of him from when he was close to my age.

He’s lost a step or two over the years. I have memories of long hikes with him up and down giant hills. I have memories of camping with him when I was younger. I have memories of endless days of fishing and of hours working in a giant garden with him. These days, he’ll still dabble in those things, but without anywhere near the same intensity.

My father, the man I thought was borderline invincible when I was young, is now pretty old. It’s just the reality of things.

Rather than lament it too much, though, I want to spend a lot of time with him before he’s gone.

This past weekend, I got to spend a few lazy days mostly just sitting around chatting with him and a few other family members. I asked him for some advice on some things, and some stuff about our family history, and many other things.

And I listened. And I learned.

I might not always agree with everything he says, but there is a lot of wisdom packed into his more than seventy years of living. He’s had twice as long on this earth as I have and has seen and experienced much, and he’s one of the few people I know who will speak the full unvarnished truth to me.

That’s invaluable, and it’s something I deeply appreciate. It’s something I will cherish and tap again and again for as long as he’s still around.

I love you, Dad. And I still have many, many more questions to ask. So, kindly stick around for a while, please.

Q1: Income change and credit limits

I am currently working at a small nonprofit. Last month the staff was notified that we were all being laid off because our main funder suddenly pulled out, and we haven’t been able to make up the difference. I have recently accepted a one-year position […] and will be placed at another nearby nonprofit. I will be paid a stipend […], not an actual salary. The amount of the stipend will cut my current, already-small salary roughly in half, but due to my investments I will not suffer financially.

I have an American Express Blue Cash Everyday card, and Amex contacted me yesterday to request that I update my income information. My question is this: what will happen to my credit if I inform them of the decrease in my income? I have three credit cards and pay them off every month.
– Caroline

It’s really hard to tell, because it comes down to internal corporate policy.

Typically, if you report a reduction in income to a credit card issuer, you’ll see a reduction in credit limit to match. That’s because, due to a lower income, you’re a bit more of a credit risk, even if your credit report doesn’t indicate any change in your behavior.

My best guess is that American Express will do the same in your case, lowering the credit limit on your card. This may have a slight impact on your overall credit score, but not a devastating one.

Q2: Water filter advice

I write you with a question about water filters. [O]ur water is VERY chalky. We recently just had a baby and to make his food and drink, we use bottled water. I keep telling my husband that we should get a water filter and he told me to look into it. I know the website often contains reviews of said items, ones that are the best bang for your buck while giving you the best quality possible. Do you have any advice on this topic? I did a bit of searching and found Consumer Reports, but I need a subscription and am not ready to commit to that just yet. I also found another blog of a woman who tested many options and the best one she came up with has a base cost of about $1500. So I was just wondering if TSD had any ideas on this topic!
– Marilyn

It depends on whether you are going to get a whole-house water filter or just one for the faucet. In other words, is the water so hard that it’s unacceptable to use it for things like baths or laundry?

If you’re okay using it for every home use other than cooking and drinking, then your best bet is to get an under-sink filter, which is relatively inexpensive. I am a big fan of the APEC reverse osmosis system, which is pretty easy to install. It requires that you devote some under-sink space to it, though, and you do need some plumbing skill. You can get faucet-based and pitcher filters, too, but they don’t do as well in terms of filtering out hard water (they only soften it somewhat) and they go through filters pretty fast.

For a full house system, I’d honestly talk to your neighbors about it and see if you can get local recommendations. The exact water situation varies so much from location to location that I would not invest hundreds or thousands of dollars into a system unless I knew it would work well with local water.

Q3: Figuring out lifestyle inflation

Got a better job, so I decided to buy some stuff I’ve been wanting. Replaced television, subscribed to HBO, redecorated living room, went out to lunch a few times. Basically trying to live a “normal” life.

Stepped back and looked at the bills over the last few months and I was shocked. Spent sooo much money. But now I look at my life and don’t want to cut anything. I finally feel like a normal person and not a weird hermit cheapskate.

Suggestions?
– Manny

First of all, the idea of being a “weird hermit cheapskate” is almost always a construct of how you feel about yourself in terms of how you think others look at you. That perspective is almost always more negative toward you than how others actually view you. Most of the time, they don’t think of you at all, and when they do, it’s usually positive. The things you worry about most – here, it seems to be appearing to be a cheapskate – almost never pop up in anyone else’s mind but your own. How often do you really look at someone else and think badly about them as being a cheapskate? And, even then, how often does that thought really have any impact on their life whatsoever? The answer is: almost none. So you shouldn’t care in any significant way about what others think of you.

Now, if you think that in the past you’ve deprived yourself of things you want because you were trying to save money, that’s a different subject. My recommendation to you is to think seriously about the stuff you’re spending money on and ask whether those things are really adding value to your life. Are you really getting $15 a month out of HBO? Are you really getting $20 in value each time from eating out several times a month compared to just making food at home or having people over for dinner?

It sounds like you’ve spent some money on one-shot things in the last few months, such as redecorating your living room, and that expense should be over. Going forward, just put a very critical eye on new expenses. Do they really add value to your life, or are they just giving you a quick burst of pleasure or convenience at a high price?

• Related: Keeping Lifestyle Inflation at Bay

Q4: Upgrading wardrobe to ‘professional’

I got a great new job as a receptionist a few months ago and earn $16 per hour. Couldn’t be happier with my job.

However, a few days ago, I had a performance review that was mostly good, but the area that was most criticized was my appearance. My boss said that I dressed unprofessionally most days and that I should upgrade my wardrobe.

I mostly dress in Target and Walmart clothes because I can’t afford anything else at least not until recently. I have asked for some help on improving my wardrobe from friends but they immediately point to really expensive stuff that’s out of my reasonable price range.

Do you have any tips for shopping for a low cost professional woman’s wardrobe? Maybe suggestions from Sarah?
– Nina

Sarah has a very modular wardrobe. She has a collection of professional work clothes that mix and match together very well and she does just that – she mixes and matches them to appear as though she has a lot of outfits when she really doesn’t have all that many.

Her suggestion is to choose really well made clothes – stuff with really good stitching that fits you well – and buy limited amounts, and choose subdued tones for most of it. Then, have one or two items that add color to the mix.

My suggestion to you is to have a discussion with your boss about the desired dress code. Is it business casual? Business formal? How formal? It really depends on the clientele of your office and your boss can offer far more guidance than I can.

It is far better to have a few well-made garments that look good on you, that you can mix and match, and that can last and last and last than it is to have a lot of garments that may or may not look good on you and won’t last all that long. It’ll cost some up front to get good garments, but you’ll be able to use them for a long, long time.

• Related: Here’s My Secret to Saving Money on Quality Clothes

Q5: Finding specific used items

Recently, I decided I wanted to try using a bread maker. I know that this is an item that many people use a time or two and then put in their closet so I want to find a used one. I tried going to yard sales this spring and didn’t find any. Checked some thrift stores too. How does one go about finding a used item like this to save money over buying new?
– Charlie

Weirdly enough, I was also recently looking for a bread maker, as I wanted to try making some loaves in a bread machine to compare it to making loaves by hand.

What I did is simply put out a call on social media to my personal friends asking if any of them had an old bread machine that they didn’t use any more, offering to buy it from them at a reasonable price. Not only did I have several offers very quickly, three different people offered to give me theirs. So, now I have a bread machine!

I suggest doing the same thing. Simply post on social media that you’re looking for a bread machine in good shape and see what happens. You’ll probably find that you have a friend who has one that they don’t use that they will either lend you or sell you at a good price or even give you.

Q6: Best place for Roth IRA?

I want to start a Roth IRA. Where is the best place to start it?
– John

It depends on a number of factors.

If you feel comfortable managing it on your own and have a healthy amount of money to start with immediately, such as a transfer from a bank account, I recommend Vanguard. They’re very hands-off and their funds have a high minimum (most require an initial investment of $3,000, though a few are lower), but their fees are very, very low. If you feel good controlling your own ship and have the starting money, I’d go there.

If you don’t have that much to start with, I’d probably go with Fidelity. They have a lot of funds with low initial minimum and their fees are generally quite good. They’re usually my #2 pick to Vanguard and they do have the advantage of some lower-minimum funds.

If you want a lot of help along the way, I recommend Wealthfront. They do a really really good job of making everything as friendly as can be. They basically just ask you a few questions and then handle everything from there – and the choices they make on your behalf seem pretty reasonable to me, in my experience with them. They also charge no fees on low-balance accounts (under $10,000).

• Related: Best Roth IRA Accounts

Q7: Value of rice cooker

My big goal in 2017 has been to learn how to cook at home and save a lot of money on food and I have been successful mostly. I make a lot of meals at home now but I am still learning.

I like a lot of meals with rice and so far I have cooked rice in a large saucepan on the stove top. I am wondering what the advantages of a rice cooker are and whether it is worthwhile to buy one. I trust your opinion – the marketing not so much!
– Kevin

A rice cooker is designed really well for the task of cooking rice, period. If you cook rice more than a few times a week, the conveniences that it offers is going to make it worthwhile.

If you’re only an occasional preparer of rice – less than once or twice a week – then the cost probably isn’t worth it. You can do a good job with the tools you’re already using and the rice turns out fine.

The advantage of a rice cooker is that you just dump in the rice and some water and hit a button and walk away, then in 20 minutes or whatever you have cooked rice. That’s a convenience when making meals. However, it’s not a convenience that’s worth paying a lot for unless you’re doing it a lot.

I think rice is a great staple food and highly recommend using it as a part of a rounded low-cost diet, but if you’re not cooking it multiple times a week, I wouldn’t get a rice cooker.

Q8: Resolving banking error

Two months ago, I received a large overpayment from a client, a large corporation. It was pretty clear that someone typed in the wrong number and added a zero beyond what I expected to be paid.

I contacted the company to have the error corrected and I was told that there did not appear to be an error on their end and that the account was paid and closed.

What exactly should I do with the extra money? Should I just hold onto it? How long?
– Ainsley

Please note that I am not a lawyer. However, I have had experiences with overpayment and consulted a lawyer on the matter.

Once you have informed the employer of the overpayment, there is a two-year statute of limitations on them getting their money back. Document the date that you informed them, then just sit on the money for two years. At the end of those two years, you can treat the money as yours.

If they want their money after two years, simply inform them that you contacted them about the overpayment more than two years ago, stating the date and method of contact.

As always, you should contact a lawyer in your area on matters like this, as exact statutes vary from state to state.

Q9: Parking money in retirement

I’ve been with a local government municipality for almost 23 years. I am very fortunate that this company is one of the last dinosaurs that has a defined benefit pension plan. We also have the ability to contribute to a 457 defined contribution plan which I have been doing for a long time. It is through [a large, well known, established insurance company]. The plan definitely does not have many choices for investments. For example: one international fund only, one small cap only, one mid-cap only, the only two choices for large cap are a 500 index fund and [a managed mutual fund].

However, there is one very attractive fund that they call the “General” fund. It returns a guaranteed 4% with NO fees! To me, that’s like having a guaranteed bond fund that returns 4.5%, I know that sounds crazy for them to offer that, but that fund has been there since I have worked there and before that.

Here is the question: when we retire, we can take our full 100% pension to be paid over our lifetime, or we can take a hybrid lump-sum and reduced pension. The maximum lump sum we can take is 25%. To keep it simple round numbers, let’s say I retire, get $50,000 per year for life and my 25% lump sum is $400,000. If I didn’t take the lump sum, my pension would be $65,000 for life. Most people do take the 25% lump sum because if you died early of some unforeseen issue, your spouse would only get 75% of your annual pension and would miss out on the ability for the lump sum to compound over time in an IRA. Obviously, the only prudent thing to do with the lump sum is to roll it over tax-free to an IRA. You can pick where it goes (company to invest with).

Question: would you choose an investment company with many more investment options like a Vanguard to put your lump sum money into, OR would you roll the money over into the available IRA option which has that terrific “General” account option? Very very limited investment choices, but I feel like giving up options might be worth that ability of security. Your thoughts?
– Sharon

I looked into the fund you’re describing and while you are correct that the fund does offer a guaranteed rate, that rate adjusts every six months depending on a number of factors. Right now, that rate does appear to be close to 4%, but in the recent past, it has been below 3%.

Furthermore, it does actually charge fees. From the prospectus: “[t]he [account] operates without a stated expense ratio because it does not have a set management fee and credits a pre-set guaranteed rate regardless of the financial performance […] The target spread levels for administration revenue and the risk charge are disclosed on the Cost and Revenue Disclosure for each plan.”

This means that the actual average annual return is going to be somewhat lower than that stated 4%, but the amount seems to vary from plan to plan.

In short, this isn’t truly a guaranteed 4% for life. It’s a guaranteed 4% before administrative costs for the next six months, at least that’s how it seems to me.

That’s not to mean that this investment is bad. It just means that you should not expect it to return 4% for life. If you want to get an average annual return of 4%, you will have to take on at least some small amount of risk. If there was a risk-free way to get a 4% return, almost every retiree in the world would be on board.

Q10: Next step after healthy savings

I have 6 months of salary saved up. 1/2 in an interest bearing checking account and 1/2 in 12 laddered CDs. I have $0 debt and contribute to my workplace 401k. What should my next financial strategy be? I’m 46 years old.
– Kate

The first thing I would do is make sure that my retirement savings puts me on a very good pace for retiring at a traditional retirement age. If your retirement investments continue growing at their current rate along with your additional contributions along the way, will you hit a goal that you’re happy with when you’re 65? I’d even try to go at a bit higher pace than that, simply to make sure that you’re in good shape even with some bumps on the road.

If you’re in good shape with retirement, start thinking about your other goals. Do you have any debts? Would you like to retire a little bit earlier? Do you want to travel more? Choose one and focus almost exclusively on that – it’s far better to achieve one big goal than to make only a little progress on several.

Don’t worry about making a decision today or tomorrow, either. Give it some thought and think about where you really want to be in the future.

• Related: Setting Attainable and Exciting Financial Goals

Q11: Simple at-home bodyweight exercise routines?

I’ve been looking at at-home bodyweight exercises and they’re all really complicated and people keep talking about injuring themselves. Can you point me to something simple to get started?
– Mark

My favorite simple bodyweight exercise routine is the 15 Minute Morning routine from Darebee. It’s just a simple repeated cycle of a handful of very basic exercises that, when added together, work most of the major muscle groups in your body along with providing some good cardio work.

That routine can provide a great framework for more advanced exercises, too. Finding it too easy? Do a more challenging variant of a squat, like a deep squat or a Bulgarian split squat, and add that into your routine to replace the basic squat. Change your plank to a side plank or a decline plank. Just keep improving the difficulty of the exercises in the routine and the routine will grow with you.

It really doesn’t get much simpler than that, to be honest. I really enjoy progression bodyweight exercises and I think there are ones that work well for virtually anyone. They’re usually very simple, with just the variations on those simple exercises providing the level of difficulty you want.

Q12: Best home repair/DIY magazine?

I had a question for you. I wanted to get a home repair/DIY magazine for my son–which are the best ones, in your opinion?
– Charlotte

There are a lot of these on the market and the “best” one really depends on the skill level and interest level of your son.

In my opinion, the best DIY magazine on the market is Fine Homebuilding. It has very informative articles and lots of really interesting projects, but it assumes quite a lot of DIY skill from the reader. Many of the steps in the project descriptions assume that you already know how to do rather complex tasks. Now, I will say that you can find references on how to do those tasks online, so if your son is willing to tackle some complex projects and can use online resources as a supplement, this would be a good choice.

This Old House (affiliated with the TV show of the same name) is a really solid magazine, but much like the show, it focuses a lot on refurbishing older houses, particularly in a country or cottage style. If that’s in line with your son’s interests (bringing older houses up to date and using some rustic elements), this would be a great choice and probably better than the above magazine, but the further away it is from what your son likes, the better off he’d be with another option.

Woodsmith is a fantastic magazine, but it is very focused on woodworking projects and often assumes that the reader has a ton of woodworking equipment at their disposal. If your son has some woodworking gear and is really into that aspect of DIY, then this is probably the best choice; otherwise, I’d choose another option.

I hope one of these choices hits the mark!

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.

The post Questions About Water Filters, Credit Limits, Lifestyle Inflation, Banking Errors and More! appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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