By Holly Reisem Hanna Many moons ago, I worked as a pediatric nurse on a med-surgical unit at a hospital. While there was a lot of flexibility with this job and it came with good benefits and pay — it also came with a lot of stress. I worked 12-hour shifts from 7 pm to […]
The post Best Work-at-Home Jobs for People with Chronic Illnesses appeared first on The Work at Home Woman.
A few months ago, I was getting so many robocalls that I just stopped answering my cell phone if I didn’t recognize the phone number.
At the height, I was hitting decline on at least three to five calls. Every. Single. Day. It was bad.
About six weeks ago, I got fed up and added my information to the National Do Not Call Registry. That worked wonders, but a few calls still slipped through a couple times a week.
Thankfully, The New York Times has a few ideas to cut back on the calls even more. Some of them are practical, and others are wonderfully vindictive. Here’s what you can do.
This was my first step. I held out doing just this for nearly three months.
In the off chance I did answer a robocall, most of the recordings gave me the option to press “2” to opt out of future calls.
I pressed “2” over and over, but the calls kept coming.
I had no idea I was making a huge mistake. According to the Times, robocallers are not above tricking you. Opting out does nothing to stop the calls. Instead, it lets the system know it hit a working phone number.
The more your press “2,” the more calls you’ll get in the future. You’re better off not answering the phone at all.
You’ll also want to remember not to fall victim to the “yes” scam. That’s when a scammer starts the call asking if you can hear them. If you respond “yes,” the call goes dead.
Scammers can record your voice and use it later to authorize purchases. Instead, either hang up immediately or, if you think the question might be legitimate, answer with “I can hear you.”
This drastically cut back on the number of calls I received. It’s easy to sign up, but do it as soon as possible because it can take up to 31 days to update the system and for the calls to slow down.
After that 31-day window, report any additional calls to the FTC. That’s the agency responsible for cracking down on this annoying and illegal behavior. If you don’t report them, the FTC won’t know which companies are breaking the rules.
You can do this manually, but there are also apps for that.
Truecaller, which is available on all devices, works like a caller ID system and shows you the real identity of the person calling, even if they are not saved to your contacts. It also has a list of most common spam callers in your area and warns you of a potential robocall before you answer.
Other apps like RoboKiller and Nomorobo promise to automatically identify and block spam calls for you while letting useful robocalls, like school closure notices and doctor’s office reminders, make it to you. These apps charge monthly fees between $1.99 and $2.99, and are only available on the iPhone.
This is not free — it costs $6 for a one-year subscription — and it likely won’t stop the robocalls, but it will give you the sweet taste of vengeance.
The New York Times suggests using the a service called Jolly Roger Telephone Company, which talks to telemarketers so you don’t have to waste your time.
It uses a recording to simulate a real conversation with background noise, children interrupting and a strategically placed “uh-huh” and “OK” just often enough to keep the telemarketer on the line and give them a taste of their own medicine.
All you have to do is connect the call with your Jolly Roger robot once you realize you accidentally answered a robocall. Jolly Roger will send you an email of the recording afterward so you can have a laugh.
Again, this probably won’t stop the calls, but I imagine it will bring you a deep, deep level of personal satisfaction.
Desiree Stennett (@desi_stennett) is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, one of the largest personal finance websites. We help millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. In 2016, Inc. 500 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the No. 1 fastest-growing private media company in the U.S.
If you’re a fan of stability, you’re probably going to want a career that’s going to stand the test of time — a job that won’t be taken over by robots or (gulp) squashed by the next economic recession.
Well, a career in nursing just might be the thing for you.
Of course, you have to be up to working in a caregiver role, and you can’t be squeamish about needles and bodily fluid.
But the fact that the number of nursing jobs actually went up during the last recession while overall employment went down is a good sign of a dependable career.
There are several different titles in the nursing profession, and with all the acronyms (LPN, RN, APRN), it can get a little confusing. So I turned to the American Nurses Association and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for information on the different types of nurses, how to become one and how much people who work these jobs can expect to make.
A licensed practical nurse (also called a licensed vocational nurse, or LVN, in California and Texas, according to the ANA) falls within the most basic level of the nursing profession rankings.
As the name implies, these type of nurses must be licensed. The BLS states LPNs must complete a state-approved education program that typically lasts one year.
Last year, the median pay for LPNs was $44,090 per year or $21.20 an hour. The BLS predicted the job outlook for this career path would grow 16% from 2014 to 2024, much faster than the average occupation.
The next step up from an LPN, registered nurses provide care and educate patients in a number of settings and also supervise the work of LPNs.
You’ll typically need a bachelor’s degree to be an RN, according to the BLS.
Last year, the median pay was $68,450 a year, or $32.91 an hour, for nurses at this level of the profession. As it was with LPNs, the BLS projected RN jobs to grow by 16% between 2014 and 2024.
The ANA states this upper-level ranking of nurses requires a graduate degree and clinical practice beyond the basic education requirements of RNs.
Depending on their speciality, different types of APRNs include nurse practitioners (NPs), certified nurse-midwives (CNMs), clinical nurse specialists (CNS) and certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs).
Last year, the median pay for these professionals was $107,460 a year, or $51.67 per hour, according to the BLS, which also predicted jobs in this specialized industry would grow 31% from 2014 to 2024.
Now that’s a great job to have to ride out the next recession. Robots, back off!
Nicole Dow is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, one of the largest personal finance websites. We help millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. In 2016, Inc. 500 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the No. 1 fastest-growing private media company in the U.S.
Publishers Clearing House is famous for showing up on people’s doorsteps with larger-than-life checks for millions of dollars. For many, answering the door to find that they won one of the grand prizes would be a dream come true.
Scammers know just how popular these sweepstakes are, and they’ve found a way to capitalize.
If you’re someone who dreams of getting that special knock on your door someday, you need to be aware of a new scam to steal your money and make it nearly impossible to recover.
On July 21, the Federal Trade Commission released a statement outlining a new scam involving Publishers Clearing House.
According to the statement, people pretending to be from Publishers Clearing House call consumers and tell them they’ve won a grand prize. The scammers then request a money transfer to pay for fees and taxes, saying they need the funds before they can issue the prize.
Most scammers request the money through Western Union, MoneyGram or a prepaid card. Receiving the money through these third parties makes it almost impossible to trace, meaning consumers may never recover it.
The FTC writes that anyone who requests you send money to claim a prize is part of a scam. Additionally, Publishers Clearing House says it will never call you about a prize and will never ask anyone to pay to receive one.
If you’ve received a call from a scammer pretending to be with Publishers Clearing House, report it to the FTC.
Criminals who seek to separate you from your money are everywhere, so protect yourself by creating strong passwords and learning what to do if you think you’ve been scammed.
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.
Speaking two languages is an impressive skill — one that not everyone has.
And right now, if you’re a native Spanish speaker who also has a firm grasp on the English language, your skills can help make a little extra wiggle room in your budget with this awesome work-from-home opportunity!
Lionbridge, a company that provides organizations around the world with translation, development, language and testing solutions, is currently looking for native Spanish speakers to work part time as pronunciation validators.
As a pronunciation validator, you’ll review and edit audio reports generated by a speech recognition software and will listen to audio samples before rating the quality of the pronunciations.
You’ll work up to 24 hours each week, although hours will depend on the volume of work available. However, the hours you do work are completely flexible — you can choose when, where and how much you want to work!
To be considered for a position as a pronunciation validator, you must be at least 18 years old and able to pass a Spanish language skills test. A high school diploma is desired but not mandatory. You should, however, be proficient in English and Spanish grammar, spelling and punctuation.
A high-speed internet connection and personal computer are required.
There’s no information on pay or benefits included in the job listing, but we’ve reached out to the company and will update this post once we hear back.
To find out more about this position and to apply to become a pronunciation validator, you can check out the original job listing here.
And if you want to be the first to hear about more awesome work-from-home opportunities like this one, be sure to like our Jobs page on Facebook!
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.
Virge and Cheryl Cavalli were at a crossroads.
After 12 years of raising two daughters as a stay-at-home mom, Cheryl wanted to go back to work. But she needed the flexibility to be available for her children as they became busy teenagers.
She found the ideal opportunity: She’d launch a business as a home-based travel agent who provides personalized service to her clients. It was the perfect fit for Cheryl, a veteran traveler who had always loved planning out her family’s vacations.
And after suffering for years, the travel agent industry has been rebounding as more travelers are finding value in their services. Travel agents can save their clients time, money and hassles, as well as make sense of the glut of information available online, and find the best promotions and deals.
Now, while Virge continued commuting to his office for his business development job, Cheryl would work from home, planning her customers’ trips from door to door -- cruises, resorts, trips to Disney or Universal theme parks, transfers, tickets, excursions, events, the works.
She would also have the flexibility to take off in the middle of the day if one of their 10- or 12-year-old daughters got sick or needed to be dropped off at team practices after school.
First, though, the couple would need to figure out the challenges that come with starting your own business.
Before they could officially launch the business, Virge and Cheryl had some research to do.
They didn’t have to start a corporation. But under the state laws of New Jersey, Cheryl had to register as a sole proprietor -- basically a one-person business. That was pretty simple. So was registering online for a state business certificate and a business tax number.
Cheryl opened a business bank account. She also learned she’d need errors and omissions insurance, a form of professional liability insurance.
For newbies thinking about starting a business, the U.S. Small Business Administration has this useful checklist of 10 steps you should take. They include figuring out your business structure, filing to pay taxes, and acquiring a business license.
Cheryl had previously used Facebook mostly to post cute photos of her children. She had a lot to learn about how to use various social media platforms to promote her business and educate people about travel. “I’m asking my kids, ‘How does Snapchat work?’”
Savvy entrepreneurs follow a few best practices for social media. Whatever social media platform you’re using, you have to strike a balance between engaging your audience and too much self-promotion.
Most of your posts should be sharing useful or interesting content.
With a home-based business like Cheryl’s, you don’t have a brick-and-mortar office location for the public to see, so it’s crucially important to trumpet the fact that your business exists.
Cheryl spent her first year in her new career learning what kind of marketing works for her and what doesn’t -- which business networking group to join, which community fairs she should rent a table at.
Marketing your own small business is a challenge. It’s important to attend networking events and to not be shy. Get your name out there!
Look into whether email marketing could work for you. Have a short and interesting “elevator pitch” about what you do.
Her new business would need a website, obviously. She chose the name PipeDreamVacations.com because it spells out what her business is all about.
A good website is crucial. Here’s a story about a woman who built her own business and its website in 30 days on the cheap.
The Cavalli’s figured they’d need $20,000 to get her new business off the ground.
That would cover start-up costs, like marketing, business cards, trade show fees, launching the website, and a keeping a cash cushion while she was building up her clientele. It would also enable her to become a travel agent with Cruise Planners, the nation’s largest home-based travel agent franchise network.
Entrepreneurs use different ways to pull together their startup money. Some use crowdfunding, like this young inventor who started a business while he was still in college. Others look for investors.
Virge and Cheryl decided to borrow the money. One problem: They dreaded the prospect of filling out piles of paperwork for a home equity loan, and the endless hassle of shopping around for the best interest rates and loan terms.
“We weren’t looking forward to jumping through all those hoops,” Virge recalls.
That’s when they found Even Financial. Virge went to the website, typed in the couple’s information, and it produced a series of personalized loan offers.
“All of the major loan providers were presented in a very simple table -- what their rates were, what the terms were,” he said. They got a $20,000, three-year loan with a 5.9% interest rate from SoFi, an online personal finance company.
Have you ever thought about starting your own work-at-home business? Creating your own flexible schedule? Working in your pajamas?
Here are three other people who started theirs from scratch, with the help of online courses. One started taking courses from Transcribe Anywhere. Another started taking a course called Learn to be a Bookkeeper, and a third took online courses from Proofread Anywhere. Each makes at least $1,200 per month.
As for Cheryl, she launched her business a year ago. Since then, she has taken to her new career like a duck to water.
She’s been steadily building a base of clients. She has also mastered the art of being a long-distance Mrs. Fix-It if one of her traveling clients runs into a jam while on vacation.
“I love it. It’s a 24/7 job, and dinner has been late a few times,” she says, laughing. “But I can arrange most of my day around my kids’ schedule, and participate in their school and sport activities.”
“I get to do something I’m passionate about, and I’m building something of my own.”
Mike Brassfield (mike@thepennyhoarder.com) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. He needs to start traveling again.
Nordstrom must be celebrating Christmas in July.
The retail chain is gifting work-from-home job seekers with openings for seasonal customer care specialists, starting at $14.65 an hour.
Though these are remote jobs, it’s important to note this job listing is just for those who live in Florida.
However, when we wrote about Nordstrom hiring seasonal customer care workers last September, the role was open for applicants in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas and Utah — so there’s a chance seasonal work will be available to people in other states as we get closer to the holidays. Keep searching the company’s careers page if you’re interested.
As a customer care specialist, you’ll be supporting Nordstrom and its related brands like HauteLook and Nordstrom Rack. You’ll interact with customers via the phone and the web, so you’ve got to have great communication skills and troubleshooting ability.
Nordstrom prefers its customer care specialists to have six months of previous retail experience.
The hiring process includes completing two skills tests, and if you make it through those, you’ll have to complete a three-week online training class.
After training, your schedule may ebb and flow, depending on business needs. Since Nordstrom’s customer service is a 24/7 operation, you may be required to work evenings, early mornings or weekends.
This job is for people who can handle a flexible schedule. Full-time hours are available.
In addition to the $14.65 an hour pay, this position offers employee discounts, plus incentive opportunities. For example, if you continue with the company through the entire holiday season, you’ll get a $250 bonus.
The job listing also states that Nordstrom’s benefits package includes medical, vision and dental insurance, an employer-matched 401(k) plan and more, but what you’re offered will depend on your role at the company.
Check here to find out more about this job 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.
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.
Have you seen kids at carnivals and similar events with flowers, mermaids and other designs painted on their faces?
If so — and especially if some of them were your children — you know getting these temporary tattoos applied costs a couple of dollars. But did you know you can buy them for less than 10 cents each?
You’ll pay closer to a dollar for the materials needed to apply airbrush tattoos, but they sell for $5 to $20, and they’re more popular with adults. Clearly, a temporary tattoo business would have high profit margins.
Selling and applying temporary tattoos is primarily a weekend business, since most application opportunities will be at community events. That makes tattooing a good part-time business if your weekdays are full.
Curious about this potential side business? Let’s look at the two most common types of temporary tattoos, as well as each one’s business advantages.
It’s easiest to start with stick-on or “wet-and-press” tattoos. Many YouTube videos demonstrate how to apply them, and it’s a skill you can learn in minutes.
The other big advantage with stick-on tattoos is this business costs very little to start. You don’t need any special equipment; a wet cloth and a spray bottle are enough for most brands. Some tattoo varieties require isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol), which costs about a dollar per bottle. Of course, you’ll also need a table and a sign, or you can use your own face to advertise your service.
Supplies are inexpensive as well. You can start with tattoos from dollar stores, but buying in bulk online will substantially lower your cost. For example, OrientalTrading.com has tattoos for less than 7 cents each when you buy in bulk. It carries pirates, flowers, monsters and hundreds of other designs. CustomTattoos.com has more elaborate designs starting at 35 cents each, with a $125 minimum order.
If your target market is kids (which is common with these easy-to-apply tattoos), set up a table or booth at school functions, street markets and any other events that are full of families. You’ll probably want to price your tattoos between $1 and $3, and you can offer a discount for more than one, since it takes very little extra time to apply a second or third tattoo.
Go to events and note which temporary tattoo sellers are busy, and see what they do to get noticed. If you bring your own kids when you set up, put tattoos on their faces to make them walking billboards.
The simple wet-and-press tattoos are not just for kids, and you can get creative with them if you design your own. At TattooSales.com, you can upload an image to make custom temporary tattoos. Use your imagination! One woman created a temporary tattoo of a music festival schedule, reported Gizmodo.com. Buyers put it on their forearms so they didn’t lose track of which band was playing at a particular time and stage.
If you buy into a franchise, you get support and a name to use. For example, BodyGraphics.com sells a starter kit for as little as $129, which includes 250 tattoos and the one-year franchise fee. Its website says: “Some of our franchisees are earning over $100,000 in just six months!”
Airbrush tattoos look more like real tattoos. They’re often more elaborate than wet-and-press types, so they sell for more money. Prices average around $10, and the materials cost from 14 cents to about a dollar, according to EuropeanBodyArt.com. The business claims you can make $300 per hour over an eight-hour day. The higher price and profit margin is the biggest advantage to doing this type of tattoo.
The biggest drawback to airbrushing is that it costs more to get started. You need an airbrush, a compressor (get the silent studio type), a tank, hoses, couplers, paint and tools for unclogging the brush tip. Starting an airbrush tattoo business could cost you thousands of dollars.
It takes more time to learn the techniques as well. Fortunately, you can turn to airbrush tattoo YouTube videos to get your basic training.
If you want to start quickly and more easily, buy a kit. For example, TribalInkProducts.com sells a starter kit for a regular price of $1,299. When you buy a complete kit, sellers usually provide support by phone if you run into problems.
If you’re willing to invest the additional money and time to get started, airbrush tattoos are probably the way to go, because they’re more profitable. Actual figures for temporary tattoo businesses of either type are hard to come by, which is common with cash operations of any sort. But apart from the claims of the suppliers, you can find some information in tattoo-selling forums.
In one forum in 2015, those in the temporary tattoo business described a range of experiences. One said he averages $850 per day at fairs and festivals. He also reported working 10 to 12 hours, and on bad weather days his take would drop to $200. Another said he made $1,600 on a typical Saturday, but he had employees to pay. Yet another said his event income ranged wildly from $50 to $700 per day.
One contributor said that after six years of doing temporary tattoos part time, he grossed over $100,000 in a year, for a profit of about $62,000 after paying for an employee and other expenses. That’s not bad for a part-time business.
Steve Gillman is the author of “101 Weird Ways to Make Money” and creator of EveryWayToMakeMoney.com. He’s been a repo man, walking stick carver, search engine evaluator, house flipper, tram driver, process server, mock juror and roulette croupier; but of more than 100 ways he has made money, writing is his favorite (so far).
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.
Ever wonder how people get invited to advance movie screenings? If you’re like me, you’ve assumed such events are reserved for VIPs and members of the media.
The truth is, anyone can get free tickets to early movie screenings. Film studios regularly give away tickets to create positive buzz and press before the official release of a film.
Curious about how to get free passes to advance movie screenings? If you’re big movie fan, the following tips could save you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in admission prices.
Register for a free account with Gofobo, a site where movie studios and public relations firms offer advance movie screening passes directly to members of the general public.
Why are the studios giving these tickets away for free? They know that people who enjoy the film will provide free word-of-mouth advertising by talking to their friends and posting on social media.
Public screenings listed on Gofobo are open to everyone until tickets run out. To attend a private screening, you’ll need a private RSVP code. RSVP codes are released to the public through radio contests, newspaper and magazine articles, and sometimes Twitter and Facebook.
Gofobo allows up to two accounts per household, so sign up for a second account if you want to be able to reserve more than one pair of tickets. Other useful sites to check out are SeeItFirst.net and AdvanceScreenings.com.
PR firms offer free tickets, prizes and invitations to special events to generate excitement for upcoming movie releases.
Allied Integrated Marketing is the largest of these PR firms. Find the company on Twitter @AlliedIM. Be sure to follow its social media for all the major cities and regions near you. Allied will keep you updated on the latest Hollywood news, trailers, DVD prize packs and Gofobo RSVP codes. If you’re going to be hanging out on social media anyway, you may as well earn free stuff, right?
A few other websites, like Advance Movie Screenings and Wild About Movies, list advance movie screenings. Follow their Twitter and Facebook pages for your city, state or region. These sites don’t require RSVP codes. Instead, tickets are issued by random draw or on a first come, first served basis.
Radio stations give away free movie passes all the time. Check your local station’s website to see if it has a VIP member club or reward program.
Some stations allow their listeners to collect member points online by answering trivia questions or clicking on sponsored links. These points can then be redeemed toward movie passes and other prizes. Subscribe to radio station newsletters to stay updated on their latest contests and giveaways.
Going to the movies for free is awesome, but how much better would it be if someone were paying you to do it?
You could earn money at movie premieres by counting audience members and noting which previews run before the main feature.
If you’re a writer, review films for your local paper or set up a movie review blog and earn advertising revenue. If you’re feeling cynical, why not get paid to make fun of movies online? There are many ways to earn money by watching movies. Get creative!
Be sure to arrive at least 30 minutes before the screening. Keep in mind that the first few rows of the theater are reserved for members of the press, and screenings are frequently overbooked. You may be turned away if you don’t show up early enough.
For my first screening, I arrived at my local theater 20 minutes early and was shocked to see how many people were already lined up outside of the box office.
After the screening, you’ll likely be asked to give your opinion on the film or fill out a questionnaire. This is your opportunity to let the studio, screenwriters, directors, producers and cast know what you thought of the movie!
By following the above steps, you should be able to grab a pair of free movie passes in no time. And with the extra money you’re saving at the box office, you won’t feel so guilty for splurging on those Gobstoppers. Happy movie going!
Althea Clarke is a freelance writer and avid movie fan who specializes in ghostwriting, SEO articles, website content, ebooks and more. You can visit her at http://ift.tt/2eIc2z2.
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.
If you have kids, you’ve probably burned quite a few holes into your wallet.
In fact, the cost of raising a child is about $233,610 , according to U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates. And that’s just one child.
Ouch.
We’re all about cutting costs where you can, but everyone with kids knows they can be expensive — no matter what you do.
These people feel your pain…
1. Kids are bottomless pits who eat a month’s worth of groceries in one sitting.
Good lord. My 3 kids ate 4 and a half pounds of ravioli for dinner tonight. That’s insane in the membrane. #wtf #growthspurt #grocerybills
— Julianna Miner (@mommylandrants) May 10, 2016
Is stuffing that many raviolis into one stomach actually possible?
Some day I’m going to tell my grocery store I own them roughly $400 for all the bananas my son has stolen and eaten while shopping with me. — mama bird diaries (@mamabirddiaries) May 5, 2016
Wait. At 69 cents per pound, that’s a lot of bananas! Here are some easy ways parents can save money on groceries.
And you’ll never let it go…
My daily workout is walking through the house 14 times a day turning off all the lights my kids have left on in every room.
— Goddess of Mischief™ (@AsgardianRose) June 11, 2015
This mom’s probably in great shape, though.
As a parent, you want to open doors for your kids. As someone who pays A/C bills, you must close every door they open, which is all of them. — The ParentNormal (@ParentNormal) May 17, 2016
When one door closes, the rest open.
I can either put my kids through college or pay for one hour of Internet on a plane. Being an adult is hard.
— Ben Schwartz (@rejectedjokes) December 21, 2015
#Priorities, Ben.
My first-born is graduating high school. I wasn’t going to be this emotional, yet here I am, crying over her college tuition statement. — Lady Lawya (@Parkerlawyer) May 12, 2016
I hope her daughter applied for some scholarships.
Scanning kids playroom to see if I can pass off any old toys as “Santa gifts” without raising suspicions. #recycling
— mama bird diaries (@mamabirddiaries) December 10, 2015
Maybe next year she’ll start saving early.
Most kids refer to their parents as Mom or Dad. My kids refer to me as “can I have $20?” — Sarcastic Mommy (@sarcasticmommy4) April 28, 2015
I don’t know. Can you?
Movie tickets: $37
Snacks: $32
Listening to two five year olds bitch to go home for half the movie: priceless— Northern Lights (@PinkCamoTO) January 17, 2015
This mom should’ve Netflix’d and earned.
Your turn: What lovable things do your little ones do to add to your financial strain?
Kelly Smith contributed to this post. Kelly is a junior writer and engagement specialist at The Penny Hoarder.
Dana Sitar (@danasitar) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. She’s written for Huffington Post, Entrepreneur.com, Writer’s Digest and more, attempting humor wherever it’s allowed (and sometimes where it’s not).
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, one of the largest personal finance websites. We help millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. In 2016, Inc. 500 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the No. 1 fastest-growing private media company in the U.S.
What is robo-investing?
Is that like when Robocop puts down his huge robot gun, pulls on a green accountant eyeshade and starts handling your investments?
“Citizen, my programming indicates that your portfolio requires more mutual funds.”
No. That’s not it at all. Not even close.
Robo-investing is when online financial companies use sophisticated software instead of human stockbrokers to manage your investments. That way, the companies can keep fees super low.
Two of the dominant robo-investing companies are Betterment and Wealthfront. In many ways they’re very similar. But there are important differences between the two, so let’s compare them.
Launched in 2008, Betterment is considered the pioneer of robo-investing. It’s now managing $9.5 billion in assets. Wealthfront, which moved into robo-investing in 2011, is managing $5 billion in assets.
Betterment is based in New York, Wealthfront in Silicon Valley.
The two companies are strikingly similar. They have the same basic business model, designed for long-term investors who want a professionally managed portfolio at a rock-bottom price.
Each company’s website asks you about your age, when you hope to retire, and your tolerance for risk.
Based on your answers, it’ll funnel your investment money into a portfolio of low-cost index funds that track the stock market as a whole.
Both companies use software robots -- proprietary programs that act as automated advisers -- to steer your investments and cheaply do things stockbrokers and money managers would charge you high fees to do.
If you’re trying to decide between Betterment or Wealthfront, consider how they’re different:
Minimum Deposit
Wealthfront requires a minimum deposit of $500 to open an account. (It used to be $5,000.) In contrast, Betterment requires no minimum deposit.
Let’s assume you’re opening a tax-deferred account like an IRA. That’s what most people do with these companies.
Betterment and Wealthfront each charge the same annual management fee of 0.25% of your investments. For example, if you invest $10,000, you pay them $25 a year to manage it.
Except that Wealthfront doesn’t charge any fees for your first $10,000. And if you invest more than $2 million with Betterment, it caps its fees at a maximum of $5,000.
Both companies handle 401(k) rollovers and several kinds of investment accounts -- traditional and Roth IRAs, trusts, and taxable accounts. However, Wealthfront also offers 529 college savings plans. Betterment doesn’t offer a 529 plan, but has goal-setting tools to help you save.
For every friend or relative you refer to them, Wealthfront will manage an additional $5,000 of your assets for free. Betterment offers one free month of service for every referral, and one free year for every three referrals.
For an additional fee, Betterment will arrange for you to speak with an actual human advisor, not just a robo-adviser.
A plan called “Betterment Plus” charges 0.40% instead of 0.25%, but gives clients unlimited advice via email and one financial planning call per year. “Betterment Premium” charges 0.50% and offers unlimited email and unlimited phone calls with advisors. These plans require a minimum balance of $100,000.
Both websites offer retirement planning tools. Betterment has “RetireGuide,” while Wealthfront has “Path.”
However, Betterment also helps you create personal savings goals right from the beginning when you sign up and answer their questions. You can customize your Betterment accounts to aim for four different kinds of goals: “retirement,” “safety net,” “wealth building,” or “major purchase.”
Betterment recently launched socially responsible investing (SRI) portfolios. The site explains that this is an approach to investing that reduces exposure to companies that are deemed to have a negative social impact. For example, companies that profit from poor labor standards or environmental devastation. These portfolios also increase exposure to companies that are thought to have a positive social impact, like fostering inclusive workplaces or committing to environmentally sustainable practices.
Here’s the million-dollar question, and it’s a tough one.
Which is better?
“The answer to that question depends on many factors and is not a simple, straightforward answer,” says Investor Junkie, which compared the two. “Unlike other comparisons we’ve done, this one doesn’t have a clear winner.”
InvestorMint compared the two and concluded, “Management fees and expense ratios are almost identical at Betterment and Wealthfront … Both feature good retirement planning tools, though Betterment goes a step further in offering goal setting features.”
It was those goal-setting features that convinced business development strategist Michael Gardon. Writing for the personal finance website The Simple Dollar, he compared the two robo-advisers and chose Betterment because it helps you set financial goals.
“Novice investors and those saving for multiple goals at once would be a great fit for Betterment’s services. Just answer the questionnaire, set your goals, and forget it -- Betterment takes care of the rest,” he wrote.
“What’s more,” he wrote, “Betterment requires no minimum investment, opening the door to first-time investors who might have minimal funds starting out.”
Mike Brassfield (mike@thepennyhoarder.com) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. He definitely needs to invest more.
If you’re looking for a work-from-home job that doesn’t confine you to a 9-to-5 weekday schedule, here’s an opportunity you’ll want to check out.
Customer relationship management company Alorica is hiring work-at-home customer service representatives.
Alorica manages customer calls 24/7, and that means you can work evenings, late at night and on weekends.
Customer service representatives must be available to work 10 hours between Saturday and Sunday.
As a customer service representative, you’ll receive and process incoming calls for a variety of Alorica clients.
Responsibilities include taking down customer information, answering questions, resolving issues and presenting upsell opportunities on each call.
To land this job, you’ll need “exceptional customer service skills as well as patience and empathy,” according to the job description.
Alorica offers paid training at the minimum wage in your area or $8.25 per hour, whichever is higher.
Training classes are held weekdays 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. CST, Aug. 28 through Sept. 12.
Agents will select 20 hours between the hours of 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. CST from Sept.13 through Sept. 15 for on-the-job training.
Once you’ve completed training, your pay will be $9 per hour.
You’ll need to meet a few requirements to be considered for this job, including:
If this sounds like a job for you, head over to Alorica’s website to apply.
Scroll to the bottom of the page and choose “Nebraska” as your location. “All of our WAH positions are based out of this state, but you can work at home in your area,” notes the job listing.
Look for a section labeled “Job Number,” type in “122042” and click search. When the customer service representative position pops up, click Apply and follow the onscreen instructions.
Don’t forget to check out our Jobs page on Facebook. We post new jobs there all the time.
Lisa McGreevy is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She loves telling readers about new job opportunities so look her up on Twitter @lisah if you’ve got a tip to share.
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.
What’s the number one goal of content marketing?
Besides the obvious answer of generating leads and making conversions, it’s maximizing engagement.
Content marketing thrives on engagement!
You want your audience to take an active interest in your content and interact with your brand.
This typically comes in the form of likes, shares, comments, etc.
But there’s a new format that’s really picking up steam, and that’s surveys.
They’re especially big on Facebook right now.
Here’s an example of one Jeff Bullas used to figure out what his audience’s goals were when using LinkedIn:
When done correctly, surveys are excellent engagement boosters because:
Surveys ultimately enable you to raise the collective interest in your brand and attract a larger portion of your target demographic.
By building this interest, you can get people to pay more attention to your brand and hook more customers.
But there’s an added perk: market research.
Surveys are absolutely perfect for gaining intel on your audience’s interests, preferences, likes, dislikes, etc.
And that’s incredibly important!
You can use this information to improve your marketing, fine-tune your offerings and so on.
What I’m trying to say is that surveys accomplish several important things all at once.
Not only are you increasing engagement and building interest in your brand, you’re reeling in leads and doing market research at the same time.
It’s a win-win-win situation!
But here’s the thing.
There’s a lot more to it than just slapping up a survey and waiting for the sales to start pouring in.
Like any aspect of marketing, it requires the right strategy and an understanding of how to make your surveys appealing to your audience.
Otherwise, no one is actually going to respond.
In this post, I’m going to explain how to use surveys the right way, how to increase your response rate and how to turn respondents into customers.
I’ll also highlight some platforms you can use to get started.
Let me start by saying you need to use tact when asking people to participate in surveys.
Each time someone goes online, they’re bombarded with deals, ads, offers, promotions, friend requests, etc.
To cope with this onslaught, people have to pick and choose what to participate in, which often makes them reluctant to take part in surveys.
After all, it takes time and effort.
Even if there are only a few questions, people have to take time out of their days to fill out a survey.
So it’s super important that you’re not being a nuisance when asking people to participate.
You need to go about it the right way.
Here’s how.
Ideally, you’ll target individuals who are already familiar with your brand and have proven they have an interest.
It’s much easier to get someone to participate if there’s some level of built-in loyalty already there.
Research from SurveyGizmo found there was a huge disparity between external (people who are unfamiliar with your brand) and internal (people who are familiar with your brand) surveys.
Just look at the difference in response rates:
It’s more than double.
When you’re just getting started, I recommend targeting Facebook followers, email subscribers and so on.
Go after those with whom you already have a level of rapport and who developed loyalty to your brand.
Here’s a good example of IKEA hitting up its Facebook followers with a survey:
As you can see, it got a nice number of votes at 286.
Believe me, it’s much easier to get these people to take action than those who have never heard of you.
If someone already has a vested interest in your brand, they should have no problem supplying you with their feedback.
Most people are willing to answer a few questions.
But not many are willing to answer a dozen or more questions.
The longer the survey, the lower the response rate will be.
For instance, most people wouldn’t want to bother with a survey like this:
Or this:
It’s just too big of a time commitment and requires too much mental energy.
And quite frankly, it’s a little intimidating.
But responding to a survey like this is no big deal:
A quick click, and you’re done.
Keep this in mind when deciding on the number of questions to ask.
In most cases, most people have a “what’s in it for me?” type of mindset.
Maybe they’re unwilling to participate in a survey as is.
But you can always sweeten the deal by incentivizing things.
Here’s an example from Artifact Uprising:
Here’s another from Babies R’ Us/Toys R’ Us:
Earning $10 or being given a chance to win a $250 gift card is a pretty strong incentive.
This would definitely pique the interest of many people.
But you know what?
Your incentives don’t necessarily need to be over the top.
In fact, deals like these aren’t in the budget for everyone.
But I’ve seen many brands do quite well and increase their survey response rates significantly by including a promotional code for 15% off shipping on the next order.
And think about it.
An offer like this also encourages people to buy.
Here’s what I recommend.
Do some A/B testing offering a survey without an incentive and then one with an incentive.
See how big of a disparity there is, and use this data to decide whether or not to use incentives for future surveys.
There’s also the issue of timing.
It’s imperative you offer surveys at the right time, when people are most likely to respond.
Here’s an example.
Let’s say someone just subscribed to your newsletter.
You wouldn’t want your first email to be asking them for their input.
It just wouldn’t make sense and would be annoying.
A better approach would be to occasionally target subscribers who consistently open your emails after they’ve had a chance to get comfortable with your brand.
They should be a lot more receptive to such requests and willing to participate.
We’ve established that surveys have multiple uses and can be used to hook more customers.
We’ve also discussed some fundamental strategies for pulling surveys off effectively and maximizing their response rates.
But how do you get started?
I suggest first checking out Facebook’s survey tool.
Start by going to “My Surveys” on Facebook.
Click on “Get Started Now:”
Enter a title for your survey:
Click “Continue:”
You’ll then come to this screen:
From here, you’ll want to add your questions by clicking here:
Enter your questions, choose the question type and include images if you want:
Rinse and repeat until you’re done.
At the end, you’ll be able to preview your survey and finally publish it.
Facebook is a good place to experiment with surveys if you have a sizable audience already familiar and comfortable with your brand.
You can create surveys that are quick and easy to answer, and they can be integrated seamlessly with the rest of your posts.
I also like Facebook because their surveys aren’t really obtrusive.
If one of your followers is interested, they can instantly participate.
If not, they can simply keep scrolling through their feed.
No big deal.
When you’re looking to create surveys for your website, blog, email, etc., there are several different platforms to choose from.
One of the most popular is Survey Monkey.
I find it to be straightforward and easy to use.
You can also create some really professional looking surveys with virtually zero design experience.
The best part is the basic version is free.
You’re limited in terms of the number of questions you can include and the number of responses, but it should be enough to get the ball rolling.
If you want more features, you can always upgrade later.
Here’s a screenshot of the different plans available with Survey Monkey:
If you’re looking for reviews on other survey platforms, I recommend reading this post from WordStream.
It will tell you pretty much everything you need to know and give you the rundown on some of the top platforms.
Surveys are nothing new.
They’ve been used for thousands of years.
But using them as a content marketing tool is fairly new.
They’re gradually becoming more popular but have yet to be used on a massive scale.
This means there’s plenty of opportunity if you know how to use them correctly.
As I pointed out before, surveys offer a means of accomplishing three important things:
All three are huge for your bottom line.
And once you get the hang of the process, you can use it time and time again.
How often do you participate in surveys?
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. College loan fatigue
2. Passive income from cultural stories
3. Choosing different target retirement funds
4. Children’s savings account question
5. Starting over financially in America
6. Backpack for college in fall
7. Safe to buy secondhand electrics
8. Realities of trade school
9. Roth IRA for children?
10. Cheap good kitchen rags
11. Learning chess online
12. Gifts and parenting toward independence
Our summers are often packed with activities. We’ll spend a weekend camping, then a weekend visiting extended family on my side, then a weekend spent visiting extended family on my wife’s side, then our summer vacation, and so on.
The challenge with that kind of schedule is that it hypercompresses my working time. I have to use some very creative ways to find uninterrupted windows of time in which to work.
This is why, this morning, I find myself in a coffee shop. I typically don’t work in coffee shops because I feel obligated to buy coffee, but this is a quiet and sleepy coffee shop that opens really early in the morning. Eventually, I’ll move to the library.
Why not just work at home? The problem with working at home is that everyone is there. My wife and all of my children are busy doing things around the house and all of them tend to ask me questions or tell me things or ask for help. If weeks were “normal” I would not mind, but in order to be able to do these things on the weekends, I need healthy uninterrupted blocks of work, so I generally leave the house and go somewhere nearby to work during the summer.
It took time to really figure this out and a few summers were mighty stressful. It’s well worth it to try different approaches to alleviate issues that cause work stress.
I’m suffering from college loan fatigue. My wife and I have two debts, our mortgage and her $42k college loan. We’ve whittled it down from nearly $70k five years ago and I’m just sick of throwing money at it and feeling like we’re spinning our wheels. At this point, I’m paying off $1000 in principal a month, and the thought of doing it for another 42 months is sickening.
I get quarterly bonuses and stock grants and I’m also sending 50% of those to the loans as well as our tax returns, monetary gifts and money I make selling our old junk. But I can’t help thinking about what good all of this money can do elsewhere. I could easily be making an additional six mortgage payments a year, or maxing out my 401k contribution, or buying index funds…but instead I’m throwing thousands of dollars down a bottomless pit.
I think of what life will be like when I’m not spending over $1000/month on vapor and that keeps me going, but are we doing the right thing dumping our money into this? Should I pay the minimum ($660/month!) for the next five years and invest the rest of the money? I know I’ll feel amazing when this loan is gone, but I’d feel even better watching my investment accounts and financial safety net increase every month.
– Stephen
You’re going to have to address your student loans one way or another. If you pay less now, you’ll be rewarded with having to pay more over the long haul as your loans will accumulate more interest. That’s just a fact of life.
The question you’re really asking is whether or not you’ll end up money ahead by putting money aside for retirement now and paying less on your loans, or paying more on your loans now and waiting on retirement savings.
Here’s the truth: it’s a market timing question. The correct answer to your question won’t be known until the returns of whatever investment you might choose are revealed in the next several years.
The truth is that either choice you make is a good choice because they both revolve around spending less than you earn and saving for the future. If you sit down and look at your net worth calculation, either option is going to cause your net worth to go in a positive direction. One will be pretty steady (the early debt payment), while the other might go off like a rocket or might go in the wrong direction for a bit (the retirement savings).
There is no “best” answer, at least not with the limited information given here. How stable is your career? What investment are you considering? What is the interest on your loans? What is your tax situation like? Those factors might guide you toward one option or the other, but either one is fine. They both end up revolving around spending less than you earn, which is the key to success.
A final note: it’s not worth your time or energy to be so frustrated about this debt. It is a fact of life. Just let it be and instead take pride in eliminating it. Don’t focus on how you think your debt is a “black hole.” If you think of it at all, think of it as payments for the college education you’re utilizing that helped you get the job you have now.
What I’m looking for is an inspiration to create a passive income source. I am a part time stay at home mom of a toddler and originally from [another country].
So I stumbled upon an idea to write simple stories in [my original] language for the kids growing up outside [my home country] – like my daughter.
I believe it will be a good way to keep the kids connected to [the culture and language of their ancestors]. . . Something I want for my own daughter.
My question for you is – What would you recommend ? A book / series of books or a blog ?
Based on what my content is, what do you think will work?
Thank you for your insight on this issue and for all the money saving tips in general.
– Anna
Unless you have connections within the publishing industry, your best bet is to publish your own work online, probably in the form of a blog or a standalone website. From there, you’ll have to take on the effort of getting it linked to by other sites, as that’s the key to getting it to show up in Google searches.
Where should you start? It doesn’t matter which path you choose – your first step should be to simply write out a bunch of the stories. Make sure that you actually have the content first before worrying about how to publish it.
So, here’s what I would do. First, I’d simply write out a bunch of the stories, then I’d go back through them and edit and refine them to the best of my ability. Perhaps you can even have a friend help you with the editing. After that, I’d collect them together on a standalone website. You might be able to find a nice template for this at Squarespace. You may want to include some advertisements on the site to earn money, or leave them off and just focus on presentation. After that, spend some time contacting other websites that might link to yours. Find ones you’d be happy to link to and discuss reciprocal linking, where you link to them and they link to you. This will put you on a great path to having your stories discovered by readers, which is the real goal here.
I am 25, therefore it would make sense for me to place my funds into a 2050 or 2055 target fund. I noticed that the Vanguard 2060 and 2065 funds are allocated exactly the same and are cheaper. Would it make sense for me to invest in the cheaper 2065 fund and in 15 years transfer the dollars over to another fund? This way I would have more shares available and receive higher dividends. Odds are I will transfer my money into a new fund once I hit certain benchmarks anyway.
Am I right to think about it in this way or is my logic wrong?
– Dennis
I’m not sure what you mean by cheaper. I’m assuming that you mean that the cost per share of Vanguard 2060 is less than the cost per share of Vanguard 2050, and a similar comparison occurs between 2055 and 2065. Thus, by that logic, if you’re seeking dividends, 2060 and 2065 make for a better deal since they have identical yields.
Assuming that you’re planning on making an investment change down the road, perhaps moving your money into different funds, this logic does make some sense. In the short term, before 2050 and 2055 start to transition into more secure investments, 2060 and 2065 are basically identical to them and are slightly better deals. The difference is really small, but it does exist.
For passive investors, I don’t think the difference is enough to worry about. On my back of the envelope math, the difference here is a small fraction of a percentage of annual growth. If you’re in “sit it and forget it” mode, this probably isn’t worth it. If you’re a tinkerer, you can make a little extra here, but it’s on the order of a few dollars on a $10,000 investment.
Someone gave me a flier about Modern Woodmen’s Dollars and Sense children’s savings account. I’m wondering if ya’ll have any experience with it or can give me any advice on it. I can’t find reviews for it online and would like to know if I should sign up my kids for it or stay far away. The person (I just met them while on vacation) who gave me the flier would earn rewards if I sign up, so I don’t know if I can trust them or not.
– Aimee
For clarity’s sake, Modern Woodmen is a bank that offers a children’s savings account that’s tied to a financial literacy program; this account and program are collectively called Dollars and Sense.
Aside from the financial literacy program, the Dollars and Sense savings account seems to be a pretty typical brick and mortar savings account. The interest rate isn’t spectacular, but the account does have a very low minimum balance (appropriate for a child’s account).
For a child learning about savings, this seems completely appropriate.
It does seem to be marketed with some kind of affiliate program, as you mention, but the product itself is a pretty standard children’s savings account with a literacy program attached to it. If this seems right for you, then I’d have no objection to signing up.
I am a Chilean citizen and I am travelling the next month to the United States. I am interested in opening a checking account for a fresh start. Normally I live in Chile but I have some family with addresses in the United States. Would this be possible?
– Hector
I’m assuming that, while you may be beginning the path to US citizenship, you aren’t a citizen yet and it won’t be coming any time soon. I’m also assuming that you don’t yet have a Social Security number.
Given that, your best bet is to try opening an account that also operates in Chile. I was able to easily discover that JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo both operate in Chile.
Both of those banks should be able to help you open an account that you can access in both the United States and Chile. That, to me, is the big advantage of using a large transnational bank.
My nephew is going to a great college in the fall. I am going to take him out to lunch a few days before he leaves and want to give him a backpack with some college goodies in it. I want to give him a sturdy back pack and have a $100 budget. What should I buy?
– Nadine
At this point, there are backpacks that range anywhere from $20 to $300; while in general you get what you pay for, there are definitely better ones in each price range.
At around $100, I would buy him a North Face Surge, honestly. I have been using this exact backpack as a portable office for several years now, carrying it back and forth to the library or the park two or three times a week, and it looks practically new. The stitching and materials appear to be quite strong.
I’d really enjoy a list of what you’re putting into the backpack, as would my readers!
Is it safe to buy an electrical device secondhand? What about electronics? I have visions of secondhand devices shorting out and burning down my house!
– Kourtney
We have a ton of secondhand electrical and electronic devices in our home. We have a used bread making machine (costing a whopping $0). We have a couple of used lamps. We have a used stand mixer. Those were just ones I could think of quickly.
None of them have shorted out. None of them have failed to work.
Here’s the thing to remember: any electric or electronic device runs some risk of shorting out. You should never plug in anything new and walk away from it. Instead, you should spend at least some time near it keeping an eye on it to ensure it’s in working order and, over time, trust that the item will work. I don’t plug anything in for the first time and just leave it plugged in while I leave, whether it’s new or not.
If you do that, then there’s really no issue with a used item. I suppose there’s some additional chance of a defect, but you can simply ask to plug the item in at the store to see that it works. Don’t forget, there’s also a chance of a defect in a new and unused item. Be smart with both types of items.
A few times, you have suggested that trade school is a good option for people who recognize that they are not cut out for college. That may be the case but you cannot refute that many trades earn less than many college degrees can earn over a lifetime. I think trades are bad advice.
– Wade
If you’re looking at a trade – let’s say electrician, because that’s the trade I’m most familiar with – the “college” experience is best paralleled by a combination of trade school and apprenticeship. Most electrician schools cost about $1,000 and get you to your apprenticeship in about three months, during which you work for about four years and earn somewhere around $15 an hour. After that, you typically test to become a journeyman electrician. A journeyman electrician makes an average of $56,000 a year nationwide, and there are definitely progression paths within that field, such as working toward master electrician status.
Compare that to a college degree. With an electrician’s path, they pay $1,000 for the brief schooling and then work a $15 per hour job for four years. With a typical four year degree at, say, a typical large state college where the student is in-state, that person is paying about $40,000 for tuition and fees. If they’re not also working enough to feed and house themselves at another job, that’s an additional cost. At the end of college, that’s a substantial debt load. Will that degree be earning more than the $56K average of a journeyman electrician? Maybe, but they’re also carrying a debt load.
I think that a trade like electrical work is a perfectly good alternative to college. It may not be the most exciting career choice, but it doesn’t involve a big debt load and replaces classroom time with apprentice time.
Does it make sense to fund a Roth IRA for your child? Can you do that? My back of the envelope math says that if you put money into a Roth IRA for your kid in early childhood for a few years they basically won’t have to save much at all for retirement. Thoughts?
– Alfred
A child can have a Roth IRA as long as he or she has earned income from a job. That’s the tricky part – how can a child earn an income?
Unless you’re in an exceptional situation, with a child working as a model or actor, you’re probably going to have to wait until the teen years to start contributing. However, when your child starts to earn money from tasks like babysitting, as long as they report an income to the IRS, they can contribute as much as they earn up to the $5,500 limit. You can, of course, gift them that much money and manage the IRA contributions yourself.
So, let’s say you have a child that earns $3,000 from babysitting in a year when they’re 14 and you put $3,000 into their Roth IRA. That’s going to give them 51 years of growth – that’s almost $100,000 that will be in their Roth IRA at age 65.
What you might want to consider is simply opening up a savings account in your child’s name and quietly putting in “contributions” into that account. Then, when the child starts earning income, start moving that money into a Roth IRA for them quietly.
What’s the cheapest way to get a bunch of good kitchen rags for mopping up spills and washing dishes?
– Carla
This 50 pack of Simple Houseware microfiber cleaning cloths is a good start. You can just fill up a drawer with them, use them as needed, and then toss them into most laundry loads. We have a bunch of these and they work like a champ.
You can obviously shop around for similar bundles. Warehouse clubs like Costco and Sam’s Club will have similar bundles available on the shelves so you can judge the quality yourself.
For outdoor rags, I mostly use old t-shirts that I keep in a “rag bag” in the garage. They’re great for outdoor cleaning tasks of all kinds – windows, bicycles, siding, and so on.
My six year old is interested in learning how to play chess. There is a teacher at her school that encourages play as an activity in the classroom and on recess rainy days. My daughter is good but wants to get better. She is already as good as I am!
What are the best free tools for learning chess online? It seems like there are a lot of options. Any recommendations?
– David
Honestly, I’m in a very similar boat with my seven year old. We’re learning chess together. I used to play a lot, but I haven’t touched a chess board in a long while.
What we’ve been doing – and this may or may not work for you – is using ChessCademy.com, which is free. We’ll sometimes play on it together and sometimes I’ll play on my own. The big goal for me is to learn a concept well and then spend time teaching it to him so that he can use it on me.
Right now, either one of us can crush everyone else in our family, so we’re on a bit of a learning journey together. That’s how we’re doing it and the journey has been quite fun.
Really loved your article on parenting toward independence! You are so right that parents need to raise their children for strong independence for the sake of their own retirement and future because dependent adult children are a disaster for retirement. I have witnessed this myself as my mom’s two younger siblings are still dependent on my grandparents who are now in their 70s and still working.
How do you handle gift-giving occasions if you parent in this style? It seems to me like handing them a lot of gifts is a bad idea but giving them nothing seems wrong, too.
– Olivia
Our approach is to give our children project-based and creativity-based gifts, usually oriented toward their hobbies.
For example, for our daughter, we typically give her some art supplies depending on what she’s specifically into at the moment. She has worn full sets of colored pencils completely down to nothingness and tends to go through sketchbooks at a surprisingly rapid pace, so those make for good gifts. Art books are also great, as she’ll often sit on the couch cross-legged and just stare at them.
We often give books as gifts as well, particularly ones that we know will push them a little but are intriguing enough to them that they’ll actually read them. For example, we recently gave our oldest child Rules for a Knight by Ethan Hawke as a gift, which is basically the principles of stoicism written in the form of a low fantasy story. He really enjoyed it.
Other gifts include journals, strategic games (ones where thought is required), and anything that will get them outside. We also sometimes give them “experience” gifts as well, often centered around their birthday, such as a camping trip with their friends.
We just look at our gifts through the lens of encouraging independence, problem solving, creativity, going outdoors, and enjoyment of pre-existing hobbies (as much as possible).
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