Baseball Season Mayhem: How We’re Saving Money on Travel

The following post was sponsored by Capital One®. All opinions are my own and not directed by Capital One. To learn more about the GM BuyPower Card, click here.

If you follow my wife on social media, you probably know what we’ve been up to this summer. We’re in the thick of baseball season for our kids, meaning we spend most of our free time and weekends driving to baseball tournaments and cheering them on.

PS: If you don’t follow my wife, shameless plug here! Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

In a lot of ways, we’re having the time of our lives! It’s fun to pack up the car and go on short adventures, stay in different hotels and spend quality time with our kids. Then again, the whole ordeal has also been fairly expensive.

While baseball season has offered us plenty of time to bond as a family, it hasn’t been cheap!

Fortunately, we made a financial move earlier this summer that made getting to and from games easier to manage. While I strongly advocate being smart when financing a car, I don’t actually hate the idea of getting a new car if you need one. And since we added a new “Rose” to our family earlier this year, we needed a bigger ride.

So, we upgraded our “mini” to a GMC Yukon XL big enough to hold my kids, our luggage, baseball gear, lawn chairs and anything else we choose to bring along. So far, having an SUV that actually fits our family size has been great.

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6 Ways to Save Money on Travel Ball

When it comes to travel ball itself, there are plenty of ways to save money no matter what you drive. Here are a few of the ways we’re dialing down the costs of travel ball this summer:

#1: Book hotel rooms in advance.

Most baseball teams release a schedule far ahead of time so families can plan their travel and hotel stays. If you want to save money, use this schedule to your advantage.

By booking hotel rooms early, you can get ahead of the crowds and avoid surge pricing. You will also gain peace of mind knowing your hotel rooms are squared away.

If you have a family of six like us, this is especially important when you’re trying to book a suite or get two adjoining rooms. We found out the hard way and found all six of us in one room with two double beds.

When you have three smelly boys I promise this sleeping arrangement is NOT ideal!  

#2: Take advantage of team discounts.

Some hotels and restaurants offer team discounts, but it’s not always obvious right away. If you want to know about these discounts, you usually have to ask. As you map out your travel ball itinerary, try calling hotels and restaurants along the way to see what they offer.

I’m also a huge fan of travel review apps, where you’re able to find the best restaurants and hotels based on other people’s reviews. We’ve found some great local food options with these apps and also avoided some potential disasters.

Leave a comment with your favorite travel app!

#3: Earn all kinds of rewards.

Travel provides a great opportunity to earn rewards. You can accumulate Earnings for each dollar you spend on your GM BuyPower Card, including on hotel stays and any emergency gear that you might have forgotten at home!

#4: Plan potlucks!

One of the biggest financial drains of travel ball is definitely food. Obviously, it’s difficult to cook on the road when you’re traveling around with four kids.

Fortunately, our travel ball group plans evening meals where everyone brings a dish.

We’ve even stayed at hotels where they offer a grill by the hotel pool. If you can participate in a few potlucks while you’re traveling, you’ll save big!

#5: Bring your own snacks.

Do your kids ask for 2,341 snacks per hour? Mine do! With four kids, someone is always hungry. To save money, we bring snacks with us.

This lets us avoid the pricey concession stands and feed our kids healthy snacks instead of chips and candy.

Since there’s no getting around feeding them non-stop, this is a win-win for everyone! While some tournaments don’t let you bring in coolers, you can always bring in snacks like nuts and beef jerky.

We also keep a cooler with bottled water and other drinks in our SUV.

#6: Pack wisely….and don’t forget anything!

While you don’t want to bring the kitchen sink to every weekend ballgame, you do want to make sure you bring the important stuff.

Case in point: A friend of ours forgot their kid’s cleats at our last tournament, so they had to drive to the nearest town to buy some. If you have purchased cleats before, you know how expensive they can be!

So, make a list to ensure that you bring the necessities, but not too much, while also ensuring that the entire family is dressed appropriately for the weather.

When you pack wisely and try to think of everything, you can avoid having to buy expensive gear on the road.

The following post was sponsored by Capital One®. All opinions are my own and not directed by Capital One. To learn more about the GM BuyPower Card, click here.

The post Baseball Season Mayhem: How We’re Saving Money on Travel appeared first on Good Financial Cents.

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4 Ways to Save Money on Lisa Frank PJs That’ll Make You Cry Neon Tears

Remember the 90s?

Backstreet Boys ruled, *NSYNC drooled — or was it the other way around? “Seinfeld,” “Ellen” and “Friends” filled our Thursday nights. “Salute Your Shorts” and “Saved by the Bell” filled our afternoons.

We proudly flaunted Adidas sneakers in public and quietly bathed our faces in Noxzema at home.

Middle school wasn’t the time of our lives, but we hid the pain with school supplies decked in happy ponies and unicorns. In our heyday, Lisa Frank’s neon landscapes adorned everything from lunch boxes to pencil toppers.

You’ll be happy to know the colorful wildlife designs are still going strong — and now you can wear them head to toe.

Yep, women’s Lisa Frank PJs are now available at Target — and you can get them cheap.

How to Get the Best Deal on Lisa Frank Pajamas at Target

Your favorite furry friends, mystical creatures and aquatic animals deck these nightgowns and pajama sets in sizes XS to XL.

Prices are mostly $14.99 to $19.99, but you could nab this heartthrob of a tiger in XS for just $5.90. (It’s temporarily out of stock as of this writing, but keep your eyes peeled to nab it when it’s back.)

Want to knock that steal down even more? Of course we’ve got tricks for that!

1.  Save Your Email Receipts

Once your neon jammies are in the mail, deleting your emails could cost you serious money.

Why?

An app called Earny helps gets you money back for your online purchases at stores like Target -- but you have to keep your email receipts.

Here’s how it works:

1. Sign up for free here.

2. Earny will scan your email archives for receipts. It’ll find your PJ purchase — or those from any of more than 20 other partner retailers — and monitor the prices everywhere online.

3. When Earny finds a better price, it negotiates with retailers and credit card companies on your behalf to get a refund through price-match policies.

You’ll earn cash back while you lounge at home in your new throwback getup!

2. Bank 5% Cash Back

We know you’re as excited as the Target Lady to click “buy now” on your new dolphin-decked nighty. But wait.

First, consider joining the RED club.

Target’s branded RED debit and credit cards offer a hefty 5% cash back on every purchase you make at the store and online (except prescriptions).

You won’t pay an annual fee for the card, but if you don’t want another credit card on your roster, choose the debit card instead. It links to your existing checking account, so you can save every time you shop at Target without changing your budgeting strategy.

Using the RED card today would save you up to $1 on those pajamas — but it gets better if you’re a frequent Target shopper.

Let’s say you spend $150 a week on Market Pantry groceries — that’s $390 in cash back each year!

3. Find Sales With Retale

That’s not a typo. The app is called Retale, not “retail.”

We all know the best way to save on anything is by shopping around. But is that how you want to spend your time? Probably not. This app does it for you.

Retale shows you the weekly ads from stores in your area, including Target. You can search for specific items to find the best deals near you — then add them to your shopping list with one click.

And if you’re into deal stacking (you should be), it has a tab to discover store coupons and get an even better deal.

Here’s a link to download Retale.

You know what this means? More Lisa Frank pajama-lounging time.

4. Sign up for Price Drop Alerts

Want to hold out for a better price on the popular garment? If you can stand to be the only one at the pajama party without a psychedelic design, wait until it goes on sale.

Your friends will be so envious of your frugal wisdom!

I’m not talking about wasting your precious days checking the store for a sale. You’ve got a Spice Girls concert to attend — or something equally pressing.

Instead, use Shoptagr, a mobile app and browser extension that keeps an eye on prices for you.

It lets you save items from over 1,600 online retailers to a single wish list. Then it notifies you in real time when an item goes on sale.

Shoptagr will even watch items in a specific size and color — so you won’t have to settle for a zebra when you had your heart set on a cheetah. Because, as if.

Feel Like You’re Paying ‘90s Prices Every Day

You might have already guessed: You can use these money-saving tricks for far more than nostalgic nightwear.

Cut your costs on everything from groceries to next semester’s school clothes with these tips to save money every time you shop at Target.

Dana Sitar (@danasitar) is a senior writer/newsletter editor 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).

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GFC 097: 6 Important Steps to Take Before You Retire

Retirement rarely happens by accident. For most people, finally leaving work for good is the result of a slow climb – a climb where specific moves are made to ensure financial resources are sufficient – and tucked away somewhere safe.

If you’re on the fence about retirement and fairly sure you’re ready, now is the time to start putting things into motion. With a few smart steps, you can not only prove you’re ready to retire, but ensure your retirement is actually enjoyable and free from worry and stress.

Is retirement on your agenda this year? Here are six important action steps to take today:

#1: Identify your retirement goals and assess your income.

Obviously, the biggest worry most retirees face is whether they have enough money to live on. How much money will you receive in the form of retirement withdrawals, pensions, or social security? How much cash do you have stashed away in the bank, and how long will it last?

In addition to tallying up your retirement income, it helps to list out your retirement goals. Can you afford to realize your dreams in retirement?

“Identifying your goals will help you determine what your target income ought to be in order to fulfill your objectives,” says Orange County Financial Advisor Tony Montenegro. With a handle on your income and your retirement goals, you can determine whether your savings are enough to make the type of retirement you wished for a reality.

#2: Create an actionable retirement plan.

“Develop a personalized financial plan,” says California financial planner Joseph A. Azzopardi of The Well Planned Retirement. Ideally, you’ll want multiple income streams that afford you a comfortable retirement, but also as few expenses as possible.

As Azzopardi notes, it's too easy to overlook the small things that can have a tremendous impact on our financial lives in the long-run. “Taxes, inflation, longevity assumptions, medical care, and estate planning are the most common items I see clients overlook when reviewing retirement plans.”

While it’s possible to work through your income and goals yourself, sitting down with a financial planner can also be a smart move as you approach retirement. If you’re unsure your money will last, a financial advisor can give you a definitive answer.

#3: Dial down your spending.

Our second tip goes hand-in-hand with our first one. As you consider how much money you’ll have to spend in retirement, it’s equally important to create a budget that actually works. From there, you can compare your planned monthly spending to your income. And if the numbers don't match up and you anticipate a cash shortage in retirement, you’ll need to find ways to dial your spending back.

“Many people still do not know exactly where all of their money goes, but it’s a critical and simple first step for any pre-retiree,” says Texas financial planner Shane Sullivan of Escaping Financial Gravity.

While budgeting may sound complicated, it's only as hard as you make it. To create a simple starter budget, take a sheet of paper and create two columns. Write all your income streams on one side of the page and all your fixed, estimated, and fluctuating expenses on the other. Compare figures (income vs. expenses) to see where you stand. Then, look for expenses you can cut once you retire.

Sullivan also suggests living on your “retirement budget” for a few months before you pull the trigger.

“There may be some uncomfortable adjustments you need to prepare for now to make sure you’re ready to go,” he says.

#4: Dial down your investment risk.

According to Colorado financial advisor Matthew Jackson of Solid Wealth Advisors, future retirees need to take a close look at their investments within a few years of retirement. That way, they can transition at least some of their retirement savings from accumulation strategies, which often involve risk and uncertainty, to preservation strategies intended to preserve capital.

Perhaps you’ll want to buy an annuity for guaranteed income, or simply move the bulk of your investments from high-risk funds to new options with less risk and volatility.

“Being heavily invested in the stock market could be a recipe for disaster if there is an unforeseen correction in the market,” says Jackson. “And no one wants to have to go back to work because of a loss of retirement savings.”

While none of us have a crystal ball, we do have the ability to secure assets from big losses.  “In this day and age, you don’t have to sacrifice good returns for safety,” he says.

“It is possible to secure a large chunk of your savings and still have a good return.”

#5: Create a plan for your time.

While some people assume retirement will be absolute bliss, many new retirees find they have too much idle time on their hands, says Albuquerque Financial Planner Jose Sanchez.

Sometimes, leaving work creates an “unexpected void” that can leave new retirees depressed and anxious for something to do.

“Don't let the success of retirement be an empty victory,” says Sanchez. After the initial excitement of retirement dies down, you’ll need something to do.

To plan a retirement that provides your life with substance, you should come up with a list of activities to dive into. Ask yourself, “What am I retiring to?”

Perhaps you can work on a passion project part-time, volunteer for a cause you care about, or perfect a new hobby. Whatever you decide, make sure you plan activities that will give your retirement substance.

You have all the time in the world now. What will you do with it?

#6: Learn about Social Security and Medicare.

As your approach retirement, it is important to get a handle on the type of benefits you may qualify for. Create an account at http://ift.tt/SZZKeK and start to familiarize yourself with the site’s benefits calculators.

“And while you are there, remember to print off your benefit statement,” says financial planner Benjamin Brandt of retirement podcast Retirement Starts Today Radio. “Paper statements stopped in mid-2011 & started up again in Sept of 2014.”

Have a pension or other employer-sponsored benefits?  Check on your spousal and health insurance-related options. Meanwhile, it's equally important to learn about Medicare and your options there as you approach age 65.

“Knowing your benefits is a crucial step to building a comprehensive retirement income plan,” says Brandt. Even if you don’t yet qualify, it’s important to know how all your retirement benefits will work together in future years.

As always, the best way to plan is to plan ahead.

This originally appeared on U.S. News.

The post GFC 097: 6 Important Steps to Take Before You Retire appeared first on Good Financial Cents.

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How to Use Social Listening to Create Viral Content

Viral content is inherently unpredictable.

You could have two similar pieces of content—with one receiving thousands upon thousands of shares and the other languishing in obscurity.

In that regard, there’s no magic formula that will enable you to create viral content on command.

It’s not like you can just flip a switch and get mass exposure.

It doesn’t work like that.

But there are several things you can do to increase the chances of your content going viral.

That’s what I want to talk about in this post.

More specifically, I’m going to explain how you can use social listening to your advantage.

Social listening, defined as “the process of monitoring digital conversations to understand what customers are saying about a brand and industry online,” is most commonly used for evaluating customer feedback and identifying their pain points.

But I’ve also found it to be absolutely perfect for predicting what my audience is craving and what’s most likely to go viral.

The way I see it, social listening is perhaps the best way to predict virality.

Here is how you can utilize it to your advantage.

Effectively analyzing content

There’s a popular expression:

the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.

Although this can be debatable, depending on the context in which it’s used, you’ll want to follow this line of thinking in this instance.

Like I said earlier, you can never say with 100% certainty that a particular piece of content will go viral.

But what you can do is see what’s resonating the most with your audience at the moment.

If you notice that a particular topic, angle, theme, etc. is completely killing it, there’s a good chance you’ll see favorable results if you cover it as well.

But how do you know what’s popular and what’s resonating with your audience?

That’s where social listening comes in.

The key to effective social listening is knowing which tools to use.

I’m going to cover a few of my favorites you can use to discover trends and identify topics that have the potential to go viral.

Google Trends

Let’s start from the top.

I use Google Trends quite frequently for market research and for gauging people’s interest in various topics.

But I find it can also be helpful for identifying the hottest topics at any given moment.

For starters, you can simply go to the Google Trends homepage.

Start scrolling down to see the top trending stories:

Sometimes, this can give you some potential ideas to work with.

Of course, the trending stories aren’t narrowed down by niche or topic, so you’re dealing with a wide variety of subject matter.

But sometimes that’s all it takes.

If you see something that interests you, click on it:

You’ll then get some of the most relevant articles, which should provide further clarification on what’s popular at the moment:

In this case, a lot of people are talking about Snapchat’s new “Snap Map” feature.

Therefore, this could be something I would want to investigate further and a potential topic I could cover.

Using Top Charts

Another useful feature is called “Top Charts.”

From the Google Trends homepage, click here:

Then click on “Top Charts:”

Here’s what you’ll see:

Scroll down to look at all the different categories.

Or you can search for a relevant category by clicking on “All Categories” and choosing the one you’re looking for:

Once you’ve found your category, you can click on “More” for more detailed information:

The logic here is that you can use up-to-date data from Google to see what people are most interested in at the moment in your industry/niche.

Google Trends is by no means a be-all and end-all social listening tool, but it can serve as a nice starting point.

Inbound.org

This is only applicable to digital marketers like myself.

But if this is your area of focus, it can be a potential gold mine.

Here’s what you want to do.

Once you’re at the Inbound.org homepage, scroll all the way down to the bottom.

You’ll see this:

Click on whatever sub-category you’re interested in.

I’ll go with SEO:

Here’s what I get:

Scroll through the list, looking for ideas.

Inbound.org does most of the heavy lifting for you by curating the top stories.

Many have received a high volume of shares, so you know the interest it there.

Also note once you sign up, you can create your own feed to streamline the process even more.

This way the stories come right to you.

BuzzSumo

Now, let’s bring out the big guns.

BuzzSumo is a beast when it comes to finding out how much engagement content receives.

And since engagement (shares in particular) is the ultimate indicator of virality, this is one of the best ways to capitalize on trends and increase your odds of creating viral content.

Here’s what you want to do.

Type in a keyword you’re looking to base your content on in the search box of your dashboard.

I’ll use “SEO” as an example:

Now, set your filter date to a time that sounds right to you.

Because we want to capitalize on current trends, I recommend going back no further than six months.

However, the past month or week is ideal.

You can even set it to the last 24 hours, but you’ll usually have limited data.

I’ll set mine to the past week:

Once you do that, BuzzSumo will populate your screen with the top content according to total shares.

Here are the top results I got:

Now all I have to do is browse through the content and look for two things:

1. content that’s relevant to my industry/niche
2. content that’s received a significant number of total shares and/or links.

This post from Search Engine Land about testing accelerated mobile pages (AMP) for WordPress caught my attention:

Not only did it get 1.5k shares in the past week, it also got 41 backlinks.

This lets me know that my audience is obviously interested in this topic.

And if I created an article that was bigger, better and more epic, it would have a reasonable likelihood of going viral.

This is the formula you want to use with BuzzSumo.

It doesn’t matter what topic you’re covering.

Following these steps will let you know what people are responding to and give you very specific data to base your decisions on.

Let me say that the Pro version is ideal because it gives you a lot more data.

That’s what I used for this example.

However, you can do a limited search with the free version, which can still be useful.

Other tools

So far I’ve provided you with three different resources for social listening.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

There are several other tools you can experiment with, many of which are free.

Check out this list of the top 15 free social media monitoring tools from Brandwatch for info on other tools.

Taking what you’ve learned and running with it

At this point, you should have a pretty good idea of which topics are popular at the moment and what your audience is responding to.

That means you’re not basing your content on a hunch. You’re basing it on tangible data.

Your job now is to create the best content possible around that topic.

Now, I’m not saying you should blatantly rip someone off.

What you want to do is put your own spin on things.

Look for a way to expand on it.

And, of course, it needs to be awesome.

It needs to be epic.

Just think skyscraper technique.

Hitting the mark in terms of quality and value is absolutely essential if you expect for your content to go viral.

I’ve already covered this extensively in the past, so there’s no need to talk about it here.

But let me point you to a couple of articles I’ve written that should be helpful.

There’s this one from NeilPatel.com.

It’s a guide for writing epic content that will go viral.

And there’s this one from Quick Sprout, which is about the anatomy of virality.

Conclusion

Social listening is useful for many different aspects of marketing.

Using it to gauge your audience’s collective reaction to various topics will give you a good idea of what type of subject matter is most likely to go viral.

This gives you valuable knowledge to guide your content creation.

In turn, you can “scratch your audience’s itch” and give them what they’re looking for.

And just think of the competitive advantage this gives you over other brands that simply slap up content at random without giving it any real thought.

While there are never any guarantees that something will go viral, following this formula increases the chances significantly.

What do you think is the main contributing factor for content going viral?

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Some Thoughts on Tony Robbins

Over the last few years, several people have asked me questions about the financial advice being given out by the well-known motivational speaker and entrepreneur Tony Robbins. In the past, Robbins was mostly known for his motivational books and seminars and infomercials; I myself have read his earlier books Awaken the Giant Within and Unlimited Power, with some mixed feelings (which I’ll touch on again in a bit).

In the last few years, however, Tony has published two different books on personal finance – Money: Master the Game and Unshakeable: Your Financial Freedom Playbook. Those two books in particular, along with some of the interviews he’s given as well as the recent documentary about Tony (I Am Not Your Guru), have triggered the questions that readers have sent to me.

Honestly, I’ve been putting off those questions because I wanted to give myself the time to actually read some of his books and interviews (and watch the above documentary), and then give myself some time to reflect on all of this and give my conclusions.

I’ll summarize the multitude of questions I’ve been asked about Tony Robbins down to one single question: Does Tony Robbins offer financial or other life advice that’s worthwhile to me?

My short answer? Yes, but the advice he offers can also be found from a lot of other sources.

Let’s separate out a few things here, though.

Tony Robbins became well known due to his earlier books on personal development (the two I mentioned above, Awaken the Giant Within and Unlimited Power, are definitely his most well known) and his series of seminars sharing those ideas.

I won’t get into the specifics of the message that Robbins delivers other than to say it involves a lot of basic self-psychology and reflection. I strongly agree with some of his generalities about self-empowerment, but some of his specific tactics are on shaky ground. For example, neurolinguistic programming (something he apparently doesn’t focus on as much these days) is something that has largely been discredited in the psychology community. If you stick to his broader themes, Robbins is generally on the money.

So, how did he become successful with a general self-empowerment message with a mix of useful and perhaps not-so-useful tactics?

The key to Robbins’ success, and it’s something you can see every time he’s interviewed or when you see clips of him practicing his motivational work, is that he is extremely charismatic, knows how to ask great questions, and manages to emotionally relate to people extremely well. He is one of the most naturally gifted people I’ve ever seen at relating to people. He’s just simply great at appearing likable and making you feel good about yourself. The message itself becomes secondary because of Robbins’ people skills.

To me, this is really the key of his success. I don’t think his ideas are extraordinary at all. For the most part, he preaches standard self-improvement ideas with a few wonky tactics. Where he succeeds is in his charisma, speaking ability, and ability to really relate to others and seem inherently likable. He is really good at that, and that, for some, makes his fairly standard self-improvement ideas much easier to apply when he delivers them.

In the end, though, self-improvement comes down to you, not to Tony Robbins. No matter how good he is as a people person, it still comes down to your own willingness to make changes in your life. If you’re not willing to do that, then no motivational speaker is going to change anything about you. It all comes from you.

Tony Robbins is an incredibly gifted motivational speaker, but there’s nothing magical about his self-improvement ideas. It’s mostly fairly typical motivational stuff. If you succeed by following his tactics, that’s because you chose to do it. He just pushed a little in the right places.

This brings us around to personal finance. Is Tony Robbins bringing anything valuable to the table with his personal finance books?

In all honesty, Tony Robbins’ personal finance message is pretty standard stuff. Let’s walk through some of the core principles he talks about.

He’s a strong proponent of spending less than you earn – ideally, far less than you earn. Over and over again, he keeps coming back to the fact that you cannot build wealth if you’re spending everything you make. You either have to significantly cut spending or you have to find ways to make more money, period. There is no magic solution to this.

He’s a strong proponent of seeking out investments with low fees. Avoiding fees is a key part of his financial advice, actually. He’s very wary of 401(k) plans because of the fees (unless they offer you matching funds, which more than overcomes the fees). He encourages readers to shop around for other investment vehicles (Roth IRAs, 529 plans) based largely on fees.

He’s a strong proponent of indexing and diversification. He argues on behalf of simply buying a few index funds that are very diversified and have minimal fees and just putting your money in there so that your money is diversified amongst a lot of different assets.

He discourages risky investing. Basically, his philosophy seems to be that if there is even a small chance of losing money over your time period, you shouldn’t be investing in it. Stick to things that have a proven history of returning money over the time you intend to be invested. If you have 25 years until you want to retire, then you should stick to things that will almost assuredly build your money over 25 years (like diversified, indexed stocks). If you’re five years away, stick to things that will build your money over five years with little risk of losing the balance (like bonds).

In summary, Tony Robbins offers an investment perspective for individuals that strongly matches that of John Bogle and Warren Buffett. All of them advocate for investing your money in low-cost low-fee index funds and by living frugally in order to get money into those funds.

I found this perspective to actually be rather refreshing. Quite often, motivational speakers who endorse an investment strategy tend to come out in favor of strategies that are very risky or flawed. Robbins is actually advocating for a very sensible strategy, one that’s based on very solid principles.

So, what’s wrong with this?

The problem I had with the material that I read – and it’s the fatal flaw that keeps me from endorsing his books wholeheartedly – is that Robbins constantly plugs for a particular investment firm that I won’t bother to name here. Suffice it to say that Robbins family has a business relationship with this firm (Robbins openly states that he has been in discussions with that firm for business relationships, but doesn’t give specifics) and that the firm’s version of these investments aren’t particularly strong as compared to the market leaders. There are many firms that offer low-cost index funds with low fees – I personally use Vanguard, but you can find low-cost index funds from Fidelity and even firms with traditionally high-fee investments like Schwab offer some very nice low-fee index funds.

In other words, Robbins hits the principles firmly on the head, but the specific firm he endorses doesn’t seem to follow those principles all that well, at least from my vantage point. Rather than bashing a company, I will say that if you choose to follow Robbins’ advice on investing, be sure to actually do the research on specific firms and the fees they charge before investing your money with them.

Aside from that specific issue of investment house choice, the principles Robbins is advocating for are widely shared in the personal finance community.

Of course, that’s true with Robbins in other areas of self improvement: the broad principles he gives out are quite valuable, but sometimes there is some trouble in the details.

I admire greatly Robbins’ ability to communicate with people and motivate them to make stronger choices that empower themselves. I think that he shares helpful broad principles for self-improvement. However, when it comes down to specific tactics, you’re always better off doing your own homework and getting advice from a lot of sources and knowing how to interpret the advice and the data.

Of course, that philosophy is true when it comes to advice from anyone. Never make money moves based on the advice of someone who doesn’t know your specific situation intimately, and even in that situation, don’t hesitate to get second and third opinions. There’s nothing wrong with using the advice of others as a starting point, but be your own advocate and do your own homework.

Let Tony Robbins be your motivator, but even he says that he is not your guru. Do your own homework when it comes to specific decisions as to what to do with your money – and if you’re not sure how to do it, take the time to learn by reading lots of different personal finance and investment books and articles from a variety of writers. Don’t let any one person do all of the work for you.

Good luck!

The post Some Thoughts on Tony Robbins appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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3 Couponing Strategies That Save You Time and Money (and Keep You Sane)

Do you ever find yourself sitting at your kitchen table, surrounded by a pile of coupons, newspapers, circulars and a smartphone with five newly downloaded apps — and feeling completely overwhelmed?

I’ve been there. With so many different sources of discounts and ways to stack the savings, figuring out how to save the most money can be tougher than it looks. Is Costco actually cheaper than CVS? Do I really need three Kleenex six-packs? Which saving and coupon apps actually work, and which aren’t worth the time?

However, I don’t look at couponing as a struggle anymore; I’ve figured out how to organize coupons to make it a more efficient, enjoyable process that helps me save money while buying the things I need for my family. Ready to learn my couponing systems and strategies?

1. How to Organize Coupons With a Binder System

I remember going to the grocery store with my mother and watching her sort through a huge stack of coupons to find ones she could use that day. Instead of bringing all of your coupons to the store, wouldn’t it be easier to only bring the ones you’ll need that day? Manage your coupon inventory by creating an organized binder.

The first step is to find a binder, preferably a colorful one that’s easy to find on your shelf. Check your kids’ school supplies from last year for leftover binders, or look at your local thrift store or a garage sale.

Purchase coupon sleeves, and organize them by category using binder dividers. My categories are beauty, home goods, pet, food, medicine, cleaning supplies and restaurants.

Sort your paper coupons — ones you’ve clipped from your local newspaper and circulars, or those you’ve received in the mail, like Valpaks — into the appropriate categories. Ta-da!

This system makes it easy to coordinate your shopping list with your coupons. When you know you’ll need dog food, light bulbs and glass cleaner, you’ll only need to take a few coupons sleeves with you, rather than a big stack of random clippings!

2. Use Savings Websites to Find More Discounts

Your local newspaper might share some deals, but it can’t compete with the number of options you’ll find online. Make sure you’re not missing out on extra savings by checking these websites for online coupon codes as well as printable coupons you can cut out and add to your coupon binder.

Coupons.com

One of the biggest couponing sites around, Coupons.com offers printable coupons for useful, everyday items. The only drawback is that you can’t search for a coupon for a particular item; instead, you need to browse through all available coupons in a particular category, looking for one that meets your needs.

RetailMeNot

With both printable coupons as well as promotional codes to use online, RetailMeNot is a must-bookmark site for any couponer. You’re likely to find coupons for your favorite stores, and it’s expanding its options regularly. If you don’t see any offers for your favorite store, check back a few weeks later and you might be in luck.

Qponsr

This startup site lists tons of online coupons and also aggregates offers from daily deal sites like Living Social and Groupon. It also helps you stay organized and plan your shopping list by consolidating paper coupons and local store offers based on your location.

If you wanted, you could use the site as a digital version of the binder system I outlined above, since it even tracks coupons from your local newspaper. Use the dashboard to create a grocery list, manage all your coupons in one place and see your total savings.

The Penny Hoarder

Yes, the site you’re reading now! While it doesn’t focus exclusively on promo deals or online coupons, The Penny Hoarder shares special deals and tips for saving when they’re available. For example, right now, readers can save 50% on glasses through GlassesUSA if they use the code “penny50.”

3. Save on Your Smartphone

Your biggest savings tool might be your smartphone. The best part? You can use many of these money-saving apps after you get home from the store, from the comfort of your own home — no more juggling coupons in the checkout line.

Ibotta

This free app gets you cash back for the groceries or products you’d buy anyway. It works for tons of brick-and-mortar and online retailers, like Publix, Target, Walmart, Amazon — even Uber.

Here’s how it works….

1. Sign up for Ibotta here (you just need a name/email address to start).

2. Browse through the cash-back offers in your area, and take note the next time you go to the grocery store (the offers change every week). For example, in my area Ibotta will give me 50 cents if I take a picture of a receipt showing that I bought a gallon of milk and $1 if I take a picture showing that I bought graham crackers. Pretty cool, right? Once you’ve reached at least $20 in earnings, you can request payment via PayPal or Venmo. And right now, Ibotta is giving new users a $10 sign-up bonus, just for redeeming their first receipt.

3. So, obviously you don’t want to buy a bunch of crap you weren’t already going to buy. But this can be an easy way to get a little cash back for doing something you were already going to do. Also, you can still use coupons on the items you’re buying, so this can be a nifty way to “stack” your savings, and in some cases, you might be able to get the item for free.

Cartwheel

Who doesn’t love Target? Love it even more with Target’s Cartwheel app that saves you money in store with no paper involved. Simply browse items or scan the bar code of the product you are interested in, then click the “Add” button. When you check out, the cashier will scan your mobile coupon, a personalized bar code that includes all the items you added.

Download Cartwheel for both iOS and Android devices.

Favado

Favado is less a couponing app than an aggregator. It pulls together all the sales in your area. Instead of going through all of the ads that come with your Sunday newspaper, select the stores you shop most at, including Trader Joe’s and CVS, and Favado will list all the sale items at each store.

Download Favado for both iOS and Android devices.

Berrycart

This app works just like Ibotta: You scan, send a picture of the receipt and save! The difference: Berrycart focuses on health foods, so it offers cash back on items like almond milk iced coffee or coconut water — foods that aren’t often discounted.

Download Berrycart for both iOS and Android devices.

Snap

This is my favorite of the couponing apps. Created by Groupon, Snap includes offers on all kinds of items, from Robitussin to tomato sauce. Sometimes it even has deals on “any fresh salmon” or “any grapes” — which means you can save money on your favorite brand without being restricted by a specific coupon.

This app works just like Ibotta, but you only need to scan the receipt, not the bar code. Another plus? Snap isn’t linked to any specific store, so you can shop wherever you like.

Download Snap on iOS and Android devices.

Use Your Couponing System

Don’t worry if this system seems overwhelming at first. Give it a try, and I bet you’ll figure out quickly how to organize coupons. You’ll keep your paper coupons organized in your binder and manage your online promo codes using Qponsr or RetailMeNot, so shopping trips will be simpler. Check your favorite app for deals while you make your shopping list, and then scan bar codes and take photos when you get home.

While the discounts may seem small at first, they’ll add up. You’ll eventually realize you saved the cost of a Starbucks latte or a movie ticket — and celebrate your milestones! Couponing can be a fun hobby that yields even more enjoyable rewards, so take the stress out of managing your savings by trying these couponing strategies.

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

Jill Pohl is a freelance writer based in Northern Virginia, by way of lots of other places (she’s a military spouse). You can find her on Twitter at @jillpohl.

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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9 Colleges That Offer Free Tuition So You Can Focus on Studying, Not Debt

America currently has more than $1.3 trillion of student loan debt.

Louisiana’s Grambling State University tops the list of colleges where graduates have the most debt. The average there is more than $50,000! Who wants to start their work years with that kind of a burden?

A degree can be expensive! But help is here.

The Penny Hoarder has previously explained how Starbucks gives free college tuition to workers, and how to go to college free overseas. You also might be eligible for some of these 100 awesome scholarships.

What if none of those options fit your plans?

Fortunately, you can get a free college education without slinging coffee, leaving the country or applying for a Zombie Apocalypse Scholarship.

Here are nine colleges that will automatically cover your tuition once you enroll.

1. Berea College

Located in Kentucky, Berea College offers the Tuition Promise Scholarship to every student admitted.

The amount is adjusted according to other aid you receive, so that, “The actual cost to students and their families is $0.”

With tuition costing more than $25,000 per year, that saves you almost $100,000 over four years.

2. Deep Springs College

An accredited two-year liberal arts college located on a cattle ranch and alfalfa farm in the high desert of California is unusual enough.

But this financial arrangement is even more uncommon.

Every student accepted by Deep Springs College receives a full scholarship worth over $50,000, along with room and board. You’re required to do 20 hours of labor each week, and the school only accepts about a dozen new students each year.

3. Curtis Institute of Music

Located in Philadelphia, the Curtis Institute of Music “provides full-tuition scholarships to all of its students, ensuring that admissions are based solely on artistic promise.”

You’re expected to first apply for aid from other sources, and then Curtis covers the remaining tuition.

This scholarship is valued at more than $41,087 0 for undergraduate students and more than $51,924 for graduate students.

4. U.S. Service Academies

There are five U.S. service academies associated with the various military branches.

They all offer a bachelor of science and cover your tuition, TodaysMilitary.com explains, but with a catch: You have to serve at least five years in the military upon graduation.

Of course, not many other colleges offer free tuition and a guarantee of a job for five years.

5. Barclay College

Located in Kansas, Barclay College has undergraduate and graduate programs for Christian students from “all evangelical faith traditions.”

Resident students “automatically receive a $14,000 full-tuition scholarship upon acceptance.”

Most degrees are in Christian-related fields (example: master of arts in spiritual formation), but the school also offers business management and psychology degrees.

6. Webb Institute

A small New York college with about 90 students, the Webb Institute offers a bachelor of science program in naval architecture and marine engineering.

It also offers U.S. citizens and permanent residents full-tuition scholarships, valued at $48,350 as of this academic year.

7. College of the Ozarks

Missouri Christian liberal arts school College of the Ozarks advertises on its homepage, “Don’t Pay Tuition” and “Work for an Education.”

You have to put in 15 hours of weekly work, plus two 40-hour work weeks each school year.

You might be outdoors doing landscaping, or in the kitchen, or another of the “over 80 diverse and fulfilling work areas.”

8. Macaulay Honors College

Although the competition for admission is fierce, if you make it into Macaulay Honors College in New York City (part of CUNY), your tuition is covered — and it’ll even give you a laptop and some help with housing.

The college offers 475 majors across eight campuses. But you have to be a New York resident to qualify.

9. Alice Lloyd College

Alice Lloyd College guarantees it’ll cover your tuition if you live in one of the 108 counties it serves in the central Appalachian mountains (in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia) — and you’re a full-time student.

The school offers bachelor of arts and science degrees.

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.

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Ugh, Another Social Security Scam You May Want to Tell Loved Ones About

Social Security recipients seem to be particularly vulnerable to scams, so it shouldn’t surprise you that the Social Security Administration is warning recipients about a third scam in the past few months.

In the newest scam, the Office of the Inspector General for the Social Security Administration is warning people to protect their personal information.

The inspector general’s office says the scammers call the victims — usually from a phone number with a 323 area code — and promise them a 1.7% cost-of-living adjustment increase in their Social Security benefits.

The scammer will then ask the victim to confirm personal information including their name, birthdate, Social Security number and parents’ names. Once the scammer has that, they can make changes to the victim’s direct deposit information, telephone number and address.

The scammer can also use that information to open credit cards in the victim’s name.

Here’s How the Other Scams Worked

As you warn your family and friends about this latest scam, don’t forget the other Social Security scams some criminals might still try to pull off.

Back in March, scammers pretended to be employees of the Office of the Inspector General and tricked people into thinking their Social Security benefits had been suspended and that they had a warrant out for their arrest. The scammers would convince the victims to buy hundreds of dollars’ worth of gift cards or prepaid banking cards and send them the card details to resolve the fake warrants.

In June, the scammers allegedly moved on to trying to collect the personal information from a group of former clients of Kentucky disability attorney Eric C. Conn. In that scam, authorities say victims were promised a $9,000 payout from a compensation fund if they sent a $200 fee.

What to Do if You Get a Call

There are circumstances when an employee from the Office of the Inspector General might call you. There are even circumstances when an employee will ask to verify your personal information, but you will likely be expecting that call.

If you ever get an unexpected call that you find suspicious, it’s always best to take extra care. Hang up and call your local Social Security office to confirm the validity of the call. The same goes for unexpected text messages, emails or letters you receive.

You can also call Social Security’s toll-free customer service number at 800-772-1213 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.

To report a possible scam, you can report it online or call the Office of the Investigator General at 800-269-0271.

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.

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Paying 15% Interest on a Car Loan Sucks, but What if You Really Need a Car?

In the first quarter of 2017, $8.27 billion in auto loan debt became “seriously delinquent,” according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

That number includes the debt of everyone who fell at least 90 days behind on their car’s monthly payments between January and March.

Let’s put that in perspective.

Around this time in 2012, we hit a 14-year record low of $2.87 billion for new seriously delinquent auto loan debt in a single quarter.

The amount we added in early 2017 is only slightly less than the $8.62 billion we all added to the seriously delinquent file at the height of the financial crisis in the third quarter of 2008.

That means we’re flirting with new delinquent auto loan debt that’s just below where it was during the financial crisis — a time when a massive number of Americans could barely keep roofs over their heads or cars in their driveways.

I shouldn’t need to tell you this, but I’ll say it anyway: This is not good, people.

Of those in default, there is a segment we should be paying more attention to: subprime borrowers.

Subprime? That Word Sounds Familiar

Ten years after the financial crisis, the phrase “subprime loan” still sets off alarms in our heads. But we’re not talking about subprime mortgages here — we’re talking about car loans, which are entirely different animals.

Let’s say you have a good credit history and make a decent wage, and every time you have ever borrowed money in the past, you have been diligent about paying back every penny of it on time. When you’re in the market for a new car, your loan would likely fall in the “prime” category.

Your lender would likely be confident that you could afford to finance your new Toyota Camry, and if a minor personal crisis happened, you could keep up with the payments. The risk in allowing you to finance this car is minimal for your lender.

But let’s say you can’t check all those boxes.

If your credit history is less than stellar, you’ve got two options: Agree to the terms of a subprime loan agreement, or don’t buy a vehicle that could be necessary to get to work or get your children to and from school.

The terms of a subprime auto loan agreement can vary between lenders, but this is generally a loan category for borrowers with lower credit scores — usually below 620 — who likely also have a high ratio of debt relative to income, said Mark Flannery, finance professor in the University of Florida’s Warrington School of Business.

“Those loans are collectively called ‘subprime,’ indicating that there are not really strong credit (scores), but they may be strong enough borrowers to give people money and expect that they will pay it back,” Flannery added.

Right now, subprime loans make up a only a small percentage of auto loans — about $25.9 billion of the nearly $1.2 trillion industry — but subprime borrowers are also much more likely to default on their loans.

It’s important to note that the subprime auto loan industry is only a fraction of the size of the subprime mortgage industry.

So even if delinquency rates keep rising, it would not be nearly bad enough to send the economy spinning into oblivion like the mortgage crisis did.

Though auto loan default won’t send the country into financial collapse, signing an agreement you don’t understand and can’t afford could cause a world of trouble for you and your family.

Little Regulation for Subprime Auto Lenders

There is no standard limit on how low your score can go and still qualify for a subprime loan — that depends on your lender. But the riskier you are as a borrower, the more the terms of your loan will likely benefit your lender instead of you.

“There are people who need this service, need to buy a car, need to have transportation even though their credit is not great,” Flannery said. “We also need to be sure that there are people who are willing to lend to that sort of borrower.”

That need for this kind of service and lack of strict regulation can mean higher interest rates and, in the worst cases, massive penalties when borrowers can’t keep up with their payments.

For example, if you have a credit score that’s nearly perfect, you could see interest rates of 3.6% or lower. But if your credit score drops below 620, that same car could come with an average interest rate as high as 15.24% for a 60-month loan.

Subprime Lenders Are Not Your Friends

Most subprime lenders want you to pay them back. They lose money when you don’t repay your loan.

“That kind of subprime lender wants to make sure that whatever burden is being put on people’s finances, that the odds are pretty good that they are going to be able to repay,” Flannery said.

Unfortunately, not all lenders operate that way.

“Another kind of lender might have built into the contract some really onerous fees and penalties if there’s a bankruptcy,” Flannery said. “And there are some kinds of lenders who will count on there being a certain number of bankruptcies and collecting some of those onerous fees.

“There, the lender doesn’t have quite the same interest as the borrower because the lender will actually make a fair amount of money if there is a default. Then, somebody who is not financially sophisticated runs the risk of getting into a contract that even the lender knows is pretty likely to cause them trouble later.”

What’s worse is how difficult it is to stop these kinds of lenders from causing so much harm.

While consumer advocates call for more regulation to protect borrowers, limiting lenders could mean cutting off access to credit for some who really need it.

That’s what makes it tough for regulators to draw the line. That means it’s up to you to protect yourself and ensure you’re not signing an agreement with a lender that’s hoping you’ll fail.

How to Know if You Can Really Afford Your Car Loan

It can be a tough call to make when a subprime loan is your only option.

“A lot of people will say — including people with lots of formal education — I don’t really understand finance, but if they’re willing to lend me the money they must think I can repay them,” Flannery said. “You don’t necessarily want to rely on the person across the desk from you. You want to apply some of your own common sense.”

He has ways you can perform a financial self-assessment before you make a mistake. All it requires is you honestly answer the following questions about yourself.

Suppose you lost your job, your hours at work were cut back, or you or someone in your family got sick, would you be able to pay this auto loan?

“It’s a hard question to ask because we don’t like to think ill of ourselves,” Flannery said. “But that’s sort of what you have to do — you have to be your own most accurate critic and say ‘OK, the lender thinks I’m pretty close to being unable to afford this, so what could happen to make me unable to afford this and how likely do I think that is?’

“That’s kind of bet you’re making when you sign the loan contract.”

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.

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This is Why (and How) Refinancing a Loan Can Affect Your Credit Score

It’s no secret: Refinancing loans can save you thousands of dollars.

Whether you’re refinancing your mortgage and saving $3,600 a year… refinancing your student loans and saving $5,400 a year… or refinancing your credit card debt and saving $12,000 in interest…

If you know what you’re doing and can find the best terms and rates, all seems well on the financial front, right?

But we needed to know: Does refinancing affect your credit score? If so, how?

How Refinancing Loans Can Affect Your Credit Score

It’s a dog-eat-dog world out here, and your credit score will affect your refinancing rates and refinancing will affect your credit score.

But it’s not as bad as it sounds.

Rod Griffin, Experian’s director of public education, helped us crack into the illusive world of refinancing and credit scores.

He suggests before you refinance anything, ask your lender: Will my original debt be reported as “paid in full” or as “settled”?

If your original debt is reported as “paid in full,” here’s what your credit report sees: You’ve paid off your original debt in full, so that account is no longer active, and there’s no negative history associated with it. The new account, the refinanced one with the better interest rate, is now the active one.

It basically just flips, so you shouldn’t see anything dramatic happen to your credit score. Life’s good.

“What will happen is, because there’s been a change, you’ll probably see your scores dip a little bit initially and then come right back up fairly quickly,” Griffin said. “Give it a full-length cycle or two and then check your credit scores because you’ll probably rebound by then.”

If your original debt is reported as settled, however, that’s when your credit score might struggle.

“When you settle an account, it means that the creditor is agreeing to accept a payoff amount that is less than the amount originally owed,” Experian’s site explains. “Because the creditor is taking a loss, a status of settled is considered potentially negative, though it is better than if the debt was not paid at all.”

So, whatever you do, be sure when you refinance that the lender is reporting your debt as paid in full — not settled.

When You Shouldn’t Refinance Your Loan

You’re initiating some type of change when you refinance your debt — settled or not — so your credit score will bounce a bit, like Griffin said.

Even with that slight change, you shouldn’t plan to make a big purchase within the first few months of refinancing.

“It’s probably best that you hold off because it creates that change, that instability,” Griffin said.

For example, if you’re going to take out a mortgage in a few months, you should probably just wait. Any little drop in your credit score can affect those interest rates, which could cost you thousands in the long run — or even cost you getting approved for a mortgage.

(Here are four other ways your credit report can affect big decisions.)

Before Making Any Decisions… Do This

Before seeing those big dollar savings and deciding you want to refinance, be sure you shop around for the best rates.

We recommend using an online marketplace. For student loans, peruse Credible, which will let you shop around for the best refinancing rates. Then, you can be confident the lower interest rate is worth the refinancing cost.

If you’re thinking about refinancing credit card debt, Even Financial is also a good resource to help match you with the right personal loan to meet your needs. It can help you borrow up to $50,000 (with no collateral needed) and compare interest rates from several lenders. Rates start at 4.99% and repayment plans range from 24-84 months.

You’ll also want to check your credit report.

“With any kind of credit relationship or application, you should always check your credit report in advance,” Griffin said. “Get a credit score. Know what your scores are. Know where you stand in terms of risk before you go in.”

The scores you pull from a free site won’t necessarily be the same a lender sees. In fact, they’ll probably be pretty different, but Griffin assured us that’s OK.

Even if the numbers don’t align, the risk factors will — and that’s what helps determine your credit score.

“When you get a personal credit score, you’ll get the risk factors that go with that score as well,” he explains. “Those risk factors tell you what from your credit report most affected this score.”

Then you know what you need to do to get that score up to help out with those interest rates.

If you’re curious about what other big-life decisions your credit score can affect, read this.

Carson Kohler (@CarsonKohler) is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder. She tackled this article because her editor was curious, but she also hopes it can help others make informed decisions, 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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21 Thoughts We’ve All Had While Applying for a Job (After Job After Job..)

When you’re out of work or looking for a new job, one of the worst parts of the application process is…

Well, everything, to be honest.

No matter how nice hiring managers are, the whole job application process is a minefield of worry and a whole lot of nervous waiting.

How many of these things have crossed your mind when applying for a job?

1. Does it really matter what I write in this cover letter? I bet no one ever reads them.

2. How can an entry-level job require I have at least four years of experience?!

3. And… send. Oh crap, did I just upload my resume file or my niece’s first birthday pictures?!

4. “I’m awesome! I can’t wait to land this job!” Ten minutes later: “I suck at everything, I’m never gonna get this job.”

5. Fifteen years of social media experience wanted? Was social media even a thing 15 years ago?

6. “Please list a few of your hobbies — we want to get to know you!” Hobbies? What hobbies? I’m always too busy trying to make up for the seven years of entry-level experience every company wants but I don’t have.

7. How soon is too soon to follow up on my application?

8. I just spent hours writing this cover letter — now I also have to write an email message to the hiring manager?!

9. OK, I’ll just copy and paste this paragraph from the last cover letter I wrote… Oh, crap. Did I forget to change the name of the company?

10. What are the chances I’ll hear back from this hiring manager? Oh, probably one in 100,000.

11. I’m glad I spent the money to have a resume editor catch all the typos on my resume. Good thing I didn’t send that old version to a hiring mana– NOOOOOO!

12. Has the world decided on how many pages a resume should be yet?

13. The person for this communications positions needs to be an expert writer, editor, email marketer, and social media manager plus have extensive graphic design and video experience?

14. I’ve uploaded my resume as requested. Why do I have to spend an hour filling out the online application with the exact same information? WHY?

15. Ninja? Guru? Rockstar? Don’t companies want regular people anymore?

16. You want to know my entire salary history and what kind of pay I’m looking for, but all you’ll tell me about how much your job pays is that it “depends on experience”? Come ON.

17. “Please provide links to all your social media accounts?” What? No. What does that have to do with this waitstaff job?

18. “We’re looking for a dynamic rockstar to synergize with our multidimensional team of motivated ninja multi-taskers.” What does that even mean?

19. “If you were a shrub, what kind of shrub would you be?” Oh, come on. I’m already stressed out enough about this interview without goofball questions with no right answer.

20. Cool. You’re only the 29th company at this job fair to refer me back to your website if I want to apply for a job.

21. Job fairs: Come for the free swag, leave with your dream job.

Lisa McGreevy is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She’s not a huge fan of the job application process but supposes it beats a sharp stick in the eye.

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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