Stroudsburg Aldi to reopen Oct. 12

Aldi will open its remodeled Stroudsburg store, located at 700 N. Ninth St., on Thursday, Oct. 12.The store is part of the aggressive nationwide $1.6 billion investment plan Aldi recently announced. More than 1,300 Aldi stores will be remodeled and expanded across the US by 2020.The new Aldi store look delivers on its customers’ desire for a modern and convenient shopping experience with a focus on fresh items, including more produce, dairy and bakery sections and more [...]

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Got Extravagant Retirement Plans? Yeah, Kids Put a Big Damper On Them

Being a parent is a thankless job, and if you don’t plan perfectly, the decision to procreate might just ruin your retirement plans.

That’s according to Bloomberg’s analysis of a new study from Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research.

Immediately after having your first child, your expenses shoot up. You spend more money on food, clothing and baby essentials, and your larger home could mean higher rent or mortgage.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, each child in a two-child, married-couple family costs $233,610 for the first 18 years of their lives. And that doesn’t account for the cost of college and any financial help parents provide their adult children.

Every dollar spent on your children is money not going into your retirement account to help you maintain your lifestyle when you leave the workforce.

Parents Retire With Less Wealth Than Their Childless Friends

According to the study, each child you have drops your income by 3.7%, relative to childless adults, and accumulated wealth dips another 4.5% for parents in their 30s.

By the time those parents are in their 50s, their income tends to match that of their childless counterparts, while their wealth grows only about 2.8% slower than the childless. But even as the gap begins to close, years of slower financial growth for parents has already impacted their retirement plans, Bloomberg reported.

To put the additional parental spending in more concrete terms, Bloomberg says 31% of parents give an average of $3,084 to their adult children each year while only 9% of parents ever see any money from their adult children. And those who do get money from their adult children only receive $595 on average.

Overall, there may be real emotional benefits to having children, but when you’re thinking financially, parenthood rarely shows any return on your investment.

Desiree Stennett is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She plans to retire childless and alone but rich AF.

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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Dream of Living in an RV? Here’s How to Earn Money While You Travel

My wife and I were camping at a hot spring in Arizona when a small camper van pulled in. We watched a man get out and remove many large plastic bags, which he piled on the roof. He was making room, so he could spend the night in his home on the road.

Later, around a campfire, we asked him about the bags.

They were full of used stuffed animals he bought at thrift stores, and he said he made about $4,000 per month selling them alongside various highways and roads as he traveled.

It may be an unusual way to make a living, but many people live in and work from motor homes, trailers, truck campers and conversion vans.

“Workampers are adventurous individuals, couples and families who have chosen a wonderful lifestyle that combines ANY kind of part-time or full-time work with RV camping,” explains Workamper News, a website dedicated to people who make money from the road.

Are you ready to hit the road and make money while living in an RV?

What Kind of Work Can You Do While Living in an RV?

Many campers get seasonal jobs working in campgrounds or parks, Workamper editor Steve Anderson told CBS News.

He notes businesses are also common. “We have literally hundreds of members running businesses out of their RVs and living in multiple places every year.”

Anderson mentions the following examples of businesses his subscribers operate while traveling in their recreational vehicles:

• Sales of RV-related products

• Consulting services

• Dating services

• Law practices

• Contract nursing

• Business consulting

• RV repair tutoring

“With the advent of the internet and especially now with the tools for bandwidth to connect to the internet, the door is open to do multiple things from an RV,” he explains.

Not even selling bulky items is out of the question, because you can drop ship them or carry them in a trailer behind a motorhome.

Who Is Living in an RV, and How Much Can They Earn?

Many people who live in their RVs are retirees who supplement their retirement or Social Security income with jobs or businesses. But Anderson says, “We have people in their 30s and 40s who are successfully living the RV lifestyle and running businesses.”

And your income may not be as limited as you might think. For example, Steve McMahon told Entrepreneur he sold about 5,000 “high-gain cellular-telephone antennas” for $70 while traveling the country in his 37-foot motorhome. That’s $350,000 in total sales.

The same article says Richard Dahl made and sold more than 1,300 RV water filters at $30 each while traveling for a couple years.

He expanded his business to include hundreds of items, and started The RV Water Filter Store website, shipping items from any post office he passed as he traveled. In addition to covering his living and traveling expenses, the profits allow him to save $30,000 per year.

Terry Cooper was a college instructor before hitting the road with his Mobile RV Academy. Now he runs five-day courses teaching people how to maintain and repair RVs.

Attendees pay $1,644 in tuition, and Cooper had courses scheduled in 10 locations around the country in 2015.

Not every job or business on the road has to be RV-related. Your RV can be just a way to move from job to job or move where you like if you have a business. Software developer and author Bill Myers says he’s talked to many people living in an RV, including:

• Internet entrepreneurs

• Campground hosts

• Construction workers

• Tourist area workers (They move with the seasons.)

• Aerospace engineers (working on a spaceport in New Mexico)

Michelle Brunner runs ReMiks Jewelry from her motorhome. “I crisscross the country full time in my RV in search of natural and organic elements, as well as recycled treasures,” she explains.

How to Work While Living in an RV

Selling everything and starting a vagabond lifestyle is a big transition, but it doesn’t have to be expensive.

Myers offers the example of a couple who bought a $5,000 used motorhome and cut their cost of living from $6,000 per month to about $400 per month. He also says he bought a 26-foot travel trailer for $4,000 and ran his newsletter business from it.

How do you learn what you need to know? Try hanging out in the Workamper forums for a while.

Where to Find Work on the Road

Talk to others who are living and working from their RVs, or start with these resources:

• American Crystal Sugar Company: This company needs RV campers for the sugar beet harvest, which starts around the end of September in Montana and North Dakota. “Sugar Beet Employees can make up to $2,500 in a two-week time frame,” the company says.

• Camphost.org: Look for campground host positions on this job board.

• RVParkStore.com: You’ll find various job postings here. Examples include park management jobs, front desk positions and sales work.

• Workamper News: A subscription is $47 per year, but you can see featured companies for free. Under “Job Resources” click “Featured Employers” to find a list of companies and organizations that hire RVers.

Of course, jobs are not your only options. In fact, starting a business will give you the most freedom to go where you like. If you look over my list of 103 ways you can make money from home, you’ll find dozens of businesses you could operate from an RV.

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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This is Why Millennials Aren’t Buying Homes (Hint: It’s Student Loan Debt)

It’s no big hush-hush secret that millennials are up to their ears in student loan debt.

Yet another survey highlights the burden.

A survey from the National Association of Realtors in conjunction with American Student Assistance found that millennial respondents (those born between 1980 and 1998) had accrued a median debt of $41,200. In context, the median income of all respondents was $38,800.

This is nothing very new. But what the survey did reveal was how student loan debt is affecting other big decisions…

For Millennials, Student Loan Debt Impacts These 5 Big Decisions

Earlier this year, Anna Sale, the host of the podcast “Death, Sex & Money,” put together a two-part project highlighting student loan debt.

At one point, a woman explains how she feels guilty making any sort of purchase because of her debt — even when it comes to something as simple as a dish rack. It was $80.

So how else is student loan debt impacting millennials’ decisions?

The National Association of Realtors and the American Student Assistance programs asked, and here’s what folks said:

1. 76% of respondents said it’s impacted their decision to purchase a home.

2. 72% of respondents said it’s impacted their decision to take a vacation.

3. 65% of respondents said it’s impacted their decision to buy a car.

4. 64% of respondents said it’s impacted their decision to continue their education.

5. 58% of respondents said it’s impacted their decision to take on roommates versus renting solo.

Only 5% said their student loan debt has had no impact on their decisions.

How to Move On From Mounds of Student Loan Debt

We’ve written about a ton of people who are just trying to move on from their student loans.

Including Jammie Proctor and John DePrato.

Proctor was 36, had more than $50,000 in student debt and desperately wanted to pay off a house and start investing.

DePrato was $65,000 in debt — with a bachelor’s and MBA. He wanted to build a house with his wife, but the process proved nearly impossible with a monthly $850 payment.

Both decided to refinance their loans through a platform called Credible. It was an easy process, and rather than only getting one option, Credible aggregated a bunch, so they could each pick a more personalized plan that best suited their needs. Some have compared Credible to a Kayak or Zillow — but for student loans.

By refinancing, Proctor saved an estimated $6,000 to $7,000. He’ll be debt-free in seven years.

DePrato cut his monthly payments down from $850 to $400, so he could continue to build his dream home.

Really, they had nothing to lose. They just typed some basic information into Credible, and bam: so many refinancing options.

You’ve got more options, too. Try using some of these strategies.

Carson Kohler (@CarsonKohler) is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder.

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

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7 Brilliant Hacks to Help You Make More Money Driving With Uber

We’ve all seen the articles about the elite few who cash in big as Uber driver-partners.

One man makes $252,000 a year, largely by selling jewelry to his passengers as he drives. Other drivers find driving with the company pays better than many entry-level jobs (although there’s no guarantee on your income, because you’re an independent contractor).

But what’s it really like to drive with Uber, and how can you make the most money possible?

Journalist Emily Guendelsberger delved deep into the life of a ride-share driver as she became an undercover driver with Uber in Philadelphia in 2015. She wrote about her experiences in Philadelphia’s (now defunct) City Paper.

In Guendelsberger’s month on the job, she picked up a few tips and tricks that can help you make more money as an Uber driver-partner.

What the Company Tells You About Being a Successful Uber Driver

Guendelsberger’s training for UberX consisted of a 13-minute video that went over how to offer good service and receive five-star ratings from passengers.

The tips included opening the rear door for people, providing cold bottled water and having extra phone chargers on hand for passengers to use. The video also emphasized the importance of looking professional and even showed the star of the video selecting expensive ties to wear while driving people around town.

However, Guendelsberger found even more ways to cash in on the app. Here are the strategies she recommends from her time on the job.

1. Keep Snacks and Water Handy

When you’re going to be on the road for hours, it’s important to make sure you have everything you need to be comfortable.

Guendelsberger advises making sure you have snacks and water in your car — but not for passengers. She suggests keeping yourself well fed and hydrated while you’re working, so you don’t have to waste time and money on takeout.

2. Know the Local Bathrooms

Scope out available restroom facilities in the areas where you usually drive. Guendelsberger emphasizes the need to find public bathrooms with free parking, which can be difficult to find in downtown areas. She found Whole Foods and suburban Starbucks to be some of her best bets around Philly, with free parking and unlocked restrooms.

Of course, every area will have different options, but make sure you know what’s around before you desperately need to use a restroom.

3. Don’t Follow the Herd

Guendelsberger found she made more money by ignoring the recommended times and locations where demand for rides was likely to be high.

These are areas like popular morning commute routes, busy Saturday night bars and the stadium when a Flyers game had just finished.

She found she actually made more money by ignoring these hot spots. When drivers flocked to a recommended area, Uber’s surge pricing — premium prices based on a lack of drivers in an area — would decrease, meaning those drivers would earn less for each ride.

4. Drive up the Surge Fares

To take full advantage of surge fares, Guendelsberger recommends gaming the system a bit.

She suggests logging out of the driver app before times you can anticipate surge fares, such as when the bars close. In Philly, she found 2 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. was a huge time for surge pricing as drinkers found their way home for the night.

She recommends logging out of the driver app around 1:50 a.m. or so, waiting 15 minutes and logging back in to take advantage of surge fares.

Logging out reduces the number of drivers in the area and drives up the fares. It also prevents you from getting a fare, at say, 1:55 a.m., and missing out on surge pricing.

5. Don’t Drive Around Endlessly

Driving around in circles in an attempt to get to an area where Uber will ping you to pick up a fare isn’t going to do much more than add wear and tear to your vehicle, Guendelsberger found.

She recommends sticking to a central area and avoiding the suburbs if possible.

If you’re driving miles and miles to reach someone, there’s a good chance you’ll drive much further to meet them than you’ll wind up taking them. You can’t tell where a rider wants to go until you pick them up. This usually means drivers end up losing money on a far-away fare.

She also says if you’re driving a long way to pick someone up, they may get bored and cancel the ride or find another way to get to their destination.

6. Don’t Chase Surge Fares (but If You Do, Try This Hack)

Guendelsberger found racing to a surge fare area never panned out for her. Other drivers would also head to that area, and the surge pricing period would be over by the time she reached it.

But she has a tip for those looking to capitalize on surge pricing: Log out of the driver app and log into the passenger app until you reach the surge area, then log out of the passenger app and back into the driver one.

Why does it work? Uber calculates surge fares based on the ratio of people with the passenger app open to the driver app in an area at any given time. This hack sways the system a bit, letting the app think you’re a passenger looking for a ride instead of a driver ready to offer one.

7. Use the Uber Passenger App

The passenger app helps you take advantage of some features not available on the driver app. For one, you can see where other drivers are, which helps you select areas without a lot of competition.

For example, Guendelsberger was once at a stadium after a game and had a hard time getting any ride requests from the app.

She logged into the passenger app and found herself surrounded by other drivers. So she simply drove to the other side of the stadium and quickly got a notification for a ride.

She also found the passenger app to have more up-to-date information on surge fares than the driver app, which seemed to have a delay of a few minutes.

Ready to get started with Uber? Here’s the link to sign up.

Kristen Pope is a freelance writer and editor in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

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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30 New Stores Just Teamed Up With Ibotta to Get You Even More Cash Back

Here at The Penny Hoarder, it’s no secret one of our favorite cash-back apps is Ibotta. (People all around the office are obsessed with it.)

Because the app offers rebates at so many of your favorite stores, you’re automatically getting cash back on stuff you were going to buy anyway. It’s the closest thing to free money we’ve ever seen.

Also, the Ibotta deals keep expanding. This month, it’s adding more than 30 online retailers to its lineup.

If you already use Ibotta, just scroll to the section titled “New retailers.”

If you’re not familiar with the app, it’s available for Apple and Android phones and tablets. Ibotta allows shoppers to get cash back on mobile or in-store purchases, either through its shopping portal or by scanning receipts afterward.

Here are some of the newest places you can get Ibotta deals, along with examples of the kinds of rebates it’s offering for any purchase you make on your phone through Ibotta’s shopping portal:

• Abercrombie & Fitch: 6% cash back
• Barnes & Noble: 1% cash back
• Foot Locker: 6%
• Gap: 5%
• Hollister: 6%
• Kohl’s: 2%
• Lane Bryant: 5%
• PetSmart: 5%
• Sears: 5%
• Target: 1%
• Walgreens: 3%

In addition, if you’ve been thinking about trying out the online shopping service Stitch Fix, Ibotta is now offering $15 cash back on your first purchase.

What Else Can You Do With Ibotta?

Ibotta is best known for its cash-back offers on grocery items, but it’s been rapidly expanding.

We’ve learned to look for offers when we go out to eat, hit the bars and even when we take an Uber.

When you sign up for Amazon Prime through Ibotta, you’ll even score a $20 Amazon gift card.

Signing up for Ibotta is easy. Plus, when you sign up through this link you’ll get a $10 welcome bonus.

Mike Brassfield (mike@thepennyhoarder.com) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. He likes getting cash back.

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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Got Tons of Empty Wine Bottles (Somehow)? How to Sell Them on Ebay

At my house two things pile up more quickly than I can deal with them: pizza boxes and wine bottles.

I used to dutifully march them down to the recycling center each week. But it turns out I’ve been throwing away an opportunity to earn money!

I haven’t yet found a way to make money off the pizza boxes, but I have discovered those wine corks and empty wine bottles can turn into big money.

We all know many states let you turn in glass bottles at the recycling center for a little bit of money. In fact, when I look at the back of recent yet-to-be-discarded bottle, I see Maine will pay 15 cents and Iowa will pay 5 cents per bottle.

Not bad. But I’ve figured how to get nearly 75 cents per bottle — and I live in Florida, which doesn’t have any bottle exchange program.

What to Do With Wine Corks and Bottles You’ve Got Piled Up

What’s my secret? Here’s how it works…

1. Collect and Clean the Bottles

Wine bottles will only sell if they’re clean, so scrub yours with hot water and soap.

You can leave the label on. A lot of people who buy empty wine bottles are crafters who may want to keep the label.

Save your clean bottles until you have at least a dozen before listing them for sale. If your family is anything like mine, that won’t take too long.

2. List the Wine Corks and Bottles Separately on Ebay

Ebay is a great place to sell your wine bottles and corks.

You want to split the corks and empty bottles into two separate auctions so you can make the most possible money. I’ve noticed wine bottles usually sell in lots of 10 or 12.

Auctions for wine corks sell in lots as small as 20 and as large as 500.

The wine bottles usually sell for about 50 cents per bottle, but fancier bottles can fetch near $5.00 each (hint: Cobalt blue bottles!). Wine corks, however, generally sell for about 10 cents each.

3. Send Your Bottles or Corks to Their New Happy Owner

Make sure you clearly list in your auction how much shipping will cost. Wine bottles are heavy. You don’t want to be stuck with a hefty shipping bill.

I recommend looking at other auctions to get an idea of what people charge for shipping.

Also, make sure you package the wine bottles to ship safely. Sellers are usually responsible for bottles that break because of poor packaging.

What Else Can You Sell on Ebay?

You might be surprised what you’ve got lying around your house that collectors and crafters are willing to buy for a pretty penny. Here are 25 things you might not expect you can sell on Ebay… from pine cones to dentures!

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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These are the 8 Markets the Target Restock Program is Headed to Next

Shoppers doing their best to avoid trekking to the store for household items and groceries have a new method to try.

Target Restock is expanding this fall to offer next-day delivery to customers in 11 major markets.

After launching the service in the Dallas, Denver and Minneapolis areas, Target has introduced Restock to Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Washington, D.C./Baltimore areas. The San Francisco area will also get Restock, but it doesn’t officially launch there until mid-October.

The program doesn’t offer a one-day shipping free-for-all for Target’s entire inventory; instead, it focuses on “more than 15,000 popular essentials,” like cleaning supplies and baby products, a release explained.

Shoppers can choose up to 45 pounds of Restock merchandise — there’s a tracker to see how full your cart is getting — and get it all delivered the next day for $4.99 shipping. Orders must be placed by 2 p.m. Monday through Friday in order to get next-day delivery.

Which Home Essentials Delivery Service Will Rule?

Target says its expanded Restock service will reach 70 million people, “about one-fifth of the U.S. population,” a corporate blog post noted. During its initial launch, macaroni and cheese was one of the most popular Restock items.

Target is trying to lure shoppers and boost its grocery game by lowering prices on household essentials. But convenience, not low prices, may be what wins customers over.

Amazon Prime Pantry offers $5.99 shipping on essentials orders of up to 45 pounds. It’s available across the contiguous United States, but since Pantry orders are delivered via ground shipping, orders can take up to four days to arrive. The service promises regular-sized products, instead of only shipping items available in bulk sizes.

It’s a dig at Jet, which offers free two-day shipping for orders over $35, but initially only had large sizes of the household essentials it carried. Jet’s product availability has expanded greatly, perhaps to the credit of its acquisition by Walmart — although Walmart offers its own free two-day shipping option.

But adding quick-delivery services like Restock and Pantry highlight the stiff competition grocery chains face in cultivating brand loyalty. As e-commerce goes toe-to-toe with in-store sales, retailers we once made weekly trips to are fighting for our attention.

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

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

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Target’s Minimum Wage is Getting a Raise (Again) — This Time to $11/Hour

In the midst of the minimum wage raise saga playing out in cities across the U.S., Target is taking the lead — again.

The company announced this week it would be raising the minimum wage for its workers to $11 an hour in October, a year after its initial raise to $10 an hour in 2016. And it’s not stopping there — Target aims to hike its minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020.

The increase applies to the 100,000 or so seasonal workers Target plans to hire in October. (Score!)

“Target has always offered market competitive wages to our team members,” Target chairman and CEO Brian Cornell said in a news release. “With this latest commitment, we’ll be providing even more meaningful pay, as well as the tools, training and support our team needs to build their skills, develop professionally and offer the service and expertise that set Target apart.”

This couldn’t come at a better time for workers. A Penny Hoarder analysis showed that minimum wage jobs are no longer just for teenagers. In fact, the share of 16- to 24-year-olds working minimum-wage jobs is at its lowest point in more than a decade.

And just try finding an affordable apartment on minimum wage.

With Minimum Wage Hike, Target is Really Killing the Game This Year

The news about Target’s minimum wage increase comes at a time when we didn’t think it was possible to love a department store anymore.

This month, Target launched its own brand of wine, California Roots, that clocks in at $5 — more than Two-Buck Chuck, but definitely Penny Hoarder-worthy.

(Psst, here’s how to make it even cheaper…)

The chain also recently announced it lowered prices on thousands of items, from diapers to razors, and made it easier for shoppers to see what’s on sale at the time.

Keep it up, Target. We’re almost ready to forgive you for that credit card breach. Almost.

Alex Mahadevan is a data journalist 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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6 Companies Where You Can Work Your Way Up To a Six-Figure Job

No Degree? No Problem. One of These 9 Work-From-Home Jobs Could Be for You

If you don’t have a college degree, finding a job can be tough — especially if you’re looking for one that gives you the flexibility to work from home.

“We find that the most commonly posted work-from-home jobs often require a college degree, with many in the fields of medicine, technology and finance requiring higher education and training,” says Daniel Culbertson, an economist with job-search behemoth Indeed.

“This may make landing a work-from-home job difficult for someone without higher education, which of course is unfortunate for those who may be seeking such work due to being a caretaker, or perhaps being in a remote location.”

That’s a bummer, especially considering more Americans are working from home than they have in more than a decade. Everyone should get the chance to try it — it even makes you more productive!

Luckily, we’ve got the lowdown on the jobs out there for those who choose to avoid the plague of student debt and jump right into the workforce.

Here Are 9 Work-From-Home Jobs That Don’t Require a College Degree

Culbertson, using Indeed’s wealth of data, came up with the top nine work-from-home jobs you can land without a college degree.

These aren’t ranked in any order, but they represent the most common postings on the website:

• Customer service representative

• Nonfarm animal caretaker

• Telemarketer

• Telephone operator

• Bill and account collector

• Payroll and timekeeping clerk

• Dispatcher, except police, fire, and ambulance

• Word processor and typist

• Demonstrator and product promoter

If these jobs don’t tickle your fancy, make sure to check out The Penny Hoarder Jobs page on Facebook — we’re always posting interesting work-from-home opportunities there.

Alex Mahadevan is a data journalist 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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How Not to Waste Time Generating Leads on LinkedIn

Lead generation is an indispensable part of business.

If you want to have paying customers, you need to gather a reliable stream of leads.

That’s the bottom line.

But generating leads isn’t as easy as one might think. In fact, it requires quite a bit of finesse and a whole lot of time.

Reports show that 65% of businesses say generating traffic and leads is their top marketing challenge.

That doesn’t surprise me at all.

There is encouraging news though.

Marketers now have a lot more avenues to target potential customers. At the forefront of that is social media.

And if we’re talking about the highest-quality leads, LinkedIn is the clear winner.

It’s a bit shocking, I know.

You expect a giant like Facebook to be leading the pack.

Not in this case. More than 80% of B2B leads sourced from social media come from LinkedIn.

That goes to show the power of this platform.

Here’s the kicker though: many people are failing at using LinkedIn for lead generation.

They’re spending too much time in the process. And they do not see a return on that time investment.

That’s a frustrating problem to have, and I’ll show you how to fix it.

Here’s how you can generate leads on LinkedIn without wasting your time.

1. Target the decision makers

It’s imperative you consider the sales cycle when you’re generating leads.

I am referring to the entire process it takes for you to sell a product or a service.

It includes everything, i.e., generating a lead, nurturing that lead, and eventually making the sale.

Here’s a map of what a typical sales cycle can look like:

Some of us have the good fortune of being in a niche where it can take as little as a few minutes to close a sale.

For others, it can take months and even years.

Whatever camp you fall in, there is a simple solution to shorten the sales cycle.

Find the decision maker.

Here’s what I mean.

Unless you’re targeting a solopreneur, most businesses have select people who ultimately make the purchasing decisions.

Wouldn’t it be wise to direct your efforts at someone with authority to close the deal?

Of course, it would!

Now, the decision maker is not always the CEO. In fact, it’s rarely the case for most businesses.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t target CEOs.

It depends on what you’re selling, what business needs it will serve, and what your goals are.

Let’s say you’re a freelance writer looking for new clients.

The best people to target when prospecting would be marketing managers or someone in that field.

Anyone else would likely be a waste of your time.

The decision makers usually have the following positions:

• HR director
• Marketing director
• Sales director

These are mainly for B2B leads, but the premise doesn’t change when you’re targeting individual consumers.

There’s usually (not always) someone they have to consult with before making a purchasing decision.

Tailor your efforts and your messaging to take that fact into account.

2. Follow up with old leads before targeting new ones

I’m sure you’ve heard that lead generation is a numbers game.

Target enough people, and eventually you’ll land a sale.

That’s true in a sense.

But the quality of these leads is also important.

Many people collect a bunch of leads, initiate contact, and stop there.

Then, they restart the process.

The problem with that?

There’s no follow-up.

And if you know a thing or two about lead generation, you know the follow-up is crucial.

We know 80% of sales need five follow-ups, but almost 50% of people only send one.

Wires get crossed. Your message could be missed. Your prospect could get distracted.

Especially on a social media platform, it’s common for your message to get buried beneath all the noise.

If you don’t send a follow-up message, you miss out on a potential customer.

You also waste time and effort it took to generate those leads.

When is the right time to send a subsequent message?

In my experience, three days is ideal for the first follow-up. You should check in with your prospects several times.

It can even be automated.

If you’ve collected email addresses, you can set up an autoresponder series.

This way, it becomes a hands-off process.

Businesses who use marketing automation experience a 451% increase in qualified leads.

3. Put lead generation on autopilot with content marketing

One of the most powerful features on LinkedIn is its publishing platform.

You can publish content natively on LinkedIn Pulse, or you can republish posts from your business blog.

Either way, it’s one of the smartest strategies for generating leads.

For one, it allows you to demonstrate your expertise to potential customers.

There’s no better way to convert a customer than to show them how knowledgeable you are in your field.

It can also shorten the sales cycle.

Think about it.

If you’re consistently educating prospects and solving their problems with your free content, they’ll be easier to convert.

Doesn’t content marketing take time though?

It does, but here’s the thing.

You won’t find another audience as receptive as the network on LinkedIn.

The platform is filled with professionals waiting for you to educate them.

They are ready and willing to do business.

If you publish helpful content, your job is half done. You’ll be on your way to generating the kind of leads that turn into lifelong customers.

You can also repurpose content you’ve already published on your blog.

I’ve done this before, and it works exceptionally well.

Here’s some crucial advice for publishing content on LinkedIn:

• always leave a call to action and a link at the end of each article
• publish actionable content readers can implement to experience a quick win
• only create content that will serve your ideal prospect
• promote your LinkedIn articles on other platforms
• publish evergreen articles

4. Stop harvesting cold leads

This one takes the prize for time-wasters.

Here’s what many people’s idea of lead generation looks like:

1. obtain a list of email addresses of people who may or may not be their ideal prospects
2. send out emails or messages en masse

There are many things wrong with this approach.

The biggest is these people have not demonstrated an interest or a need for what you’re selling.

Your leads are not targeted enough, and they’re not qualified.

It means the chances of these leads converting to solid sales are slim.

The solution?

It’s a multi-step approach.

Step #1: Establish what you want your prospects to do

The first thing you need is a goal.

You’re generating leads, but what’s the purpose? What’s the next step?

You may want your prospects to download a free resource, schedule a free consultation, attend a webinar, hop on a call, or something of that sort.

Decide what your goal is before even starting the lead generation process.

Step #2: Create a hit list of hyper-targeted prospects

What’s the typical process for finding leads on LinkedIn?

You type in a job title in the search bar, hit enter, and get a plethora of results.

These become your targets, right?

That doesn’t work. You need to conduct a more focused search.

Here’s how.

First, click on the search bar and scroll to the bottom, where it says “search for people with filters.”

This will allow you to filter your results so you can focus on a targeted group of leads.

Your number of leads will be smaller, but their quality will be greater.

Here are some of the filters available:

Step #3: Initiate contact

After you’ve put your hit list together, you can connect and send a personal message.

When you hit “connect,” some of the options will prompt you to enter an email address.

If you connect as a “friend,” this isn’t necessary, so select that option.

Also, ensure your connection request has a message attached to it.

You only have 300 characters, but that’s more than enough to send a thoughtful message.

Don’t send the same generic message to every prospect.

You can still have a template to save time, but personalize it. I recommend going through the prospect’s profile so you have more information to go on.

Step #4: Build a relationship

It’s critical you continue to engage with your LinkedIn connections.

This could be by engaging with their content and sending them messages. That’s what’s going to set the stage for a sales conversion later on.

It’s only after you’ve gotten on your prospects radars that you can start thinking about selling to them.

Step #5: Funnel prospects to the top of your sales funnel outside of LinkedIn

LinkedIn should not be used to sell.

It’s a great prospecting tool. But you’ll sabotage your lead generation if you sell prematurely.

Use it to get prospects interested enough to join your permission marketing funnel. You can then take the sales process outside of the platform.

I know this sounds like a tedious and long road.

I promise you, this is way more effective than targeting a large list of unqualified leads.

You will get nowhere fast.

5. Go premium

If you’re serious about using LinkedIn as your primary lead-generation tool, a premium account can serve you well.

It can increase your efficiency and save you time.

You’ve got several options, depending on your goal.

You’ll benefit from the features such as InMail, advanced search, and access to information about people who viewed your profile.

Sure, the free account allows you to filter your searches. But with a premium account, you can conduct even more advanced searches.

With InMail, you can message people not in your network.

You can also look at all the people who’ve viewed your profile. This is a great way of gathering warm leads.

These profile views represent people who have showed some interest in you.

There are other features, but these three are particularly useful.

Now, I’m not saying this is a must.

It’s not a necessity to have a premium account to succeed with lead generation.

In fact, before you invest in a premium LinkedIn account, you should test the platform.

If you see promising results, and you want to amplify your lead-generation efforts, premium is a solid path to take.

6. Join groups where your ideal prospects hang out

LinkedIn groups are gold.

There’s no better way to quickly and easily find quality prospects.

You can also create your own group. But that requires a time investment—you need to build the group and then maintain it.

If you want to save time, I recommend joining an existing group.

You want to select groups relevant to your industry. It’s also important to have an idea of your ideal prospect.

This way, you can target people who will be receptive to your message and, eventually, your product.

Here are some other things you should consider:

• group size – you want to target groups with a decent number of people so you have a large enough prospect pool
• level of engagement – group members should be active: interacting with content, starting conversations, etc.
• group rules – most groups have rules of engagement; some are stricter than others and don’t tolerate any promotional content.

How do you find these groups?

Conduct a group search.

Type in your keyword in the search bar, and select “Groups.”

You can also click on the “Work” tab in your top menu and click on “Groups.”

Then, click on “Discover.”

LinkedIn will display a list of groups:

By default, they’re filtered according to your industry.

Since my field is marketing, I automatically get shown a bunch of groups relevant to that field (no search necessary).

Click on the individual groups that interest you.

Read the “about this group” section to get familiar with them and their rules.

Check out the admins and the mutual connections you share with the group. If it seems it fits with your goals, go ahead and connect.

Conclusion

LinkedIn is hands down one of the best platforms for lead generation.

If you know how to work it, you can end up with some quality prospects primed to become your paying customers.

But as fruitful as lead generation can be, it is also a time-consuming task.

If you don’t use the right strategies to target the right people, it is easy to spend months and see no result.

I’ve pinpointed some of the biggest time-wasters and ways you can go through this lead-generation process quickly.

Use the strategies, and you’ll see more leads of a higher quality, without a massive time investment.

What are your best tips for generating qualified leads on LinkedIn?

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Questions About Babies, Houses, Jeans, Taxes, Sourdough, and More!

What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to summaries of five or fewer words. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question.
1. Buying stuff for baby
2. Tax loss harvesting question
3. Nice hair cutting tip
4. Thoughts on “robo investment services”
5. Which slow cooker?
6. Home ownership challenge
7. Clearing out book collection
8. Saving money on work trip
9. Afraid of culture when moving
10. Is my cell service overpriced?
11. Buying long lasting denim jeans
12. Sourdough starter advice

We spent this weekend camping. It’ll probably be our final camping trip of 2017, but it was a beautiful and unseasonably warm weekend with bright weather all the way along. My oldest son asked to bring a few friends along with him, so we were camping with a cadre of preteen boys.

It ended up feeling almost like a Boy Scout camping trip. We wandered around on trails. We went fishing. We went rowing. We went swimming. We made roaring campfires. The boys stayed up most of the night horsing around and laughing and telling stories and so on.

I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Q1: Buying stuff for baby

We are three months pregnant and now have started to think more seriously on how we should plan our shopping for baby and mom stuff. Any pointers to propel us in the direction on how we can save money while planning for pregnancy and baby. A plan broken down in intervals of six months for next 3 years would be great or any website that can help us in doing that with checklist. Ofcourse having said that I am going over numerous products that we could use but want to be careful how we spend our hard earned money in an effective way while planning for this big event.
– Jim

I don’t think there is any kind of standard list that I can prepare for anyone. After having three kids, I definitely feel like we had far too much stuff and thus my suggested lists of what you’ll need looks starkly minimal. (I know this because I’ve talked to friends and family that have had babies recently and they basically didn’t even believe my suggestions.)

Basically, babies need to be warm, they need to eat, they need to be clean, they need a place to sleep, they need to be safe, and they need to be held. They don’t need much else. So, you need a few blankets and some baby clothes that fit, (maybe) a few bottles and (maybe) some formula and (maybe) a breast pump (depending on your feeding plans), a few cloth diapers and cloth wipes and a spray bottle, a safe car seat, and a small sturdy crib. The blankets and clothes can and should be bought secondhand.

Everything beyond those basic things is pure extra. However, many people buy lots of extra things out of convenience. Disposable diapers are a convenience purchase. Baby wipes are a convenience purchase. A breast pump is a convenience purchase (it provides enormous location convenience). A stroller is a convenience purchase (you can carry the baby, after all). A changing table is a convenience purchase (we didn’t even use ours at all for our third child, as we changed him on blankets and towels wherever we happened to be). I can’t decide for you whether those conveniences are necessary, other than to suggest trying other methods first before deciding that you need a particular convenience. Are you regularly doing something that requires this particular convenience item? You honestly won’t know until you have the child. Some things that seem essential to others might be completely useless for you, and vice versa.

Just make sure your baby’s needs are met. Are they warm? Are they safe? Do they have healthy things to eat? Do they get held? Are they clean? Take care of those needs and let the stuff you buy only serve those needs.

Q2: Tax loss harvesting question

My question is this: while the person in the example at the end of the answer wouldn’t pay long term capital gains tax on selling the $30,000 investment, they still have to pay income tax on the $30,000 as it would be considered income, right?
– Bill

Let’s say that you put $30,000 in a taxable investment – meaning not in a 401(k) or anything. Over the course of a few years, that $30,000 turns into $40,000.

You sell that investment. You get your original investment back tax free. You only pay taxes on the $10,000, and if you’ve held the investment for a while, it’s a long term capital gain. If your long term capital gains tax rate is 15%, you’re going to pay $1,500 in taxes.

In other words, you are only taxed on what you gain from an investment. You get your original investment back tax free – you can’t be double taxed on that money and you already paid taxes on it when you originally received it as income.

Q3: Nice hair cutting tip

The best way to avoid a mess while cutting your hair is simply to wet the hair before you cut it. Then, it clumps together and all falls on a sheet placed under the person whose hair I’m cutting – mine or a family member.
– Jade

That’s good advice, and it explains why many barbers and salons dampen people’s hair before cutting it.

Unless you have a complex hair style, it’s quite possible to cut it at home. As I’ve noted before, I’m a guy who prefers short hair that can pretty easily be cut with clippers, so that’s what I do at least some of the time.

Give it a try at home. Cut someone’s hair. See how it turns out. At worst, that person just goes to a barber or a hairstylist and “fixes” the damage. At best, you save $20 (at least).

Q4: Thoughts on “robo investment services”

I’m wondering what you think about the robo investment service United Income? It’s aimed at 50+ crowd. We’re in our early 50’s and are starting to feel overwhelmed by all that there is to tract as we begin to look at our retirement years. Apparently, this service will help you do this for a fee ranging between .05-.08% of your portfolio.
– Denise

My feelings on “robo investment services” are that they’re effectively index funds or target retirement funds with a higher fee. Often, the “robo investment service” charges a fee, then the things it invests in charges a fee, too, so it compounds.

Honestly? If I’m investing for retirement, I’m probably just going to open a Roth IRA with Vanguard and use their Target Retirement Fund. It basically does the same thing as a “robo investor” but cheaper.

In the end, an index fund is basically the same thing as a “robo investor.” An index fund just follows a few simple rules to govern your investments, just as a “robo investor” does. However, index funds are cheaper. I think “robo investing” is just something of a fad.

Q5: Which slow cooker?

I saw an older post on the slow cooker your family uses, but the post was a couple years old; can you point me to the slow cooker you currently use?
– Max

I no longer see the exact model that we use on Amazon (because, well, companies change models over time), but it is very similar to the Crock-Pot SCCPVL600S Cook’ N Carry 6-Quart Oval Manual Portable Slow Cooker. It’s just a large Crock Pot with a removable ceramic crock, and we’ve been using it consistently for about a decade.

We also have an Instant Pot which we sometimes use as a slow cooker, but strictly for slow cooking purposes, the Crock Pot works better. The Instant Pot has the advantage of working as a small pressure cooker and rice cooker, which is useful for many other dishes. We’ve often made something to serve over rice in our Crock Pot and then cooked the rice in the Instant Pot, for example.

If you’re looking primarily for something to just put stuff in and walk away in the morning and then come home to dinner in the evening, I’d get that Crock Pot I linked to above. It’s inexpensive and ours has worked flawlessly for a decade or so.

Q6: Home ownership challenge

I’m a 55 year old disabled woman with a home site on the Navajo Reservation and very low income…I’m looking for help in building a 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms house on my home site asap please.. I don’t have any collateral or any cash for down payment but willing to do low monthly payment to pay off.
– Sheila

My first suggestion for you would be to seek out assistance in getting a loan. Given your situation – your relative age and disability – you may have difficulty getting a loan through traditional means. However, both your tribal membership and your disability might make you eligible for programs that would help you get a loan anyway.

I would start by talking to tribal leaders about what programs are available for building on the reservation. They should be able to at least point you toward appropriate resources.

You may also be eligible for a HUD Section 8 loan for building a small home. I would contact your disability benefits office and ask about their home loans and grants.

Those resources should be able to help you build a modest home without overwhelming debt. Good luck!

Q7: Clearing out book collection

I have several shelves of books and one day I just realized I will probably never read 99% of them again and they’ll just sit there until I die. I would like to get at least a little money in return for them. What is the best way to do that?
– Denise

It depends on a few things. You may be able to donate them to the library, who may put them in circulation or sell them at a book sale. In those situations, the library usually estimates their value and gives you a receipt for them, which you can then use as a tax deduction. This is the easiest route and will save you some money if you’re already filing long form (if you have a mortgage and claim mortgage interest, you probably are; if not, you’re probably not unless you’re fairly wealthy).

If that doesn’t sound like it applies to you, you could make a long list of the books and put them up on Craigslist along with a photo of your shelves. You probably won’t get a lot for them that way, but it’ll be cash in your pocket. You’d want to price them somewhere in the range of $1 a book, with a discount if a bunch are purchased at once. You could also have a yard sale with a similar pricing scheme.

You can also take them to a local used bookstore, who may give you a small amount for them. This is probably a good approach for whatever’s left after selling via Craigslist.

If you wanted to invest more time, you could sell them via the Amazon Marketplace. You can sell them individually yourself, but it’ll be a lot of work to package and ship each book individually. A better approach might be to send all of your books to Amazon and have them do the work, but you’ll make substantially less by doing that. This would probably put the most money in your pocket, but it would also probably be the most work.

Personally, I’d donate them to the library if I were eligible to actually use the tax deduction from the donation.

Q8: Saving money on work trip

I was recently promoted at work, which means that I am supposed to travel for about a week once a month to visit installations. We receive a per diem bonus to cover food and fuel and incidentals and our airline ticket and rental car is already paid for, but when we’re actually there we have to buy our own food and stuff. Any suggestions on how to keep this cheap?
– David

Before you go, try to ensure that the hotel you’re staying at has a fridge in the room. This is an enormous money saver.

Put an empty water bottle and some granola bars in your carry on. Fill up the water bottle as soon as you’re through security. Eat the granola bars and drink the water instead of eating in the airport.

As soon as you’re at the location and have your car, stop at a grocery store and load up. Make sure that your room has a fridge, and then buy stuff to make simple meals at the hotel. Get stuff for lunches and dinners – things like sandwiches are perfect for this.

Take advantage of the continental breakfast at your hotel. Eat plenty, then snag a few extra fruits for snacks throughout the day. Use your water bottle throughout the day when you’re traveling.

If you do those things, you’ll keep the costs of traveling pretty low. Food is one of the biggest expenses while traveling, and if you can eliminate even half of the restaurant stops, you’ll save a ton of money.

Q9: Afraid of culture when moving

I have lived my entire life in and around New York, attended public school here, went to college here, so on. I have an amazing job offer in Des Moines, which immediately made me think of your site, which I have enjoyed reading off and on for years. I am mostly concerned about culture. As I am sure you know, Des Moines and other cities in the Midwest except maybe Chicago have the rep of being a cultural wasteland and there is nothing to do there. I’ve looked at Des Moines and found some promising things but I still can’t shake the idea that it is just three buildings in the middle of a cornfield. I guess I’m writing so you can convince me that it will all be okay.
– Stephen

I’m one of those people that feels pretty happy wherever I live. I’m fine living in cities. I’m fine living in small towns. I’m fine living in the country with no one else in sight. There are always things to do, no matter where I’m at. I’ve had great friends when I’ve lived in a city, when I’ve lived in the country, and when I’ve lived in a small town.

I guess I’m not sure what you mean by “cultural wasteland.” Often, that term seems to mean “a place devoid of things that I like.” Some people like a vibrant restaurant scene, so if they go to a place without a large quantity of independent unique restaurants, they identify it as a “cultural wasteland.” The same goes with art, or with music, or with people of different cultures. Some people define it as any area with a sufficient number of chain stores or restaurants.

For me, I think culture is mostly what you make of it. It’s about the people you seek out and choose to surround yourself with. The internet has made it easy to find communities and subcultures that match your interests and desires. Des Moines is large enough that you will be able to find a subculture devoted to pretty much anything you wish. There is a small but very vibrant music scene with a number of great bands and a solid annual music festival. There’s a surprisingly good restaurant scene – it’s not enormous, but you can find an interesting place to eat in the greater Des Moines area every day for a year without a repeat.

I guess the answer to your question is that Des Moines is big enough to have what you’re looking for if you’re willing to look for it. Granted, such communities probably won’t be as large as, say, the NYC dining scene, but the communities here aren’t nearly as segmented, either.

I’d say go for it. Give it an open mind, seek out communities related to your interests, and see what happens. If all else fails, you can always leverage that great job and move back to NYC.

Q10: Is my cell service overpriced?

How do you even tell if you’re paying too much for cell phone service? I know you can look at offers from other companies but their service is very different from place to place.
– Dana

So, here’s what I suggest. Go to OpenSignal and see what the signal looks like for different carriers in the places where you are most of the time – your home, your commute, your workplace, your common shopping locations, any places you visit frequently, and so on.

Basically, don’t even bother with companies that appear to have a lot of poor coverage in those areas. Don’t even try to compare them.

Instead, look at the carriers with good coverage in those areas. Visit each one of their websites and see what plans they offer that match your actual usage. If they’re cheaper than your plan, consider switching or using the other plan to negotiate with your current carrier.

So, for example, in my area, OpenSignal reveals that US Cellular and Verizon are good, but T-Mobile and Sprint are pretty sketchy. So, I’m mostly going to look at US Cellular and Verizon for offers, as the quality drop-off after those two is pretty steep.

That’s the general strategy I follow. (I only consider pay-as-you-go providers if they use the Verizon or US Cellular networks – ones that use Sprint or T-Mobile won’t work for me.)

Q11: Buying long lasting denim jeans

What are some tricks for buying jeans that will last for a long time? The ones I buy always seem to fall apart and rip.
– David

OK, first trick – don’t wash your jeans unless they’re actually dirty. When you take them off, inspect them. Do you see dirt or other smudges? Are there any noticeable odors? If so, then wash them. If not, then don’t wash them. Seriously, people wash clothes far too often and it is very hard on them. Wash clothes if they’re dirty. A pair of jeans you wear on a lazy day are probably not dirty.

The most long-lasting jeans I’ve ever owned are work jeans from Carhartt, like these. They last and last and last and last.

Having said that, different brands change their manufacture pretty regularly, so you’re going to want to inspect them. Generally, darker denim that feels stiffer to the touch in the store is going to last longer, because when denim feels softer and more flexible, that means it’s been washed, usually with bleach and other chemicals, that have broken down the fibers, meaning the jeans won’t last as long. Stiff jeans take some time to break in, but they last a lot longer.

Check the stitching everywhere and skip any jeans where the stitching looks uneven. Compare jeans of different types and choose the ones with more stitching, as they’re less likely to fail along the seams.

Yeah, it takes a little time, but you’ll walk out with jeans that will last for a long time.

Q12: Sourdough starter advice

When I was a kid, my grandma kept sourdough starter in a little crock on her counter. Each day or two, she’d take some of it and make bread, then add flour and water to what was left.

I’d like to start doing the same thing. I have read a lot about it but I am still unsure about what I am doing and want to know if there is a cheap/easy way to get started. I want some sourdough bread like grandma made!
– Virginia

All you really need is a big wide mouth jar with a lid, some flour, a wooden spoon, and some water. By big, I mean at least a quart jar, and preferably a bigger one. That’s really all you need to get this going.

Take 3/4 cup flour – whatever kind you like and add 1/2 cup warm water and mix them together in the jar. This should end up being a very very soft dough – add a little water if it’s not almost runny. Put the lid on loosely (so air can escape from the inside) and leave it on your countertop overnight.

The next day, add another 3/4 cup flour and 1/2 cup water. You may notice some bubbling in the dough, or maybe not. Either way, it’s okay at that point. Stir in the water and flour, put the lid back on, and wait another day.

On the third day, remove about half of the starter and toss it. You should notice that there’s quite a bit of bubbling going on in there – that’s fine – and it might even have a hint of a sourdough-y smell. That’s good. Don’t panic if it’s not quite there yet. Then, again, add 3/4 cup flour and 1/2 cup water, stir it, cover it loosely, and let it sit for another day.

Repeat this each day. Remove half the starter, add 3/4 cup flour and 1/2 cup water, stir thoroughly, cover. Each day, it should seem more and more and more like sourdough in terms of the aroma. It’ll probably get runnier, too. That’s all normal.

After about a week of this, you should have sourdough starter. You have to keep feeding it every day or two after that, which is what you should be doing if you want to bake every day or two. On days when you want to bake, remove half the starter and then use that removed portion to bake with, following a sourdough bread recipe.

What if you want to take a break or if you want to travel? Move the whole container to the fridge. You only need to feed it once a week when it’s in there, but the process is the same – remove half the starter, add 1/2 cup water, add 3/4 cup flour, stir, put lid back on loosely. That’s really all there is to it.

You can buy starters that allow you to skip the first several days of this process, but after that, you need to keep feeding it like this.

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

The post Questions About Babies, Houses, Jeans, Taxes, Sourdough, and More! appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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New SARP chief: 'Let's work together'

EAST STROUDSBURG — Jennifer Lyon remembers the state trooper who lived near her family's farm when she was growing up in Bethel Township."He used to stop in to check on us," Lyon said. "He was a great guy and did all the right things and was so caring. He told stories about his job and about helping people."I wanted to be like him," she said. "I wanted to help people and make a difference in the world."And that's what motivated Lyon toward the career in which she [...]

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Harvey and Irma’s Used Car Lot: How to Avoid the Flood-Damaged Car Scam

Hurricanes Harvey and Irma were catastrophic for parts of the southern United States. In some places, Harvey released more than 50 inches of rain, and, overall, the hurricane dumped an estimated total of 30 trillion gallons of water throughout the U.S. Irma was similarly devastating, dropping nearly 16 inches of rain in Florida, with gusts reaching 142 miles per hour.

As the tens of thousands of affected people begin to rebuild their lives, the automotive market is in a state of disarray. According to Edmunds’ Jessica Caldwell, an estimated 366,000 new vehicles were destroyed on dealership lots in Texas, which is responsible for 9% of automotive retail sales in the U.S. This will likely put a dent in the profitability of the auto industry, which employs roughly 7.25 million Americans; for August, overall US auto sales decreased by 1.9%, largely due to Harvey.

Adding to this disarray, Cox Automotive estimates that 500,000 vehicles were damaged by flooding due to Harvey and another 200,000 to 400,000 were claimed by Irma, which will put just as many drivers in the market for replacement vehicles in the coming weeks. An increase in demand, as Economics 101 has taught us, will likely lead to increased used car prices for Harvey and Irma victims looking to make a fresh start.

The other unfortunate implication is that 700,000 to 900,000 flood-damaged vehicles could enter the used car market; some sellers will illegally try to pass these off as vehicles that have not been flood-damaged by obtaining new vehicle titles (called “title washing”).

While it is not clear how many cars were title-washed after Katrina and Sandy, a 2014 study from Carfax indicates that nearly 800,000 vehicles in the U.S. could be title-washed. It is telling, however, that the state with the highest number of potentially title-washed cars was New Jersey (77,096), just two years after the Garden State was devastated by Sandy.

That makes it crucial for used car shoppers — Harvey and Irma victims or otherwise — to be on high alert for signs of flood-damaged vehicles in the coming months. Below are tips to avoid purchasing a car that has been damaged by flood waters, particularly in the wake of Harvey and Irma.

How to Avoid Buying a Flood-Damaged Used Car

Buy from Reputable Dealers.

To avoid being swindled into purchasing a flood-damaged used car, your safest bet is to buy from a trusted dealership. These dealers have a reputation to uphold and will likely provide you with a detailed vehicle history report.

Get the Vehicle History Report

Edmunds recommends getting a Carfax vehicle history report if you suspect flood damage.

A vehicle history report will include tons of relevant information, like states in which the car has been registered. Edmunds also recommends a cheap ($7 or less) report from the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System, which will detail whether the car has been salvaged, among other key points.

You should also use the National Insurance Crime Bureau’s (NCIB) VINCheck℠ to compare a used car’s VIN against a database of cars that have been totaled (including due to flood damage).

Trust Your Senses, but Also a Mechanic’s

When you are inspecting a potential used car, be on the lookout for the following:

• Foul odors, particularly mold and mildew. These smells can signal that a car has been in standing water for a prolonged amount of time.

• Discolored carpeting or rusted metal. Stains in carpeting or seat fabrics are also indicators of standing water. Rust on the body or the undercarriage is a sign of excessive water exposure, particularly in newer cars.

• Inexplicable dirt build-up, like in the trunk or along the seat tracks. This is a sign that mud got into places where muddy feet typically do not travel.

• Water build-up in headlights and taillights. Fogginess in the lighting can also be a sign of prolonged water exposure.

• Mismatching parts, like seat materials compared to floor mats. A clever seller may replace a damaged floor mat, hoping you won’t notice that it isn’t a perfect match to the other mats or the seat fabric.

For added precaution, have a trusted mechanic give the vehicle a once-over before you sign on the dotted line. Avoid any seller who is uncomfortable with you taking the car to a mechanic.

If you do suspect a dealership or private seller of knowingly selling a flood-damaged vehicle, contact your local authorities or the NCIB immediately.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma, many in our nation are in great need. Find out how you can help provide relief, even if money is tight. Just be aware of scammers — they exist outside the used car market too.

Timothy Moore has written for the automotive industry for five years. He works as an editor and writer in Nashville.

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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