35 Ways to Save Money on Groceries

Watto dedicated life to district, those around him

Brad Pensyl remembers the frequent trout fishing trips he used to take with Ed Watto.With each fish caught or an attempt that went awry, there was a life lesson.“The one thing you can’t replace is Ed’s knowledge of history and his knowledge of sports,” said Pensyl, a former Pocono Mountain High School basketball coach and ex-Pocono Mountain West Athletic Director and coach.“Ed was my boss for a long time and we worked very closely [...]

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Sprint is Offering Verizon Customers a Free Year of Service for Switching

It’s the middle of the month, and you’re already getting those text messages from your smartphone provider.

You’ve used all your data. We’ve automatically added some extra for the low, low price of $284. If you use that, we’ll go ahead and keep stacking it up so your cell phone bill hits a record of $10,000 this month.

OK, so the messages aren’t that snarky — nor are you paying that much for extra data, I hope — but sometimes that’s how it feels, especially after getting a few of these.

But there’s a sweet Sprint promo going on right now for you Verizon folks. Sign up for a year of unlimited data and save $900.

Why It Might Be the Perfect Time to Change Smart Phone Plans

This deal goes out to all you Verizon users.

Sprint is upping the competition against Verizon.

It’s called Sprint’s One Year Free Service offer, and that’s just what it is: a year of free, unlimited service.

Here’s how this Spring promo works:

1. Keep your Verizon phone. There’s no need to go get a new one (especially if you just splurged for that sleek iPhone 8).

2. Check to see if your unlocked phone is eligible to join Sprint’s network.

3. Order a new SIM card from Sprint. It’s $2.99 per card with $10 shipping. But Sprint overnights it to you, so you can hop on the plan sooner than later.

4. Activate your phone and enjoy a year of free service!

Honestly, it all seems pretty hassle-free.

But there’s got to be an asterisk, right? Some tiny, tiny print we’re missing? Or a man blubbering on at the end of the commercial, too fast to understand? Let’s find out.

What This Sprint Promo for Free Data Actually Includes

Compared to Verizon’s unlimited data plan, Sprint says this switch will save you at least $900 — in just one year.

If you’re switching two lines, you’ll save an annual estimated $1,560; three lines saves you $1,800; or for the whole family of four, you could save $1,920.

You’ll get unlimited data, talk and text for free for the first year. You’ll keep your phone and phone number. (Whew, no awkward Facebook status that’s fishing for your crush’s number.) You also don’t have to sign an annual contract or pay any activation fees; just get the SIM card.

Additionally, you’ll get HD streaming video, as well as 10GB of hotspot data per line. The plan also includes Sprint Global Roaming for you travelers.

Sprint outlines all the details online as well as lets you confirm your phone’s eligibility without having to talk to a single soul.

Will you opt out of those annoying texts that let you know your phone bill is going to be astronomical this month?

I just might.

Carson Kohler (@CarsonKohler) is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder. At 2 a.m., her provider texted her to let her know that 1GB of data was added to her account for $15. Wow, thanks.

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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24 Hours in a Lincoln Plus $100 Will Make Your Date Think You’re Rich

You got the digits. You made the call. Now you have the big date. You even have some sweet new threads, so you know you’ll bring your A-game. Nice!

But then you realize what’s parked in your garage.

No one wants to pull up in a 1998 Chevy Lumina, no matter how reliable it is, when they’re trying to impress.

Instead, arrive at your date in a brand-new Lincoln Continental.

It’s good enough for Matthew McConaughey, right?

How to Fake Wealth Using Lincoln’s Date Night Promotion

Now through Dec. 31, you can test-drive a brand-new Lincoln for 24 hours and get a $100 Visa gift card at participating locations so you can grab that dinner bill with confidence thanks to Lincoln’s Date Night special. You may even want to slip in a little money conversation to see if you and your date are on the same page.

That’s right. Not only do you get to drive it up the block and back, but that bad boy is yours for a full day.

What could you do with a Lincoln in 24 hours? You could…

• Pick up your mom and take her out to lunch while convincing her that you really are gainfully employed. Just look at the wheels!

• Cruise by your old flame’s house nice and slowly. Look who’s moving up and who missed out!

• Pick up your date and go for a scenic drive… or at least to the movie theater on the other side of town.

• Take your date out for breakfast the next morning because, you know, it went well.

Read the Fine Print First

The offer is pretty straightforward.

You have to be 25 years old to participate. The dealership will ask to see a driver’s license to make sure you can legally drive the roadways, which doesn’t seem unreasonable to me. You’ll also need an insurance card, just in case your ex throws a shoe or a rock at you as you drive by. Again, pretty reasonable.

Lincoln does reserve the right to determine if you are a legitimate prospective buyer, so you may want to iron that shirt before you go.

Some locations are booking up fast, so you may want to call to schedule your appointment. Plan ahead for that date!

What would you do with a Lincoln for 24 hours? I think I’d just drive around and try to be as cool as McConaughey.

All right, all right, all right!

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

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

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How to Retire with $2 Million [Case Study]

Here’s How Little Amazon Is Saving You When You Shop at Whole Foods

When Amazon took over Whole Foods in August, the two companies announced lower prices on essentials at Whole Foods locations.

It was exciting news for those who assumed they couldn’t do their routine shopping at “Whole Paycheck.” A press release from Amazon said that lower prices were on the way for bananas, avocados, eggs, salmon and tilapia, kale and baby lettuce, ground beef, almond butter and more.

But a new report from researchers at Gordon Haskett says that Whole Foods prices have dropped overall by just 1.2% since the Amazon takeover.

Whole Foods Prices Actually Went Up for These Items

Gordon Haskett tracked prices at a Whole Foods in Princeton, New Jersey, for five weeks after the Amazon takeover. Beverage prices went down about 2.8%, bakery goods dropped 6.8%, and produce prices decreased by 0.5%. But the price increases in the store almost negate those price drops.

The Washington Post outlined the price increases the firm found: Frozen food prices were up 7% during the tracking period, snack prices went up 5.3%, and dairy and yogurt products were priced 2.8% higher than they were in late August.

Meanwhile, Tesley Advisory Group examined prices at a Whole Foods in New York City and found that the store’s prices were still higher than at Walmart and Kroger, according to Bloomberg.

Customer Curiosity vs. Loyalty

For many customers, the price increases and decreases are probably barely noticeable. We’re so busy keeping track of sales, promotions and coupons that price changes of a few cents won’t make most of us to abandon a product.

Meanwhile, data from Foursquare Labs showed a 25% increase in Whole Foods customer traffic since the buyout, according to Bloomberg. Maybe those shoppers had long lists of items they needed; maybe it was just a matter of curiosity.

Beyond curiosity, grocery staples are a huge area for competition right now.

Target announced lower prices on its home essentials last month, and Walmart has started to allow customers to pay with Electronic Benefit Transfer cards when they pick up their online orders at the store. Any new eyeballs a store can get on its prices and promotions could result in long-term customer loyalty — at least, until the next competitor in the grocery wars comes along.

Whole Foods may still have a long way to go before its Whole Paycheck nickname fades.

We reached out to Whole Foods for comment on Gordon Haskett’s findings and will update this post if we hear back

Lisa Rowan is a senior 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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100+ Scholarships for International Students (2017-18)

The “American Dream” can mean something different to everyone. For international students hoping to attend school in the United States of America, that dream means getting accepted to and paying for college. It also comes with a price tag, as the cost of higher education in the U.S. continues to rise.

Applying for scholarships is one of the best ways for students – both domestically and internationally – to offset the costs of higher education. There are thousands of scholarships available each year, ranging from academic and athletic scholarships to need-based and creative. However, the scholarship application space is cluttered with information, and not all of it is factual. Additionally, you need to be wary of scams before applying.

To help ease the process for you, we’ve put together a guide to navigating the scholarship application process, as well as a complete list of scholarships for international students.

Start the process now by exploring our list of 100+ Scholarships for International Students (2017-18)!

Note: The information provided within this guide is correct as of the time of publication. Some information may have changed after the publish date, impacting accuracy.

The big list of scholarships for international students

       
       

Scholarship	Amount	Due date
15-Minute MindSumo Mini-Scholarships	Up to $1,000	Rolling
1800wheelchair.com Scholarship	$500	May 1, 2018
AES Engineering Scholarship Program	$500	Oct. 6, 2017
AHIMA Foundation Student Merit Scholarship	Up to $2,500	Sept. 30, 2017
Airbus Leadership Grant from Women in Aviation International	$5,000	Nov. 13, 2017
Airports Council International – North America Scholarship	$5,000	Dec. 15, 2017 April 15, 2018
AJ Madison Scholarship Program	$1,000	Dec. 1, 2017
American Association of University Women Educational Foundation International Fellowships	Up to $30,000	Dec. 1, 2017
American Copy Editors Society Education Fund Scholarship	Up to $2,500	Nov. 15, 2017
American Occupational Therapy Foundation Scholarship	Up to $5,000	Oct. 31, 2017
Annual CGTrader Scholarship	$500 to $2,000	Jan. 15, 2018
Annual Healthcare and Life Sciences Scholarship from The Expert Institute	$1,000	Dec. 31, 2017
Archie Motley Memorial Scholarships for Minority Students from the Midwest Archives Conference	$750	Mar. 1, 2018
Asia-Pacific Community Service Award from Golden Key	$1,500	Sept. 30, 2017
Asia-Pacific Outstanding Academic Achievement Award from Golden Key	$1,000	Sept. 30, 2017
Asia-Pacific Postgraduate Study Award from Golden Key	$1,000	Sept. 30, 2017
Asian Cultural Council Individual Grants	Up to $10,000	Nov. 9, 2017
Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE) International Scholarship	Up to $2,500	Feb. 2018
Bachus & Schanker, LLC Scholarship	$2,000	Nov. 30, 2017
BeSkinHost.com Scholarship Program	$1,500	Nov. 25, 2017
Be the Future Scholarship from 'Internal Auditor' magazine	$1,000	Sept. 30, 2018 Nov. 30, 2018 Jan. 31, 2018
The Boeing Company Career Enhancement Scholarship from Women in Aviation International	$2,500	Nov. 12, 2017
Brown Wharton & Brothers Scholarship	$500	Dec. 1, 2017
Build U. Scholarship from Buildium	$2,500	Nov. 1, 2017
“Business Plan” Scholarship For Students With Disabilities from FitSmallBusiness.com	$1,000	Nov. 1, 2017
Carole Fielding Grant from the University Film & Video Association	$1,000	Dec. 15, 2017
ChameleonJohn Annual Student Scholarship	$2,000	Dec. 15, 2017
Chereddi NarayanaRao and Radhamanohari Scholarship from the Telugu Association of North America	$2,000	Sept. 30, 2018
Chuan Ai Lu Engstrom Memorial Scholarship	$1,000	Dec. 1, 2017
Clara Lionel Foundation Global Scholarship Program	$50,000	TBD 2018
Comedy Defensive Driving Scholarship	$1,000	Dec. 31, 2017 May 31, 2018
Community Veterinary Partners College Scholarship	$1,000	Oct. 1, 2017 April 1, 2018
Costa Rican Vacations scholarship	$1,000	Feb. 15, 2018
The Cover Guy 5th Annual Scholarship	$500	July 1, 2018
CPR Certification Institute Scholarship	$2,000	Sept. 30, 2017
Crown Prince Akihito Scholarship Foundation from the Japan-American Society of Hawaii	Tuition + $25,000 for living expenses	Nov. 24, 2017
DEED Educational Scholarships from the American Public Power Association	$2,000	Oct. 15, 2017 Feb. 15, 2018
Dispensable Soccer Scholarship	$500	Mar. 1, 2018
Dr. Elemér and Éva Kiss Scholarship Fund from the Hungarian American Coalition	$1,000	TBD 2018
The Elie Wiesel Foundation Prize in Ethics	Up to $5,000	Dec. 11, 2017
Elva Knight Research Grant from the International Reading Association	$5,000	Jan. 15, 2018
The Emily Murray Student Scholarship from The Hastings Center	$750 stipend + 2-4 week residency	Apr. 15, 2018
Engineering Technology Scholarships from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc.	$5,000	Dec. 1, 2017
Fight For Sight Summer Student Fellowship	$2,500	Nov. 15, 2017
FormSwift Startup Scholarship	$1,000	Sept. 15, 2017 Dec. 15, 2017
The Future of Bariatric Surgery Scholarship from the Bariatric Surgery Source	$1,000	Jan. 1, 2018 July 1, 2018
Gadde Sitaramamma and Tirupataiah Scholarship from the Telugu Association of North America	$2,000	Sept. 30, 2018
Gear Up Your Future Scholarship from Gearupz	$2,000	Nov. 19, 2017
GEICO Life Scholarship from Golden Key	$1,000	Dec. 15, 2017
Geraldine “Polly” Bednash Scholarship from the American Association of Colleges of Nursery and CastleBranch	$5,000	Oct. 31, 2017 Jan. 31, 2018
GOGO Charters National Scholarship for Immigrants and Refugees	$10,000	Spring 2018
Golden Key Graduate Scholar Award	$10,000	Dec. 15, 2017
Golden Key Research Grant	$2,000	Dec. 15, 2017
Golden Key Undergraduate Achievement Award	$5,000	Dec. 15, 2017
Google Lime Scholarships for Students with Disabilities	$10,000	TBD 2018
Green Law Firm Nursing Home & Elderly Care Scholarship	$1,500	Dec. 31, 2017
Guthikonda BasavapunnaRao and Umadevi Scholarship from the Telugu Association of North America	$2,000	Sept. 30, 2018
Guthikonda Ramabrahmam and Balamani Scholarship from the Telugu Association of North America	$2,000	Sept. 30, 2018
Grungo Colarulo Giving Back to the Community Scholarship	$500	Oct. 31, 2017
Healthcare Training Scholarship Plan from the National CPR Association	$2,000	Nov. 30, 2017
HealthGrad.com Leadership Scholarship	$2,000	Nov. 1, 2017
http://ift.tt/2xgQvkv	$1,200	Jan. 15, 2018
Hemingway Research Grants from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum	$2,500	Nov. 1, 2017
The Homes.Com #FeelsLikeHome Scholarship	$1,000	Oct. 13, 2017
Honest. Wild. Beautiful. Scholarship Program from Annmarie Skin Care	$1,000	Sept. 30, 2017
HubShout Internet Marketing Scholarship	$1,000	Nov. 1, 2017 Mar. 1, 2018
International Scholars Program for Young Vascular Surgeons from the Society for Vascular Surgery	$5,000	Aug. 2018
Jane C. Waldbaum Archaeological Field School Scholarships from the Archaeological Institute of America	$1,000	Mar. 1, 2018
Japan-IMF Scholarship Program for Advanced Studies	Full tuition	Jan. 31, 2018
John J. McKetta Undergraduate Scholarships from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers	$5,000	June 2018
John R. Mott Scholarship Foundation	Up to $10,000	Apr. 15, 2018
JRC Insurance Group Scholarship	$1,000	Oct. 15, 2017
Kenneth Warren Scholarship from Slots.Info	$2,000	Nov. 15, 2017
Kerri Castellini Women's Leadership Scholarship from Price Benowitz LLP	$500	Nov. 30, 2017
KidGuard for Education Essay Scholarship for University Students	$1,000	Dec. 1, 2017
Kodali Veeraiah and Sarojini Scholarship from the Telugu Association of North America	$2,000	Sept. 30, 2018
LabRoots Scholarship	$2,000	Nov. 30, 2017
Leonora Lindsley Memorial Fellowship	Up to $12,000	Dec. 1, 2017
ListShack.com' Marketing Scholarship	$1,000	Dec. 14, 2017
Live Your Dream: Education and Training Awards for Women from Soroptimist International of the Americas	Up to $10,000	Nov. 15, 2017
The Lydia Cabrera Awards from The Conference on Latin American History	$5,000	Oct. 15, 2017
March of Dimes Dr. Margaret C. Freda Graduate Nursing Scholarship Award	$5,000	Jan. 12, 2018
Market Inspector Scholarship In Support of Those Under the Revised US Travel Ban	$1,000	Oct. 31, 2017
Microsoft Scholarship Program	Partial Tuition	Jan. 26, 2018
Money Metals Exchange Scholarship Program	Up to $2,000	Sept. 30, 2017
Monte R. Mitchell Global Scholarship from the Aircraft Electronics Association	$1,500	Apr. 1, 2018
Mosmiller Intern Scholarship Program from the American Floral Endowment	$2,000 + internship	Oct. 1, 2017 Mar. 1, 2018
MuchGames.com Research Grant	$1,500	Sept. 30, 2017
Mulberrys Garment Care for Aspiring Entrepreneurs Scholarship	$1,000	Dec. 8, 2017
MyProjectorLamps.com Annual Scholarship	$500	Sept. 30, 2017
National Arab American Medical Association Foundation Scholarships	$1,000	July 1, 2018
NearMeFinds Scholarship	$1,000	Oct. 12, 2017
The NextGen Scholarship from P.E.R.K. Consulting	$1,000	Feb. 2018
Parking Solutions Scholarship from Parking BOXX	$1,000	Oct. 15, 2017
PAVE 2017 Student Design Competition	$7,500	Oct. 31, 2017
P.E.O. International Peace Scholarship	$12,500	Dec. 15, 2017
Percy Martinez Law Scholarship	$5,000	Dec. 31, 2017
PowerScout Smart Energy Home Scholarship Award	$1,000	Nov. 30, 2017
Pretty Lightroom Presets Bi-Annual Scholarship	$500	Dec. 15, 2017 June 15, 2017
Price Benowitz Social Justice Scholarship	$1,500	Apr. 30, 2018
QASymphony Software Testing Scholarship	$1,000	Nov. 1, 2017
QS Graduate Scholar Award from Golden Key	$2,500	Dec. 15, 2017
Raymond Davis Scholarship from the Society of Imaging Science and Technology	$1,000	Oct. 1, 2017
Reston Limousine Scholarship	$1,000	Dec. 10, 2017
Rice-Cullimore Scholarships from ASME International	$2,000	Feb. 15, 2018
Richard D. Stehly Memorial Scholarship from the American Concrete Institute	$3,000	Nov. 3, 2017
Ritchie-Jennings Memorial Scholarship from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners	Up to $10,000	Jan. 29, 2018
Robert E. Altenhofen Memorial Scholarship from The Imaging & Geospatial Information Society	$2,000	Oct. 4, 2017
Robert Guthrie PKU Scholarship and Awards from the National PKU News	Up to $3,500	Feb. 15, 2018
The Rosenblatt and Herbert Scholarships from the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers	Up to $6,000	June 1 2018
Ruth Abernathy Presidential Undergraduate Scholarship from the Society of Health and Physical Educators	$1,250	Oct. 15, 2017
Scandinavian Society of Cincinnati Foundation Scholarship/Grant	Up to $1,000	Oct. 1, 2017 Jan. 1, 2018 April 1, 2018 July 1, 2018
Scholarship Essay Content by EssayPro	$500	Sept. 20, 2017
Scholarship for Growing the Future from the International Dairy Deli Bakery Association	$2,000	Jan. 15, 2018 Aug. 15, 2018
Scholarship for Outdoor Lovers from Nature Immerse	$2,000	Nov. 24, 2017
SelfScore International Student Scholarship	$5,000	Sept. 28, 2017
http://ift.tt/2xYZeM9	$1,000	Jan. 15, 2018
SeniorAdvice.com Senior Volunteer Scholarship	$1,000	Jan. 15, 2018
ShearComfort Scholarship	$1,500	Oct. 15, 2017
SHRM Foundation Student Undergraduate Scholarships from the Society for Human Resource Management	Up to $5,000	Oct. 10, 2017
Simplilearn Students Scholarship Program	$1,000	Dec. 1, 2017
Skilled Labor Shortage Scholarship by HomeAdvisor	$5,000	Dec. 15, 2017
Smile Marketing's Bi-Annual Dental Scholarship	$500	Mar. 15, 2018
Society of Exploration Geophysicists	$2,500	Mar. 1, 2018
Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers Graduate Scholarships	Up to $20,000	Feb. 1, 2018
Society of Plastic Engineers Pittsburgh Petroleum Section Scholarship Program	$2,500	Feb. 1, 2018
SWAAAE Academic Scholarship	$1,000	Dec. 8, 2017
Ted Parnell Scholarship from the Yukon Conservation Society	$500	June 30 2018
Transtutors Essay Scholarship	$1,000	Nov. 30, 2017
Undergraduate Engineering Scholarships from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc.	Up to $10,000	Dec. 1, 2017
Unpakt College Scholarship	$1,000	Dec. 15, 2017
Vallabhaneni Sukundamma and Lakshmaiah Scholarship from the Telugu Association of North America	$2,000	Sept. 30, 2018
Vertical Flight Foundation Scholarships	Up to $6,000	Feb. 5, 2018
Ward Law Group Better Future Scholarship	$500	Nov. 30, 2017
Why Decor Matters Scholarship from Southwestern Rugs Depot	$500	Jan. 2, 2018
Women in Technology Scholarship from Buildium	$2,500	Nov. 1, 2017
Zeqr Scholarship	$1,000	Dec. 15, 2017
Zonta International Amelia Earhart Fellowship Program	$10,000	Nov. 15, 2017

Ready to apply? Download our full list of scholarships for links to application pages and additional info.

Get scholarship list

The cost of college

Higher education in the United States costs a lot! Exactly how much? To find out, the College Board looked at the average cost of attendance for undergraduates enrolled in 2016-17. These estimates include in-state and out-of-state students at both public and private schools. They accounted for tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, and transportation, as well as other expenses.

Here’s what they found:

• $17,000 – Public two-year, in-district, commuter
• $24,610 – Public four-year, in-state, on-campus
• $39,890 – Public four-year, out-of-state, on-campus
• $49,320 – Private, nonprofit, four-year, on-campus

And that’s just for one year! If the cost of college stays the same all four years, that means you’ll pay nearly $100,000 to attend a public, in-state school and stay on campus. However, that’s the cost for U.S. citizens. For international students, the cost is even greater. For instance, at the University of Iowa, the estimated total costs for international students (tuition, fees, books, health insurance, and living expenses) during the 2017-18 school year range from $42,219 for liberal arts and sciences majors to $57,478 for pharmacy majors. That’s a whopping $168,876 or more for four years of college!

Despite the costs, studying abroad – especially within the U.S. – is still desirable to international students and their parents. In the HSBC: The Value of Education Global Report, it was reported that 64% of parents would consider sending their children abroad for undergraduate study, while 70% would consider their children studying abroad for postgraduate degrees. As the HSBC Report states: “The USA is regarded as offering the highest quality education in the world, with 51% of parents ranking it in their top three countries.”

Related:

• How High School Students Can Financially Prepare for College
• How to Compare Financial Aid Offers and Pick the Right School
• Three Big Mistakes Students Make When Accepting Financial Aid
• How to Graduate From a Big-Name College for a Fraction of the Cost

The scholarship application process

Once you’ve decided to study abroad in the U.S., it’s time to start thinking about finances, including scholarships. In general, there are two types of scholarships – school-specific and general, which can be applied to any school.

How to find scholarships

School-specific scholarships

If you’ve been accepted to a specific school and know that’s where you’ll be attending, your first stop should be the school’s financial aid website to look at financial aid and scholarship options.

For instance, the University of Oregon offers more than $1 million in financial aid and scholarships each year to international students, according to their website. Here you’ll find information about scholarships available to students from all countries as well as country-specific scholarships. The University of Oregon, for examples, offers the $1,000 Pressman Family Scholarship to students from all countries, but the $3,000 Sushil Jajodia Indian Student Scholarship is only open to students from India.

During this process, don’t hesitate to reach out to college admissions officers or financial aid experts at the university. They’re there to help you find as much money as you qualify for during your time at school.

General scholarships

In addition to school-specific scholarships, there are thousands of general scholarships open to international students attending any school within the United States. These can range from $500 from the Yukon Conservation Society to $20,000 from the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, or even more!

Finding and applying for these scholarships may be harder than school-specific scholarships, though. Often, since these organizations only have a limited amount of money to offer, there are more restrictions on applying, such as specific majors or an essay component. Additionally, these scholarships can be posted anywhere on the web, so you may need to do some searching for them and confirm that they are a legitimate scholarship.

We’ve done the digging for you and compiled a complete list of scholarships for international students offered throughout the rest of 2017 and into 2018. As more scholarships for international students become available, you can check other resources, such as:

• Cappex – This site lets you search and compare colleges, get admission information, and find scholarships to apply for, all in place.
• Education USA – Run by the United States Department of State, this site offers information to help international students interested in studying in the U.S. find their best fit and finance schooling.
• Fastweb – This free scholarship service helps you find scholarships and also provides information about financial aid and student loan options.
• ForeignBorn.com – This site’s founders came to the U.S. in 1998 and have been providing information and guides on U.S. immigration, including studying abroad in the United States, since 2000.
• InternationalStudent.com – This site offers information and resources, including scholarships, to international students looking to study abroad in various locations, such as the United States.
• Peterson’s – With detailed information on more than 4,000 colleges and universities, you can find everything you need about the college process – from financial aid to test prep to scholarships.
• Scholarships.com – This free scholarship search tool compiles thousands (to millions) of scholarships, financial aid options, grants, and more to help you find money for college.
• Unigo – As a college matching and school review site, Unigo offers a lot of information about colleges, as well as a scholarship search to help you pay for school
• USA TODAY College – In addition to college related news, information on housing, jobs, tutors, and more, the news site also offers scholarship searches.

Tips for verifying scholarships

Whenever money is involved, there’s also the opportunity for scams. Here are some tips for verifying that a scholarship is legitimate.

Never pay an application or processing fee.

Paying money to apply for a scholarship is a huge red flag. “If you have to pay money to get money, it’s probably a scam. Never invest more than a postage stamp to find information about scholarships or to apply for scholarships,” says Mark Kantrowitz, publisher and vice president of strategy at Cappex.com, an online college matchmaker.

Check for contact information.

If there’s no address or phone number, question whether or not the scholarship is authentic. Scholarship scams typically avoid listing contact information (aside from an email address) because physical addresses and phone numbers are easier to trace.

Verify the scholarship name and past winners.

Do a quick search of the scholarship to see if you can find past winners or information about the award on other third-party sites. If there’s no other information available aside from the original website, that could be a red flag.

Never provide your personal credit information.

Sometimes need-based scholarships may ask for financial information, but you should never have to provide a credit card number, bank account number, or your social security number to apply for a scholarship.

Don’t claim a scholarship you didn’t apply for.

Be wary of emails or phone calls claiming you won a scholarship you don’t know about or didn’t apply for personally. The easiest way to do this is to keep a spreadsheet or list of scholarships you’ve applied for with the date applied, contact information, etc. so you can verify later.

Be wary of superlative claims.

Sites that claim to “do all the work for you,” that the scholarship is “guaranteed or your money back,” or “you can’t get this information anywhere else” should raise a red flag. There are a number of databases you can sign up for to search scholarships; however, that information should always be free and readily available and should outline the steps you need to take to apply.

An overview of the application process

Once you’ve compiled a list of scholarships you believe you qualify for, it’s time to start applying. In general, your application process should look something like this:

A few general tips:

1. Review and verify the qualifications and deadlines.
2. Gather or request all relevant information (transcripts, recommendation letters, etc.)
3. Develop, write, and proofread required essays, if applicable.
4. Prepare all the information and review it for accuracy.
5. Submit the information using the proper method.

We’ve also created a checklist to ensure you’re gathering all the information you need for most scholarship applications.

Download checklist

Tips for applying for scholarships

While the scholarship application process may seem as easy as “Apply for a scholarship. Win money,” it’s actually highly competitive. To stand out during the application process and maximize your chances, follow these tips.

More is more.

With general scholarships, your motto should be “Apply early. Apply often.” A small amount like $500 to $1,000 may not seem like a lot, but if you receive ten of these smaller scholarships, you could have $5,000 to $10,000 to put toward your schooling. Smaller, local scholarships offered where you live or in the town where you’ll be studying may attract fewer applicants and could be easier to get.

Put in the work.

Create a strategy for applying to scholarships, and don’t wait until the last minute. In many cases, you can start applying for scholarships a year or two before you start college, and you can keep applying for undergraduate scholarships until you’re a junior in college. Take your time and put in the work.

Do it yourself.

It may be tempting to have a friend or parent fill out your applications or write your essays for you, but your submission won’t be authentic and may come across that way. Submit the application yourself, but don’t hesitate to ask a parent or friend to review or provide feedback for you.

Details, details, details.

Pay attention to all of the submission details and ensure you’re following them. Double check deadlines, names, addresses, email addresses, etc., proofread everything thoroughly, and think twice about the email address you use to send in your application. It may seem harmless, but officials may frown upon an email address like prettyprincess2001@hotmail.com.

Select recommendations wisely.

Having a senior level executive at the company you interned for write a letter of recommendation may seem fancy, but if they can only speak about you generally, it won’t be as impactful. Instead, ask someone who knows you personally – a direct boss, teacher, counselor, or another adult – and can make a case for why you deserve the scholarship.

Write or record with passion.

If the scholarship requires an essay or video submission, highlight your passions, not what you think the scholarship officials want to hear. Don’t be afraid to get personal, be original, avoid clichés, and tell a story that is motivating and empowering. You’re more likely to get their attention if you’re being true to yourself.

Avoid templates.

It may be easier to write one essay and use that for every application, but you should tailor each application to a specific scholarship. This shows officials that you take the scholarship – and the money they’re providing – seriously.

When it comes to scholarship applications, you want to be authentic to who you are and highlight your best qualities to officials. Don’t worry about telling them what you think they want to hear. They get dozens to hundreds of applications, so instead, make yourself stand out by being true to yourself.

Ronald Ramsdell, founder and president of College Aid Consulting Services, an independent, full-service advisory on financial aid, shares some dos and don’ts for international students applying for scholarships:

Scholarship dos:

• Do ask the college(s) you are applying to if they have a list of scholarships you can pursue.
• Do read all of the qualifications and requirements before applying.
• Do ask a native speaker to read your essay(s) and make appropriate corrections.
• Do check with your home country. They may have resources for students that attend college in the USA.

Scholarship don’ts:

• Don’t have somebody write the essay for you.
• Don’t wait until the last minute to get started. It does take a lot of time and effort to properly pursue scholarships.
• Don’t stop your scholarship search. Continue to pursue scholarships even when you are attending college.

Other ways to save money

In addition to scholarships and financial aid, there are a number of other ways you can save money while attending college within the United States. One area to look at is your living situation. Sharing an apartment or house with other students may be cheaper than living in a dorm. While some colleges require freshmen to live on-campus their first year, it’s something you may want to consider in subsequent years.

Another area is food. A meal plan is convenient, but if you’re not using it regularly – because you’re meeting up with friends for pizza off-campus, or the like – it may not be worth it. Research all your options, then consider downgrading your meal plan — or make your food at home in order to stick to a budget.

Another option is to explore alternative credits that meet some of your general education requirements at a lower cost. “International students can save on tuition by addressing the issue from the source and reducing the actual cost of college. Supplement the traditional college experience with low-cost alternative credit options like College Level Examination Program (CLEP) exams or online courses, which are options available to international students,” says Adrian Ridner, CEO and co-founder of Study.com, a website for online college credit courses.

Ridner continues: “These alternative credit options can help get some of those general education requirements out of the way and speed up your path to graduation, ultimately saving you thousands of dollars in tuition.”

Related:

• 63 Quick Tips to Save Money in College
• 13 Great Part-Time Jobs for College Students
• Best Credit Cards for College Students
• Best International Credit Cards With No Foreign Transaction Fee
• The College Student’s Guide to Getting Out of Credit Card Debt

Conclusion

Attending college within the United States can be quite a process – finding a school, getting accepted, taking the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), applying for scholarships, getting a student visa, and more. However, it’s also an extremely rewarding experience. You’ll have the opportunity to experience life outside of your home country, meet new people from unique and different backgrounds, and gain knowledge within your chosen field. Applying for scholarships helps relieve some of the financial burdens of college so you can focus on your studies!

The post 100+ Scholarships for International Students (2017-18) appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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The Temptation of a New Store

As a resident of rural central Iowa, I often visit Ames and Des Moines for shopping purposes, with Ames being somewhat more convenient for my family. I have a strong grasp on the different shopping options in Ames and take advantage of various grocers for various things – we go to Aldi and Sam’s Club frequently, and to the local food co-op for some esoteric items.

A few days ago, I was driving through town with my three children and they spotted a new store opening up – Fresh Thyme. For those unfamiliar, Fresh Thyme is a grocery store chain that seems to aim to be something of a hybrid between Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods – I think of it as Trader Joe’s if Trader Joe’s sold more natural and organic foods, but at least attempted to keep the prices relatively low.

My kids read the sign out loud and asked what it was, and I described it to them, as I’ve visited one in the past. Then, they immediately wanted to know when it would open and whether we would go there.

The thing is, I wanted to go, too, but I really couldn’t explain why.

(Please note that everything I say below is not a knock on Fresh Thyme, which is a perfectly good store. I have visited other locations of the store in the past and enjoyed those visits, and my comments below have more to do with my perception of their competition than Fresh Thyme themselves.)

There’s not really much they could sell that I don’t already have access to at a good price. Between the other grocery options in town, I can already find virtually every food item I could want except for a pretty small handful of obscure things that I’ve failed to acquire over the last several years – and those are available if I make the longer drive to Des Moines. I really doubt that this store is going to carry those rare items anyway, given its size.

While the prices of the chain will be solid, the only area where they might compete price-wise is against the food co-op and perhaps against the more expensive primary grocer in town, Hy-Vee. Based on my experience, I can’t imagine competing against Fareway and Aldi and Sam’s Club on price for most things.

It’s also a chain store. It’s not a locally-owned business. I’m not helping the local community nearly as much as if I spent my premium food dollars at the local co-op, which is locally owned and operated and makes a point to stock as much stuff from the local area and the state as possible.

Furthermore, the simple act of going into a store without a purpose in mind opens up a very large chance of wasteful spending. I’m going into a place that’s trying to sell me stuff when I don’t really need anything, and I’m going in there by choice.

Yet, even knowing all of that, I still have this desire to go there and check out this new store when it opens.

I understand why I want to do this. It’s that basic human interest in the new experience. Suddenly, there’s a new option available. Let’s check it out.

Yet, consciously, I’m aware that there’s little chance I will find something there that I want to buy and use.

In other words, I have this strong unconscious desire that makes little sense when I consciously evaluate it, yet that desire persists.

Honestly, it’s the same reason so many people want the latest smartphone, even though it really doesn’t do anything much different than what they already have. Another quarter-inch of screen space and a “rounded bevel” isn’t going to add up to a life-altering change.

Is this kind of desire triggered by a consistent desire for something new? I was curious about that angle, so I did some research and came upon this article entitled Why Getting New Things Makes Us Feel Good. Bear with a bit of the ol’ neuroscience here:

There’s a region in our midbrain called the substantia nigra/ventral segmental area or SN/VTA. This is essentially the major “novelty center” of the brain, which responds to novel stimuli.

The SN/VTA is closely linked to areas of the brain called the hippocampus and the amygdala, both of which play large roles in learning and memory. The hippocampus compares stimuli against existing memories, while the amygdala responds to emotional stimuli and strengthens associated long-term memories.

It’s been thought before that novelty was a reward in itself, but, like dopamine, it seems to be more related to motivation.

Researchers Bunzeck and Düzel tested people with an “oddball” experiment that used fMRI imaging to see how their brains reacted to novelty. They showed the subjects images such as indoor and outdoor scenes and faces with occasional novel images (oddballs) thrown in.

The experiment found that the SN/VTA was activated by novel images—that is, brand new images that hadn’t been seen before. Images that only slightly deviated from more familiar ones didn’t have the same effect, and neither did images with strongly negative emotional context such as car crashes or angry faces.

In other words, that desire to go to the new store isn’t a rational one, it’s a deep biological one, triggered deep in the SN/VTA region in our brains. When our brains see something new, we are biologically motivated to want to learn more about it.

Translate that to my family driving by the new store: we see a new store opening up, all of us have our SN/VTA regions activated in our brains, and we all want to go check out that new store (or at least know more about it, but it’s a store, so it’s not potentially scary and thus we want to go check it out).

It’s the same reason that going on vacation to a new place is so exciting, albeit on a smaller level. When we go to new places, the SN/VTA region of our brains is working overtime, encouraging us to check out all the new stuff.

Again, a biological response is working inside of us, nudging us toward what might not be the wisest financial move. So, what can we do about it?

The first and most useful thing is to be aware of it. That strong impulse you have to go to the new store? It’s not a rational one. It’s a biological one, the same impulse your ancestors had when they saw a new food source or a new trader’s wagon rolling across the prairie. You are wired to be attracted to the new thing and to want to check it out.

Of course, if you follow from that, just because you are wired to be attracted to something doesn’t mean you have to dive into it. Sure, it’s an attractive impulse, but it’s just that. You don’t have to follow up on it. It’s just your deep mind alerting you to something new and getting excited about it.

Instead, give it a bit of rational thought outside of the heat of the moment. If Fresh Thyme had been open, I probably would have been pulled by my SN/VTA to go right into the parking lot and right into the store, but because I waited and left the situation and thought about it later, I began to realize that the store wasn’t really that big of a deal. I don’t need to go there; in fact, there’s likely little I would buy there that isn’t found elsewhere.

If you do decide to go later on, go with a purpose. If you’re going to a grocery store (like Fresh Thyme), go with a list of items that you might buy there with the intent of comparing prices. If you’re going to a clothing store, do your homework first, know what they specialize in, and go there with the intent of hitting their sales and specialties. If you’re going to an outdoor store, go there with the intent of checking out a specific outdoor product that you already intend to purchase and use that time to examine the product and figure out if the price is right for you.

You get the idea. That pattern follows for almost any new store you might go to, because almost any new store is going to be selling similar things in comparison to other stores in the area and online.

So, will I go to Fresh Thyme when it opens? Sure. But I’ll go there with a few specific items in mind to buy and I’ll use that opportunity to price check some of the items I might buy there and examine the quality of their produce. I won’t walk in there just because it’s the new place to go.

In other words, I’ll let my SN/VTA have a turn at running the show in my brain, but only after I prepare for it a little.

Good luck!

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Everything You Need to Know Before You Start A/B Testing

Do you think your website is performing to its full potential?

It’s frustrating if you’re not getting enough clicks and conversions on your website.

The layout of your page might be the issue.

Think about the goal of your website.

The layout of your website should match the goal for your website, depending on your business model.

For example, the main goal of an ecommerce site is to increase sales.

But the primary goal of a media or news platform may be to get users to click on advertisements.

The setup of your website needs to reflect your goal.

An ecommerce page will most likely get formatted differently than a news site.

What’s the best way to lay out the content on your website?

Use A/B testing to find the optimal configuration.

Here’s an example of how it works:

The graphic above is a good depiction of how you would use and analyze A/B testing, which is also referred to as split testing.

It’s a simple concept.

Half of your visitors will get directed to one version of the website, variation A.

The other half will be sent to another version of your site, variation B.

Then, you can determine which layout helps you achieve your goal better.

In the example above, variation A has a 23% conversion rate, while variation B only has an 11% conversion rate.

Variation A is the clear winner of this split test.

Again, the concept isn’t difficult to understand.

But applying this model to your website can be tricky if you don’t do it the right way.

If it’s your first time doing an A/B test or your last attempt was unsuccessful, don’t worry.

I’ll tell you everything you need to know before you start A/B testing.

Set a clear goal for your testing procedure

Here’s a visual representation of what your procedure should look like:

The first thing you need to do is determine which conversion to improve.

Don’t change every aspect of your website.

That’s an ineffective approach and won’t give you measurable results.

Instead, make an alteration to something specific that’s related to your goal.

If you’re unsure where to start, here are some examples of different components you can change on your website:

• the headline
• subheadings
• your call-to-action buttons
• links
• text
• awards and mentions in the media
• testimonials and social proof
• images
• videos
• advertisements

These are just some basic suggestions to get you brainstorming.

All these components can affect the behavior and actions of your visitors.

Ultimately, these actions can impact your conversions.

Once you set a goal, you can form a hypothesis to test to determine whether that solution will help you reach those goals.

For example, let’s say your goal is to increase conversions.

Your hypothesis is that increasing the size of your call-to-action button and making it more prominent on your homepage will increase conversion rates.

Then you devise a split test to test that hypothesis.

Here’s an example from Yuppiechef:

Yuppiechef hypothesized that their website users were too distracted by their navigation menu.

They thought that visitors had too many options to click, so they weren’t selecting the CTA button.

What did they do?

Yuppiechef removed the navigation bar for their variation page of the A/B test.

The test layout resulted in a 100% increase in their conversions.

Highrise used A/B testing to test a hypothesis about the header on their homepage:

Altering this heading increased clicks by 30%.

To sum up the process:

• set a goal
• come up with a hypothesis (what elements should I change to try to achieve this goal?)
• run an A/B test
• analyze the results

If you change too many components of your website, it will be extremely difficult to accurately test your hypothesis.

Select a platform to run your A/B tests

Okay.

You’ve got a goal and a hypothesis.

But how do you implement these tests on your website?

Not everyone who operates a website is a computer engineer or programmer.

Fortunately, you don’t need to be either to run an A/B test.

There are plenty of tools and resources that can help you do that.

Here are some places to start.

Google Analytics has an A/B test feature.

I use Google Analytics to get actionable data from my websites.

If you’re already using other features of Google Analytics and you’re comfortable using this platform, I think it’s a great place for you to start.

You can also try:

• multivariate tests
• redirect tests

Both of these are options through Google Analytics.

Multivariate tests let you change multiple elements of your web pages.

Redirect tests are also known as split URL tests.

These are great for testing different landing pages.

Google Analytics gives you organized and detailed reports from your experiments.

You can easily analyze this information to prove or disprove your hypothesis.

It’s also free to use, which is always an added bonus.

The Five Second Test is another platform you can try.

It’s super easy to test the design elements of your homepage, logos, and landing pages with this service.

You’ll discover what your website visitors like and don’t like about your page.

You can run:

• click tests
• performance tests
• navigation flow tests
• A/B tests

It’s a great resource to test the call to action on your landing pages.

Five Second Test also has some free plans to choose from.

Optimizely also offers A/B testing.

Like with Google Analytics, you can run multivariate tests in addition to A/B tests with Optimizely.

It’s easy for you to edit and change virtually every element of your website’s design.

You do need to sign up for a paid subscription to use their platform.

However, Optimizely offers you a free 30-day trial to check out their software—you don’t need to commit to a subscription right away.

Optimizely generates a line of code for you to insert into your HTML.

It’s easy to follow their instructions, and you’ll see results based on your testing in real time.

If you have a mobile application, Optimizely allows you to run experiments on your app as well.

Unbounce is another popular choice for A/B testing.

Here’s what they offer.

You can build a landing page with high conversion rates.

Integrate your analytics, marketing automation, CRM tools, or email campaigns with their software.

Their A/B testing lets you optimize conversions, converting traffic into leads and sales.

I like their drag-and-drop format to customize your website.

This feature makes it easy to make changes to your A/B tests.

It’s another paid subscription software.

Their packages start at $79 per month.

If you’re on the fence about which software to use for your A/B experiments, I would definitely recommend trying one of the options we just discussed:

• Google Analytics
• Five Second Test
• Optimizely
• Unbounce

These are all easy to use, regardless of your goals.

Understand the statistics behind your data

All right, as I said before, your A/B test will help you test your hypothesis.

Once you have the results, you’ll need to make sense of them.

This is a basic statistical experiment.

If you slept through your high school or college statistics course, I’ll give you a quick refresher so you can effectively interpret and analyze the results.

Here are some basic terms to get familiar with:

• mean
• variance
• sampling

The mean is an average value of something.

Variance measures the average variability of your results.

The higher the variability, the less accurate your mean (or average) will be for the experiment.

You can use an A/A test to detect any natural variance on your website.

Here’s an example of A/A testing to determine the variance.

The two homepages above are identical.

However, the one on the right had 15% more conversions.

You can do the same on your website by splitting the traffic between two identical pages.

It’s important to know this information before you start the A/B test.

Here’s why.

Let’s say the A/B test yields a 15% higher conversion rate for the page you’re testing.

Well, if your natural variance is already 15%, the A/B is inconclusive.

If you don’t know your variance from the A/A test, it could potentially give you a false positive result when you run the A/B test.

Your sample size is also important.

There’s no fixed number of visitors you need to get or set number of days you need to run your test for.

Continue your A/B test for as long as you have to.

Here’s an example of some results you may see after a couple of days:

At first glance, it appears that your variation was unsuccessful.

But your sample size isn’t large enough yet.

Here are the results of that same test two weeks later:

Sure, you want to stay on top of your data so you can measure the outcome.

But don’t do this too soon.

If you ended your test after the first couple of days, you would have missed out on all this additional information.

After running the test for two weeks, you can see there was a 25.18% improvement in the variation of your control page.

It’s statistics 101.

Yes, I know you’re excited to see the results so you can come up with a finalized page.

Rushing won’t help.

Take your time so you can get accurate results.

Conclusion

If you want to start A/B-testing your website, that’s great.

It’s an effective method to figure out what changes you need to make to your website to achieve your goal.

Want to improve conversions?

Maybe changing the color scheme, button size, or button placement can impact the results.

A/B testing is the best way to figure this out.

But make sure you keep everything we discussed in mind before you dive into this.

First, you need to set a goal.

The goal should be actionable, measureable, and realistic.

Next, set a hypothesis for your goal.

For example, if you’re an ecommerce company, you’ll want to increase your checkout rates.

Look at the graphic above.

What elements of your website can you change to minimize cart abandonment?

If your checkout process is too long or complicated, try a variation page with a simpler checkout procedure.

Test the hypothesis.

Earlier we looked at an example where a website eliminated a navigation bar for its A/B test.

This minimized clutter and brought the attention of their visitors to the CTA button.

Analyze the results.

Was your hypothesis correct?

In order to effectively and accurately measure your data, you need to understand the basic statistical concepts we talked about:

• mean
• variation
• sample

You should consider running an A/A test before you start your A/B testing procedure.

The A/A test will help you determine your natural variance to avoid getting a false positive from your experiment.

There are lots of great tools you can use to run A/B tests.

With so many options available, it can be overwhelming to find the best one.

I recommend starting with one of the choices I mentioned:

• Google Analytics
• Five Second Test
• Optimizely
• Unbounce

These platforms are a great starting point.

Their analytics tools will make it much easier for you to interpret the results of your test.

Do not rush. Give it some time before you jump to conclusions.

Make sure you get a large enough sample size before you draw conclusions about your hypothesis.

What aspect of your homepage will you change to test a hypothesis and increase your conversions?

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My Wife and I Finally Stopped Fighting About Money: Here’s How We Did it

Although we’d lived together for roughly three years, my wife and I kept our finances separate. It wasn’t until we got married and moved to upstate New York that we decided to merge our money.

Up until this point, we’d been responsible for our share of rent and utilities, and split grocery costs in half. We approached date nights by either splitting the bill or alternating who treated.

Maybe it wasn’t romantic, but it worked for us… at least, until we outgrew that approach. From a practical perspective, things that had once been mine, from my pampered pooch to my car, were now ours. So why should I alone cover these costs?  

We dutifully merged most of our money, pooling 75% of our earnings. We kept the remainder in personal accounts.

But merging our money didn’t teach us anything about spending it wisely.

We quickly realized we needed to talk about how we would spend and save our money — especially if we were going to stay on track with our student loan and mortgage payments.

We decided to develop a monthly budget, check in with our spending and pay the bills on semi-monthly budgeting nights.

Little did we know, this set the stage for tense discussions about our cash flow. Here’s what we fought about, and how we turned it around to work toward goals and make smarter financial decisions.

We Started Tracking Expenses

To start tracking our finances, we needed a tool. We started with the popular You Need a Budget software, but it wasn’t right for us.

Our early budget nights stretched for hours as we read YNAB tutorials, watched videos and emailed customer support help to figure out why debit card transactions were importing twice — YNAB’s solution: manually delete the duplicates.

Our budget was in the red, but we didn’t know how to fix it. We were paying $5 per month for a budgeting tool we didn’t understand and squabbling on every budgeting night while not getting to the root of our overspending.

Instead of fighting about expenses, which we could fix, we fought about the budgeting process itself. After a few months of feeling stuck and stupid, we started a fresh YNAB budget to see if starting from scratch gave us better luck.

When we still fought over budgeting, we replaced YNAB with Mint. While Mint didn’t make us perfect at budgeting, it was a more intuitive solution for us.

Now, instead of fighting over how we were spending money, we could track expenses and set goals. We weren’t getting as much information about historical trends as we did from YNAB, but we were able to draw conclusions about our spending from the data we received. For now, Mint is the right solution for our combined money decisions.

We Spent Money Mindfully

My wife’s family never talked about financial decisions openly, including the cost of college. My parents divorced when I was young, so I didn’t receive any consistent model for saving or spending money. Since no one taught us how to budget, we made our own money decisions with the limited information we inherited from our families’ approaches to financial management.

We knew how we spent our money — we could see every transaction in Mint — but we hadn’t talked about spending patterns.

Were we spending money on things that aligned with our values, needs and wants? Or we were spending on impulse?

Looking over the month’s expenses, it was easy to bicker over our spending and lose sight of the bigger picture.

We flipped our mindset from fighting about the past to changing a spending pattern we didn’t like in the future. We discussed what we wanted to spend money on — for us it’s food and travel — and what wasn’t important to us, like entertainment.

We also discussed what we could handle jointly. Expenses we cover separately include clothing and student loans — she’s in the public service loan forgiveness program, whereas I’m trying to pay off my loans as quickly as possible.

We Set Budget Goals

Through our budgeting journey, we struggled with how to stretch our dollars. Between the income inequality for LGBTQ Americans and our careers in writing and nonprofit, there wasn’t much extra to fund our dreams.

To better meet long-range goals, we took a personal finance class and met with a financial planner. By attending now, we’ll know how to secure the future we want.

Our journey toward making smarter financial decisions hasn’t been perfect or easy — for instance, we still overspend on groceries — but we’ve broken down the wall to talking about money and made major strides together.

Sure, we don’t have control over every aspect of our budget or one-time emergency costs, such as car repair, but we’ve tried to counteract these things through smarter spending on what’s in our control.

When we do overspend, we let ourselves off the hook and try to do better next month or find ways to save. By making our own yogurt, for instance, we’ve been able to cut down what was a major expense in grocery costs.  

While our goals are a long way off, we’re learning that it is possible to enjoy the journey and the money we’ve earned.

Lindsey Danis (@lindseydanis) is a writer living in the Hudson Valley who covers food, LGBT, travel, essays and commentary.

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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Personal Finance and the Paradox of Choice

A few weeks ago, I was browsing the internet when I stumbled onto a decade-old TED Talk from psychologist Barry Schwartz. The talk, aptly named The Paradox of Choice, aimed to deconstruct how much affluence – and the choice it brings to our lives – affects our society.

Schwartz spoke of many frustrating truths almost anyone can relate to – the madness of shopping for salad dressing in a store where there are 175 different flavors and brands, or choosing among 285 varieties of cookies. At the store Schwartz shops at alone, he says, there are 75 different types of iced tea to buy, along with 230 different soups and more than 40 types of toothpaste.

Schwartz goes on to complain that his local electronics store offers 6.5 million different ways to build a stereo. That’s not an exaggeration. And when you buy a cell phone these days, there are hundreds of options available, plus too many upgrades and accessories to keep track of.

“Life is a matter of choice,” says Schwartz. “But, is this good news or bad news?”

Most of us would assume that the more options we have, the better. But Schwartz cites research showing that an overabundance of choice doesn’t actually make us happier. Instead, it can leave us feeling confused, disappointed, and often paralyzed.

With so many choices, people find it difficult to make any decision at all. And even if we do manage to overcome the paralysis of overanalysis and make a choice, we end up less satisfied with our selection than if we had fewer options to choose from.

It’s not that we don’t like the salad dressing or cookies we chose for our evening dinner, he says. It’s just that, with so many other options, it’s far too easy to second guess our decisions — to imagine that a different choice might have been better. (Newer research on this subject has been less conclusive, but it still appears that too much choice can create consumer confusion and regret in some situations.)

Schwartz goes on to argue that “the secret to happiness is low expectations” – and having fewer options would be better for everyone.

Simply put, when you don’t have as many choices, you don’t have to fret over insignificant trade-offs like the brand of tea to buy or which toothpaste is marginally better. And when you’re not wasting brainpower to choose from 85 different cell phone plans and 6.5 million different stereo configurations, you can spend more time actually enjoying life.

Personal Finance and the Paradox of Choice

Listening to this talk, I couldn’t help but draw parallels between the psychologist’s complaints and the broader concept of personal finance.

In a world where we are plagued by too many salad dressings, laptop computers, and beers to choose from, we are also overwhelmed with countless personal finance decisions that may or may not add value to our lives.

You can invest in your work-sponsored 401(k), or on your own. But, how much should you contribute, and which funds should you choose?

Schwartz himself even referenced a study that showed that the more fund options workers had to choose from within an employer-sponsored 401(k), the less likely they were to participate at all. And this was despite the fact that not participating meant leaving some hefty 401(k) matching funds on the table. When confronted with too many investing choices, many workers are so overwhelmed they ignore it altogether.

And who can blame them? Many say a 401(k) won’t be enough to retire on anyway, which is why you should also invest in a Roth IRA or traditional IRA if you can. A whirl around the internet will tell you to explore investing in real estate, peer-to-peer lending, real estate crowdfunding sites, precious metals, bonds, CDs, penny stocks, Bitcoin, hedge funds, and your own small business.

Faced with all these choices, many people just do nothing – or worse, they choose one investing option like their 401(k) and spending their entire working lives wondering if it’s good enough.

But our paralysis and ineptitude doesn’t end there, as we’re also plagued with too many decisions pertaining to how to spend the money we earn.

Should you buy your forever home now? Should you buy a starter home and upgrade to a forever home later in life? Should you get a 30-year mortgage or a 15-year loan? A fixed-rate loan, or an adjustable-rate mortgage?

Should you pay off your mortgage early, or invest that extra cash instead? Should you get a HELOC to upgrade your kitchen now, or save up the cash over several years to avoid debt?

Should you finance a new car in an effort to avoid costly repair bills? Or, should you drive your older model until the wheels fall off (hopefully not while you’re in it)?

The list of decisions we make goes on and on, making all of us guess and second-guess ourselves and if what we’re doing is good enough.

Too Much Choice: How Peer Pressure Makes Things Worse

But, it gets worrse. As someone who writes about personal finance, I’ve also noticed how peer pressure – how the Joneses – make our spending decisions overly complex. From the shows we watch to the people we call our friends, most of us are bombarded with pressure to keep up and keep getting better all the time.

If you want to see what I mean, turn your television to HGTV for an evening. On shows like “House Hunters,” you’ll find young people in their 20s and early 30s managing huge down payments on homes that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, only to gut and remodel them with fancier upgrades than most of us can afford.

You’ll see couples bickering over the merits of concrete countertops or granite. Cherry or maple cabinets? Jacuzzi tub or soaking tub? Distressed wooden floors or carpet? And, don’t you need a three-car garage? A man-cave? A craft room? Dual walk-in closets?

If you don’t fall into line and at least pine after these upgrades, people in your life could very well question your sanity. Recently, when I wrote a post on home upgrades I’m not really willing to make, readers chimed in to change my mind.

I should at least shop around to see if I could get a better deal on windows, one said – even after I wrote an entire post about how I’m fine with my old ones. And I should “upgrade my guest bathroom so my guests feel more welcome.” Or something like that.

My husband and I recently had to replace our cell phones. When I told the guy at T-Mobile I didn’t want anything fancy, I could practically see his eyes glazing over in real time.

And, inexplicably, I’ve had people comment on my tiny, sapphire wedding ring — only to imply my husband doesn’t love me very much, just like I’ve had people ask why we don’t upgrade to a newer car (and why we share one).

I’ve been there, you’ve been there, we’ve all been there. When it comes to how we spend our money, there’s no shortage of people lining up to give their unsolicited opinions and advice. If we listen to their advice, we can wind up spending countless thousands of dollars just to keep up with their demands. We buy things we don’t really want. We spend money to keep up appearances when, internally, we couldn’t care less.

When we listen to what others think about our money – feeding us even more suggestions about our financial decisions – we can wind up succumbing to the negative impacts of too much choice.

It’s Okay to Have Low Expectations

Out of the entire talk Schwartz gave, a single line continues to stick with me.

“The secret to happiness is low expectations,” he said, half-jokingly but half serious as a heart attack.

If I’m being honest with myself, I think there’s a ton of truth to this idea that expecting more out of life tends to leave us disappointed and bitter. By expecting less, on the other hand, we may set ourselves up to be happy with what we have.

Remember the days when there was only Ranch and maybe French dressing to choose from? When there were two cell phones on the market, both huge and clunky and hardly usable, but we didn’t care because we were just happy to have one at all?

Remember when nobody had granite countertops, and stainless steel kitchen appliances were unheard of? And nobody seemed to care?

I remember those days, fondly in fact. But I also refuse to keep those innocent, blissful days as part of my past.

It’s 2017, and I still don’t care what I drive or what I wear for the most part. I don’t care if my guest bathroom is up to snuff for our annual visitors, and I don’t care if my home’s windows are 30 years old.

I don’t care if I wear $1 flip-flops from The Dollar Tree, or if I still have garage-sale silverware I bought before my wedding. I don’t care if my bedroom dressers are old and worn, or if I have peel-and-stick flooring in my master bathroom.

And if you care about those things, well, I don’t care about that, either.

Sometimes happiness is a choice we make. We choose to be happy with what we have. We choose not to let our overwhelming choices in life leave us bitter and unfulfilled. And we choose to spend our money how we want instead of letting other people’s choices pressure us into falling in line.

Maybe we have too many choices in life, and maybe we should just ignore them. By lowering our expectations, maybe we can feel richer than ever before- regardless of how wealthy we appear to others..

And maybe, just maybe, how we feel about ourselves and our lives is all that matters anyway.

Holly Johnson is an award-winning personal finance writer and the author of Zero Down Your Debt. Johnson shares her obsession with frugality, budgeting, and travel at ClubThrifty.com.

Related:

• The Big Impact of Your Little Financial Choice
• 10 Ways We Sabotage Our Own Finances
• The Power of Not Caring What Anyone Thinks

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Stretch Your Leftovers into 3 More Meals With These Easy Recipes

Food is a major part of our family budget, and I’m always trying to find ideas for fresh and healthy ingredients that won’t dig too far into our bank account.

Discounts, coupons and buying in bulk are all part of my regular strategy, but there’s an old-fashioned way to save some money on those meals: leftovers. Save extra food from one dinner and re-make it as breakfast, lunch or another dinner.

I plan dinners with the of using the leftovers for another meal. It becomes easier with time, and you will love the money it saves.

With this strategy, I’ve kept our grocery budget at around $90 a week for a family of four and still serve lots of lean meats and vegetables with every meal. Here are three tried-and-tested ideas for meals that will feed your family at least three times.

1. Oven-Baked Ham

For the first dinner idea, make a family-sized ham — 10- to 12-pound bone-in or 8- to 10-pound boneless — in the oven with whatever sides you like. Potatoes and corn are inexpensive, and cabbage is even cheaper. Frozen, canned or boxed, there are a lot of options for inexpensive side dishes to go with ham.

Leftover Idea No. 1

You should only need to use a pound or so of leftover ham for this ham and eggs recipe via Food.com. Jazz it up with some fresh salsa and wrap everything in tortillas to make breakfast burritos.

Leftover Idea No. 2

Dice up another pound of that leftover ham and make ham and tater tot casserole from The Southern Lady Cooks. If you want to add a vegetable, broccoli goes well with the cheesy tots and ham.

Leftover idea No. 3

Put that ham bone to work for Damn Delicious’ leftover ham bone soup recipe. Any bits of meat left can go into the pot too, giving you four separate meals from one good-sized ham.

Still looking for something that sounds good? Here are 22 leftover ham recipes from Taste of Home.

2. Slow Cooker Chicken

Frozen chicken breasts make a great dinner that won’t break the bank. I like to pack the slow cooker all the way to the top with about 10 to 12 breasts, which is about as much as you get in an 8- to 10-pound value pack of chicken. Then, I layer it up with some sliced onion, salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Double-check the cooking times for your own slow cooker, but five hours on high or eight hours on low should be enough to cook the breasts. Dish up four servings, add a side salad or vegetables for a good meal and make sure to save the extra chicken.

Leftover Idea No. 1

Make these yummy chicken enchiladas from Food Network’s Tyler Florence. Use two servings of your leftover cooked chicken to cut down on prep time for his recipe.

Leftover Idea No. 2

Add a bun and some sweet smoky sauce for these barbecue chicken sandwiches from MyRecipes. Reheat three to four servings of the slow cooker chicken and stir in your favorite barbeque sauce for a shortcut that works just as well as the recipe.

Leftover Idea No. 3

Kale, apple and cheddar salad with cooked chicken, via Delish. By this time there won’t be much chicken left, just enough to top some delicious greens.

Need some more ideas for all that leftover chicken? Here are 30-plus ideas from Delish.

3. Rachael Ray’s Turkey Bolognese

Rachael Ray has an entire website dedicated to meals that double up as another dinner or two. There are lots of good ideas there, but her turkey Bolognese is one of the best. With lean meat and vegetables in a rich tomato sauce, this recipe will leave you with enough for another meal.

For this one, you’ll start with 3 pounds of lean ground turkey. Two cups of the savory sauce will go over whole-wheat spaghetti in the bolognese, and you can use the remaining 5 to 6 cups to create more dinners.

Leftover idea No. 1

Turn the pasta sauce into turkey vegetable chili for another satisfying dinner. Three cups of your leftover bolognese sauce will create the base for this meal and it’s packed full of veggies, beans and spices. Just add the sides you like, such as cornbread.

Leftover idea No. 2

Go from the chili to this veggie-packed Spanish rice via Oh My Veggies. A lot of the work of the recipe is already done, so this is a quick and easy meal.

Leftover idea No. 3:

If there is enough of the original Bolognese sauce left, you can stretch it a little further with some more ground turkey — another ½ pound of turkey should do it — and make these Bolognese stuffed peppers from Good To Know or just browse the archives of Rachael Ray’s Rollover Meals.

Sarah E. White is an author, blogger and full-time mom to three tiny destroyers, ages 10, 4 and 16 months. The kids assist in the writing process by asking when dinner is and hitting the power button at random intervals.

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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