Hidden gem 'comes to life'

Barrett Twp. resort coming along under new owners

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Local nonprofit leader selected for Allstate Greater Good Leadership Program

Local nonprofit leader selected for Allstate Greater Good Leadership ProgramLauren Peterson, Executive Director at Women’s Resources of Monroe County, is one of 30 nonprofit leaders nationwide selected for the elite Allstate Foundation Greater Good Nonprofit Leadership Program. Peterson will participate in three, in-person sessions, and receive executive one-on-one coaching and funding for an individual developmental learning opportunity.Since 2014, The [...]

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LuLaRoe Just Changed its Return Policy… and Retailers Are Absolutely Livid

LuLaRoe can’t seem to catch a break.

The multilevel marketing company known for its wild-patterned leggings is being criticized again.

This time it’s not by the angry customers who bought the leggings that they said ripped as easily as “wet toilet paper” in a recent class-action lawsuit. It’s the people selling them who have the problem.

LuLaRoe sellers, known as independent fashion retailers, who want to quit the business are angry over a policy change they say came without warning and will cost some of them thousands of dollars.

LuLaRoe offered help to smooth the transition for retailers who wanted to close down their shops back in April. The company offered to buy back any unsold inventory for the full cost retailers paid for it. LuLaRoe even offered to pay for the return shipping.

But last month, LuLaRoe sent out an email notifying retailers of a policy shift that would immediately cut the buyback percentage and change the shipping terms.

The abrupt change angered retailers and left many to speculate about the financial stability of the company, Inc. reported. According to LuLaRoe, the company is “stronger than ever.”

The Story Behind LuLaRoe’s Buyback Offer

When LuLaRoe made its 100% buyback offer, retailers were regularly hosting going-out-of-business sales and drastically marking down prices of leggings, dresses, shirts and skirts to sell their inventories as quickly as possible and recoup as much of their money as they could.

To curb the number of retailers selling their items below the suggested retail price, LuLaRoe offered retailers the special waiver between April and September 2017 that guaranteed them 100% refunds for the cost of all unsold merchandise and free return shipping if they wanted to close up shop.

The only stipulation of the 100% buyback offer from April was that the items had to have been purchased directly from LuLaRoe, Racked reported.

Retailers eager to leave jumped at the buyback offer, seeing it as a chance to exit the company and repay any debt they took on to open their stores.

LuLaRoe says it “decided to end the waiver when it became evident that a good number of Retailers were abusing the program by returning product in extremely poor condition and providing inaccurate claims, as well as a Retailers using it as temporary solution to struggles in their business.”

The latest buyback policy is not new, LuLaRoe officials said.

The company said this has been the written policy for retailers leaving the company since 2015 and that the waiver was always meant to be temporary, despite the initial announcement that said it had no expiration date.

The full policy is not on the company website.

Want to Leave LuLaRoe? Here’s What to Expect

Because the waiver has ended, retailers must now rely on the written policy that LuLaRoe provided them. That “generous” policy only guarantees departing retailers 90% of what they paid for the inventory. The policy also states the retailer is on the hook for shipping the merchandise back to LuLaRoe.

LuLaRoe said anyone whose buyback had already been approved under the waiver will still get their full refunds. But Racked reports that some retailers who got this email while waiting weeks for return shipping labels to arrive say the company has ignored their repeated emails and phone calls.

Additionally, the buyback only applies to products that are still in perfect condition and were purchased within the past year.

Some retailers even told Inc. that they must have the original packaging, which had long since been discarded.

For retailers who spent $10,000 or more on unsold inventory, this dip of 10 percentage points in the buyback policy means losing out on thousands of dollars, plus the cost of shipping the clothing back.

From here, it will still be up to LuLaRoe to decide if the items are in pristine enough condition to warrant repayment at all. Even if the company decides a retailer shouldn’t receive a refund, LuLaRoe will keep the clothing.

Many retailers say they’re turning to going-out-of-business sales to recoup their losses and pay off their debt.

According to LuLaRoe, these sales are against the policy agreement the retailers signed.

The company did notably file a lawsuit against the blogger behind Mommygyver after she quit LuLaRoe and started sharing stories from other retailers who had negative experiences with the company. But we aren’t aware of any lawsuits the company has filed against anyone for hosting a going-out-of-business sale.

Desiree Stennett (@desi_stennett) is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.

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

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Take That, Netflix: Hulu Just Lowered Price of Cheapest Plan by $2/Month

Days after Netflix announced it would raise prices, Hulu announced its prices would go down. At least for now.

The Hulu price drop is specifically for its limited-commercials subscription.

Hulu with limited commercials usually costs users $7.99 a month. This updated deal offers new and eligible returning users one month of free service, then it will cost $5.99 a month for the next 11 months. After the 11 paid months, the price shoots back up to $7.99.

Hulu makes it clear that only certain returning users can take advantage of this deal, but it’s not clear which returning users will qualify. So be prepared for disappointment if you hope to cancel your account and immediately sign up at the lower rate.

Hulu has not yet responded to our request for more information.

You can sign up anytime between now and Jan. 9, 2018, to claim the yearlong deal.

Unfortunately, there is no discount on Hulu’s commercial-free plan. The same goes for Hulu’s Live TV plan. These plans will remain at $11.99 and $39.99 per month, respectively.

Desiree Stennett is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.

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

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This Investing App Helped This Guy Save $35K for a Down Payment on a House

More than anything, Joshua Harding wanted to buy his own house.

Harding, 29, makes a good living from his career in medical sales, with some real estate on the side. He lives in Phoenix, Arizona. After years of renting, he felt it was time to buy his own house.

That meant he needed to save up some money for a down payment. But he couldn’t figure out the best way to do it.

These days, a down payment on a house averages about 6% of the house’s total value, according to the National Association of Realtors, although it can vary significantly from one homebuyer to the next.

It’s a myth that you need a down payment of 20%, although that was a rule of thumb for previous generations

To save up a down payment, Harding knew he needed a hands-on digital savings account — something simple and intuitive he could run from his phone. He knew that’d be the only kind of savings strategy that could work for him.

“Just something convenient,” he says. “Something where you can click into the app and you can see everything you want to see.”

Harding needed to save up about $35,000 for his down payment and had tried similar savings apps before, but he never really took a shine to them.

The Clink app seemed different, though.

“It just seems like they’re more transparent about exactly what they’re investing in, and how they’re investing,” he says.

How the Clink App Helped Harding Save for a Down Payment

Clink is a micro-investing app designed for beginning investors who want to start small. It enables you to invest in the stock market for as little as $1 a day.

Regardless of how much you choose to invest, your money gets deposited into Exchange-Traded Funds, also known as ETFs.

These investment funds are basically groups of several stocks, commodities or bonds that get traded together on the stock market. Since there are a bunch of them in each fund, there’s a lot less risk involved if the market slows down.

Once you link your bank account, the app automatically withdraws what you want to invest and puts it to work. You can also choose to invest larger amounts on a daily, weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis.

Or, link your credit card, and have Clink invest a percentage of what you spend — so you can make sure you’re balancing your spending with savings.

While it’s an option, Harding wasn’t going to start with $1 per day. He already had some savings.

He dropped $2,000 of his savings into it, informing the Clink app that he preferred a “moderate” amount of risk when investing. (He could have chosen “aggressive” or “conservative” instead.)

Then he simply stopped paying attention to it. He figured he’d just see what happened.

“After a while, I noticed that it was growing pretty quickly,” he says. “I felt like it was a good way to save.”

Clink’s average return on clients’ investments was about 10% over the last year, about 7% over the last decade, according to the company.

Harding started dropping about $450 a week into Clink. He put his federal income tax return into Clink. Every month or so, he’d stick another $2,000 from his other savings accounts into Clink.

Between October 2016 and August 2017, he saved enough money in Clink to make the $35,000 down payment on a house.

Why the Clink App Was ‘A Major Part of the Process’

Harding says he was ready to be a homeowner.

“That was definitely a long-term goal,” he says. “I didn’t anticipate that Clink would be part of that process, but it ended up being a major part of the process.”

He says he’s been satisfied by Clink’s customer service, too, which is done via online chat.

“Whenever I have a question, somebody immediately has an answer for me,” he says.

That came in handy when it was time to close on his new house. At the last minute, a loan underwriter wanted additional paperwork regarding his investments and projections of their future growth.

“Clink was able to provide that,” Harding says. “They had solutions. That goes a long way.”

Since he just recently made his down payment on a house, his Clink account is looking pretty empty. But he’s starting to build it back up, sending $450 a week.

He says he doesn’t even keep a “traditional” savings account at a physical bank anymore.

“The return from Clink has been significant enough for me to say that I don’t need a savings account for this money,” he says.

The Clink app charges $1 a month, but it also offers a $5 signup bonus — which is like getting five months free. To get started, download the app here. Be sure to use the promo code: PH2016

For Harding, the biggest change to come from Clink is he now owns a home.

“Having my own house is a great feeling,” he says. “It’s a great feeling to know that you can get what you want.”

Mike Brassfield (mike@thepennyhoarder.com) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. He needs to save more.

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 Health Insurance Survey Will Pay You $25 for 10 Minutes of Your Time

Many of us have feelings about health insurance.

And questions. So many questions. Like, Why is it so hard to get an answer to my question?

Not many people want to hear you gripe — but your new best friend JOANY is willing to lend an ear.

JOANY isn’t a single person, but a healthcare concierge service. Its employees help individuals find and compare plans, seek out doctors and navigate complicated medical bills.

The company’s goal? Simplify the whole darn process.

In order to best cater to customers, it needs you to answer some survey questions — it takes less than 10 minutes, with fewer than 50 questions.

In return, you’ll pocket a free $25.

Do You Qualify for JOANY’s Health Insurance Survey?

In order to participate, you’ll need to meet these qualifications:

• You purchased health insurance for 2017 through your state exchange, Healthcare.gov, a broker or a plan, such as Oscar or Aetna.

• You don’t receive health insurance through your employer.

• You don’t receive health insurance through your school or university.

• You aren’t enrolled in a short-term plan.

• Your health insurance is currently active.

• You aren’t on Medicaid, Medicare or VA health insurance.

Were you able to tick off all these boxes? Start the survey.

What to Expect From JOANY’s Health Insurance Survey

JOANY promises fewer than 50 questions and less than 10 minutes of your time.

You’ll start with some basic questions about your birthday, gender, household income, profession, zip code — you get the point.

The questions then become more health-oriented: How many doctor visits do you think you’ll make next year? What medications do you take?

Then you’ll answer those questions you’ve been burning to vent about: How do you feel about your health insurance? What do you like the most and least about it? How long does it really take for you to figure out which doctors are covered?

Most questions are multiple choice, making answering easy.

JOANY will also ask you to text a photo of your health insurance card before continuing on.

It’s worth noting that all your answers — including that photo of your insurance card — are protected under HIPAA.

Once you submit the health insurance survey, a representative from JOANY will be in touch within 48 hours. If there are no further questions, you’ll get compensated for your time: $25 through Paypal, an Amazon gift card or, really, however you wish.

Plus, you’ll go to bed tonight knowing you’ve helped improve this confusing, muddled world of health insurance.

Carson Kohler (@CarsonKohler) is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder. Talks of health insurance stress her out.

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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Walmart Says You’ll Soon Be Able to Return Purchases in Just 30 Seconds

Think about the last time you walked into a store to return something. How long did it take?

Walmart is hoping to bring the whole process down to just 30 seconds.

Walmart Mobile Express Returns will launch in November to help customers return items bought online. In-store purchases will be served on the system in early 2018.

“We know that returning an item and waiting for a refund, especially for a product purchased online, isn’t always seamless, so we’ve completely transformed the process for our customers — whether they are shopping in stores or at Walmart.com,” said Daniel Eckert, senior vice president of Walmart services and digital acceleration, in a release.

The express system will only work for items shipped and sold by Walmart, although the company is working to expand it to include purchases made from third-party sellers.

How Walmart’s 30-Second Returns Will Work

Received an item that isn’t quite right for you? Use the Walmart app to select the item you want to return. Then head to the store and use the mobile express lane at the customer service desk. Scan the QR code displayed on the card reader using the Walmart app, then hand the item to an associate.

The mobile express lanes already offer access to quick prescription pickup and money transfer orders, two services Walmart sped up earlier this year.

You’ll see your refund the next day, instead of having to wait until Walmart receives your returned package.

Walmart even says that starting in December, customers returning select items will be able to get a refund through the Walmart app without going to the store. “Select household items such as shampoo and color cosmetics” will be first, meaning that Walmart will simply take the loss on products you’ve already opened but don’t like.

The Next E-Commerce Battle: Returns

Walmart says making a return at its stores used to take five minutes. Since Walmart knows that 90% of Americans live within 10 miles of one of its stores, it only makes sense for the retailer to get more people into its locations by making the worst part of online shopping easier.

Other retailers like Amazon make it easy to send back a return, but customers must often wait in post office lines to get a receipt proving they’ve handed over their package. Amazon has teamed up with Kohl’s to allow its customers to drop off returns at some Kohl’s locations, which likely have more convenient locations and hours than the good old USPS.

According to Invesp, about 30% of products ordered online get returned, but less than 9% of in-store purchases make it back to the store. Invesp also points out that about half of online retailers offer free return shipping.

Customers have grown accustomed to ordering what they want and getting it fast — and being able to send it back without much questioning if they don’t like it. But the convenience eats away at retailers’ profits, which could eventually get back to customers in the form of higher prices.

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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The Disney Store Is Hiring 1,500 Seasonal Workers (You’ll Get a Discount!)

The Disney Store is spreading a little of its magic to job seekers looking to earn some extra cash this holiday season.

The company plans to hire about 1,500 part-time workers to fill seasonal sales associate positions, reports Babble, which is owned by The Walt Disney Co.

Work benefits include a sweet 20% discount on most merchandise.

Sales associates are responsible for helping customers throughout the store and ringing up purchases, among other duties. According to Babble, these workers will be required to be available for at least two weekday shifts, in addition to weekends.

Pay starts at $10 an hour, depending on location.

Various stores across the country are hiring now. This seasonal position will last through mid-January.

To score this gig, you’ll need to be at least 18 with a high school diploma or equivalent and legally verified to work in the United States. You should also be able to climb a ladder and lift up to 45 pounds, according to one local job description for this position.

Previous retail experience is a plus.

Check Disney’s careers site to see if a store near you is currently hiring.

For other fun and interesting jobs like this, be sure to like The Penny Hoarder Jobs on Facebook to stay in the loop!

Nicole Dow is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.

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

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This Is How to Deal With Your Friend Who ‘Forgot’ His Wallet. Again.

Have you ever had that one friend who conveniently forgets their wallet whenever you go out to eat?

“I’ve got you next time, bro,” he says with a smile.

When next time rolls around, though, his debit card magically disappears!

We’ve all known that somebody, and according to a new study, the debt they accumulate can lead to a massive falling out between friends.

Lending Money to Friends Can Get Really Awkward

The “Friends Again” report by Bank of America surveyed 1,000 people in the U.S. ages 18 and older. The findings revealed some not-so-happy results when it comes to lending money to friends.

According to the report, 77% of Americans believe IOUs are harmful to relationships; plus, 53% have seen friendships end over outstanding debt.

Thirty-six percent of respondents said $101 to $500 is enough money to end a friendship over.

Branndon Coelho, lead developer at The Penny Hoarder, once sold a friend his original Nintendo for $100, including all of his games.

His friend never paid him, though. Coelho eventually decided to tell him to not worry about the money, but the situation had lasting effects on their friendship.

“There is a mental block anytime that I think about contacting him, though… we haven’t talked in years. I think it put a strain on our relationship and made me realize where I stood in his world,” said Coelho.

It might not strictly be just because of money owed, though. When it comes down to it, almost half the respondents say asking friends to pay them back makes them uncomfortable.

How to Avoid Losing a Friend Over Money

Coelho says he wasn’t uncomfortable asking his friend for the money — it just became clear he was never going to get it.

Either way, an IOU situation is awkward. Do we ask for the money? Do we seem rude or pushy if we do? Should we trust that our friend will pay it back?

If you have a friend who is racking up a bill when it comes to their IOU, here are a few ways you can handle it without losing the friendship along the way:

• Write it all down. If it seems like your friend always asks you to spot them some cash, start writing down every time they do and how much. Maybe your friend doesn’t even realize just how often they ask you for money. If you’re comfortable, sit down with them and show them the list — it might change their perspective.

• Ask them to digitally transfer you the funds. This is the best way to make sure you get your money ASAP. There are tons of free apps out there, such as PayPal or Venmo, that make transferring money to friends easy and fee-free. This works amazingly for that “forgot my debit card” moment.

• Draft a contract. Clearly, you’re not going to go this route for splitting the dinner tab, but sometimes a friend needs a big chunk of change for their rent or other bills. If that’s the case, write up a contract that states the exact amount of time they have to pay you back and any interest they’ll owe.

Kelly Anne Smith is a junior writer and engagement specialist at The Penny Hoarder. Catch her on Twitter at @keywordkelly.

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

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The Lonely, Unusual Way This Guy Paid Off $25K in Student Loans in 9 Months

Robert Langellier just needed to pay off his student loans.

It was May 2014, and armed with a journalism degree from the University of Missouri, he drew up a plan.

For the next year he’d forget his aspirations to be a literary journalist.

Instead, he’d tuck himself away in his parents’ Springfield, Illinois, home and piece together an income with part-time odd jobs. He figured within a year he could pay off the nearly $25,000 he collectively owed to the government and his parents.

One of his first stabs at employment was as a waiter at a shiny new restaurant in town. On Langellier’s second day, he battled the (insert expletive here) point-of-sale machine.

Within an hour of his second shift, an owner pulled him aside and fired him. That was that.

Finding the Right Gig

Langellier went back to square one: Craigslist.

He’d been using the online classified site to look for odd jobs. In the midst of the freelance writing gigs and a glut of restaurant positions, he noticed an abundance of long-haul truck driver jobs.

The more he thought about it, the more attractive hitting the road sounded.

Always up for an adventure, Langellier decided to take out one last $3,500 loan to pay for trucking school.

The Perks of Being a Truck Driver

Long-haul trucking is appealing on many levels when you break down the statistics (from the U.S. Department of Labor) and the logistics:

• Average median pay in 2016 was nearly $21 an hour, $41,000 per year.

• No experience is necessary, but a high school diploma is recommended and a commercial driver’s license (CDL) is required.

• Job training is short term.

• No rent, in some cases

• No car insurance or car payments, if you’re on the road full time

It’s also a free way to travel.

Langellier stopped in Denver; Kansas City, Missouri; Minneapolis; Oklahoma City; Memphis, Tennessee; St. Louis; and Wichita, Kansas to see old friends. He even stopped by his home in Springfield.

Once every three weeks, Langellier was allowed a few days off. He used it to hike Yellowstone National Park, soak in New Mexico springs, explore New York City and work on an organic farm in Wisconsin.

Saving Money While Working as a Truck Driver

Langellier hit the road in October 2014.

Though pay calculations are complicated, Langellier basically earned 28 to 45 cents per mile. He drove an average of 8.5 hours a day — about 500 miles — and made a minimum of about $4,000 a month.

By April 2015, he’d paid off his last federal loan. By mid-July, he’d paid his parents back. But he continued to drive with the intention of stockpiling funds.

On his one-year trucking anniversary, he decided he’d had enough and turned in his keys with about $18,000 in the bank.
Next, he capitalized on his adventure by writing about it for Esquire and gaining a freelance gig.

The Pitfalls of Trucking

Before jumping into the driver’s seat, Langellier’s biggest piece of advice is to consider the downfalls of trucking.

Most notably, Langellier got pulled into these weird, inwardly reflective journeys — alone.

He spent most of his time trying not to run over cars, dodging debris in the road, talking to himself, counting the money he was making — and money he was still owed — and getting sidetracked with thoughts about the number of subways in the nation.

Although Langellier often opted to drive during the day, he was initially paired with a training partner who enjoyed nighttime drives. That’s when Langellier drifted off into a post-sleep, incoherent world — and into a field on the side of the road.

Not only was it mentally taxing, but he physically perched in a seat all day as he maneuvered a truck-full of anything from cat litter for PetSmart to mattresses for IKEA.

Langellier was young and more immune to these hardships, but, as he wrote, truck drivers are known to have high obesity rates and have at least one chronic health risk, such as smoking or hypertension.

This could partly be due to the food available on the road. Piecing together meals at gas stations — think Zebra Cakes, Cheetos, hot dogs — wasn’t ideal.

Injuries aren’t uncommon either. Langellier remembers the time a 1,000-pound pallet of toilet paper fell on him.

Considering these factors, the 87% industry turnover rate he mentioned makes sense.

Want to Become a Truck Driver?

The gig certainly takes the right personality, Langellier says.

If the job sounds appealing, he suggests simply Googling “trucking school,” plus the city you live in. Schools typically work to place you with a company upon graduation (or, of course, you can just hit up Craigslist).

And if you like the idea of driving to pay off your student loans but aren’t too sure about all of those 18 wheels, consider these other driving jobs.

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 Ways This Freelancer Makes $40/Hour From Her Home in Costa Rica

Before I started working online, I thought the only freelance services business owners were willing to pay for were writing, web development and graphic design. Everyone I knew who was working from home and earning a good, solid income seemed to fit into one of those three areas of specialization.

I didn’t have any of those skills.

When my husband and I decided to move to Costa Rica in 2011, my plan was to earn just enough to cover our living expenses by providing freelance administrative services.

In other words, I’d become a virtual assistant.

Along the way, I discovered a middle ground between highly specialized copywriting, coding and design work; and low-rate administrative services virtual assistants typically provide, like data entry, scheduling and inbox management.

The middle ground focuses on important services that businesses need, but that aren’t so specialized I’d need to go back to college or spend a ton of time studying.

Taking advantage of this middle ground helped me increase my freelance rate from $20 to $40 per hour, while getting more client requests for ongoing work.

Here are seven virtual assistant services you can offer as a freelancer, along with an idea of potential rates for each one.

1. Proofread Blog Posts

Business owners know they need to attract visitors to their websites. One great way to do this is through blogging. Running a blog generally means working with a lot of content.

Draft blog posts will be come in from all angles: paid writers, the business owner, guest contributors, company staff, interns and even customers. Someone needs to carefully proofread and edit each post before it’s published. Why not you?

Estimated hourly rate: $15 to $25

2. Format Posts in WordPress

Once a blog post is polished and error-free, the next step is to publish it using the business’s content management system. This is usually the ever popular WordPress. Great news: WordPress is easy to learn.

If you’re new to freelancing and starting, like I did, with no coding skills, you’ll be just fine.

You don’t need to know how to code to format and optimize blog posts. You can master the process in one week or less using resources available on Udemy or WordPress 101.

Estimated hourly rate: $20 to $40

3. Manage a Blog Editorial Calendar and Brainstorm Headlines

An editorial calendar is simply a plan and schedule of all the upcoming blog posts the site will publish.

Brainstorm topic ideas and headlines that will appeal to the business’ target audience and help boost the site’s search engine rankings. Space the topics out in a logical way on an online calendar or spreadsheet.

Estimated hourly rate: $30 to $50

4. Curate Content for Social Media

Anyone can research interesting article links, images and quote graphics, but not everyone demonstrates the care or attention to detail needed to provide value to a business’s audience.

Do you think you could manage it? Could you put yourself in the shoes of someone who frequents your client’s blog and figure out what kinds of headlines and images they’d find most helpful, entertaining or inspiring? If you can, you could get paid for the skill.

Estimated hourly rate: $15 to $40

5. Create Landing Pages

To build an audience and sell products or services, business owners have an ongoing need for special action-focused web pages called “landing pages.”

A landing page might encourage people to subscribe to an email list, register for a webinar, buy a product or get excited about an upcoming launch.

If you can create great landing pages, you can pull in a great freelance income. The impact of this service on your client’s business growth is immediate and obvious.

Rest assured, you still don’t have to learn any code. Using WordPress page templates or user-friendly software tools like Leadpages and Unbounce, you can lay out your client’s marketing message perfectly.

Estimated hourly rate: $40 to $60

6. Format Email Newsletters

Take that same copy you’ve been using for social media updates or in blog posts, and this time load it into a newsletter using email marketing software such as MailChimp, Infusionsoft or GetResponse.

You can use the software to work from an existing template or create a new layout, put the right fonts in the right places, arrange the images where they look best and double-check all the hyperlinks.

Schedule the newsletter, and you’ve just performed one of the most in-demand freelance services in the online business world.

Imagine how your weekly income could start to build if you were supporting just five businesses with their email marketing for one hour’s pay each, every week.

Estimated hourly rate: $25 to $40

7. Provide Customer Support

Businesses often receive a ton of audience feedback, questions and inquiries. To respond to all this incoming correspondence, owners need help from detail-oriented freelancers.

In fact, my first online job involved responding to customer support emails and formatting (not writing) blog posts for approximately 20 billable hours each week. It was a great way to get my foot in the door — and I’ve built my business from there.

Estimated hourly rate: $15 to $30

How to Find Freelance Work in Virtual Assistant Services

Now that you know what you can do to help business owners, the next step is to find clients. To do this, you can try either the reactive or proactive approach.

Find Virtual Assistant Jobs Reactively

The first option is to respond to job posts on freelancer platforms like Upwork and Elance.

Search in the categories related to marketing, sales and administration, and focus on keyword phrases like “blog management,” “social media” and “email marketing.” For gigs focused on online marketing, set up a profile on CloudPeeps and review job listings.

When I started working online, I found four of my first five clients through Elance with rates between $17 and $25 per hour. One of those jobs expanded into full-time work in online marketing support after a couple of months.

To weed out the bad from the good opportunities, I read each new job posting in a given category once per day, narrowing them down to a shortlist of saved jobs.

I consider how the tasks are described, what kind of tone the business owner uses and how I could make a personal connection in my pitch.

I know it’s a numbers game — even if only one out of 50 opportunities is relevant for my experience and pays a reasonable rate, consistently checking those new listings means I’ll find it.

Find Virtual Assistant Jobs Proactively

The second option is to reach out to business owners via email and social media, introduce yourself and ask if they need support in a specific area of their business.

Be clear, be confident and be brief. You’ll be surprised by the number of times you hear “please tell me more.” LinkedIn is the perfect place to get started with this type of proactive networking.

In addition, get yourself a new email address and sign up for newsletters from the businesses you’d love to work with someday.

By taking time to scan those newsletters each week, even just their subject lines, you’ll start to get familiar with their voices, strategies and plans. This knowledge puts you in the perfect position to know when the business might be expanding or changing, so you can jump in with a timely offer.

(Don’t want another email address? You can create a filter in Gmail so these messages skip your inbox and go straight to a folder called “newsletters,” where they’ll be out of your way until you want to review them.)

Create Your Own Job-Search Strategy

Don’t be afraid to use a mix of both approaches.

In my experience, the reactive approach usually helps you get work more quickly, while the proactive approach helps you earn a higher rate. Once you try a bit of both, decide which one or what combination works best for you.

Start with one of the services on the list, decide on the resource you’ll use to learn it. Find your first paying client and your virtual assistant business is underway!

Start by offering virtual assistant services as a side hustle for extra cash, or commit to rounding out your knowledge in each of the skills to make it a full-time income you can take with you anywhere in the world.

Danielle Greason, founder of Greason Media, quit her job and moved to Costa Rica with her family to start a new freedom lifestyle working online. Through her blog at VA Lifestyle Design, she helps aspiring freelancers to get the skills they need to earn money anywhere in the world there’s a WiFi connection.

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 Creative Freelance Gigs You’ve Never Thought of Before

When you hear the term “freelance,” which careers come to mind? Chances are they’re something like writer, editor, journalist, web designer or social media manager.

If you’re not interested in content marketing, can you still start a business as a freelancer?

Definitely.

If you’re dead set on living the freelance lifestyle but aren’t quite sure what kind of services you’ll offer, consider these unusual freelance careers. One of them might just be the opportunity you’re looking for.

1. Calligrapher

Maybe you don’t want to be a content writer, but if you have excellent handwriting skills and a set of calligraphy tools, you can address envelopes. You could make $2 to $5 a pop just for being a talented calligraphy writer!

It doesn’t sound like a lot, but book a wedding with 100 guests, and you could rake in $200 or more for handwritten invites.

Launch your own website to sell your services, or offer calligraphy through Etsy. For example, Margo Dittmer gets creative with her calligraphy services and sells custom wedding certificates for $175 each on Etsy.

2. Date Concierge

If you’ve thought about being a freelance event planner but don’t want to plan big events like weddings, get your foot in the door with couples who haven’t thought of marriage yet.

As a date concierge, you plan the dates couples don’t have time to plan themselves. You’ll do everything from developing the date idea to booking the restaurant reservations and car rental.

Freelance date concierge Brenndon Knox charged one couple $12.50 per hour for his services in 2012. Depending on your clientele, you could easily charge more today.

Who knows? Your clients may hear wedding bells thanks to you, and if you’re into it, they might ask you to plan their wedding, too!

3. Fabric Reseller

Maybe you’ve toyed with the idea of starting your own clothing alteration business, but it doesn’t seem quite right? Consider becoming a fabric reseller.

You’ll have to visit fabric sales or buy wholesale fabrics and assemble small quantities into appropriate packages. There’s a decent demand for this type of fabric bundle in the quilting, scrapbooking and craft markets. Check out some of these packages on Etsy for inspiration.

4. Virtual Recruiter

Do you have the skills and connections to find the right employees or freelancers for jobs? Try working as a virtual recruiter.

As a freelance recruiter, you could offer services like:

• Posting jobs
• Screening resumes
• Handling preliminary interviews
• Negotiating salaries

If you wanted to expand, you could work the other way around and consult with job seekers to find their perfect career opportunities.

Dorothy Rawlinson works in this industry and says most virtual recruiters are paid on commission.

5. PowerPoint Presentation Designer

If you have a knack for designing awesome PowerPoint presentations, turn your talent into a money-maker.

Graphic designer Magda Maslowska designs custom presentations and infographics for businesses and keynote speakers who don’t have the time or skills to do it themselves. If you have an eye for great presentations, consider launching a business of your own.

6. Children’s Book Illustrator

Love drawing or designing cute images with Adobe Illustrator? You could make money illustrating children’s books. The type of work you can do and the amount you can make varies widely.

The good news is self-publishing is on the rise. Children’s book authors will turn to freelance illustrators to help their stories come alive, so now could be a great time to offer your creative services.

7. Genealogist

Love putting together puzzling family trees? People will pay you to avoid doing it on their own.

Anthony Adolph is a professional freelance genealogist who charges between £50 and £500 per request. If you’ve been a hobby genealogist for any amount of time, you could easily charge these rates with the right knowledge base.

Get Creative to Find Freelance Jobs

As these options show, freelance careers aren’t limited to the writing or marketing industries. Branch out, consider your own interests and talents, and get creative with your offerings.

Lisa Stein owns FreelanceMom.com and is a college business professor and a mom to two growing daughters. Lisa is dedicated to playing a part in helping women and moms run businesses they love, help support themselves and their families, and create flexible lifestyles.

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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Lowe’s Is Hiring Thousands of Workers in 3 States. Here’s How to Apply

Lowe’s is hiring thousands of workers in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina to help serve people impacted by Hurricane Irma.

Available jobs include greeter, head cashier, customer service associate and assembler, among others.

But if these jobs aren’t what you’re looking for, be sure to keep an eye on our Jobs page on Facebook. We post new opportunities there all the time.

You can apply online for any of the jobs, but if you live in Florida you can also do so in person at one of the career fairs the company is holding at these locations:

Wednesday, Oct. 11:  9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

• Lake City:  3463 NW Bascom Norris Dr., Lake City, Florida

Thursday, Oct. 12: 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday, Oct. 13: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

• Pinellas Park: 7301 Park Blvd. N, Pinellas Park, Florida

• Tarpon Springs: 41800 U.S. Highway 19 N, Tarpon Springs, Florida

• S. Clearwater: 2619 Gulf to Bay Blvd., Clearwater, Florida

• Land O’ Lakes: 21500 State Road 54, Lutz, Florida

• Brandon: 11375 Causeway Blvd, Brandon, Florida

• Central Tampa: 6275 W Waters Ave, Tampa, Florida

Thursday, October 19, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

• Bradenton: 7395 52nd Place E, Bradenton, Florida

If you attend one of the career fairs, be sure to take along your Social Security card and a government-issued photo identification, like a driver’s license or passport.

The jobs offer “competitive pay and benefits including incentives,” according to the job announcement.

Lisa McGreevy is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She loves telling readers about new job opportunities so look her up on Twitter @lisah if you’ve got a tip to share.

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

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How to Maximize Rewards During Southwest Flash Sale

Southwest flyers and spontaneous travelers have a reason to celebrate — at least until Thursday. As part of a limited-time fare sale, Southwest Airlines is offering astonishingly low rates on many domestic and international flights.

Flyers can depart from over 100 cities, including locations in the U.S., the Caribbean and Mexico. All tickets are one-way, and must be booked by Oct. 12 (Thursday). Here’s a list of available flight dates (Friday and Sunday flight dates are excluded):

Domestic travel:

• Oct. 31 – Dec. 19, 2017
• Jan. 3 – Feb. 14, 2018

Travel to/from San Juan, Puerto Rico:

• Oct. 31 – Dec. 7, 2017
• Jan. 16 – March 1, 2018

International travel:

• Oct. 31 – Dec. 13, 2017
• Jan. 10 – March 2, 2018

The lowest prices tend to go for Southwest’s shortest domestic routes (such as Des Moines to St. Louis), but prices are down all across the board. One-way domestic flights are priced as low as $49, (or 2,330 points for Southwest Rapid Rewards members), and international flights are priced as low as $59 (2,1610 points).

Using Rapid Rewards®

New holders who have already earned and received their signup bonus points (spend $1,000 on purchases within the first three months of card ownership to earn 40,000 points) can really cash in on this deal. With fares running as low as 2,330 points, that’s enough to cover airfare to your destination and back!

If you’re still brand-new to the card and you haven’t earned your points yet, don’t worry: Southwest holds flash sales every year.

Cardholders also earn 2X points per dollar spent on Southwest® airfare and purchases made through Rapid Rewards® purchases, as well as 1X points per dollar with all other purchases. So if you’ve been planning a spontaneous vacation, Southwest’s flash sale is the perfect opportunity to earn points.

Using Chase and Discover

New holders can earn a hefty signup bonus of their own — 50,000 points after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months of card ownership. That’s in the addition to the 2X points per dollar earned by travelling and dining worldwide.

Southwest is a Chase Ultimate Rewards® partner, and points transfer instantly at a 1:1 rate, making it easy to use your Chase card to book low rates.

cardholders earn a solid 1.5X miles per dollar spent on all transactions. And at the end of their first year, members earn a mile-for-mile match, doubling the worth of their rewards. With incredibly low Southwest rates until Thursday, your Discover card might be able to help you fly for free.

Southwest is the biggest budget-friendly carrier in the world, and the flash sale takes their pricing even lower. For more information on the , as well as the and the card, check out our list of the best airline credit cards for 2017.

The post How to Maximize Rewards During Southwest Flash Sale appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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How to Grow Your Email List as an Ecommerce Brand (A Beginner’s Guide)

It’s important you recognize the significance of your email marketing strategy.

It’s an essential method of communication with your ecommerce customers.

Email will probably be your most profitable channel if you nurture it right.

Don’t believe me? Activewear brand Rone is able to generate $80,000 in sales during product launch purely from its email list.

But before you can start sending out emails, you need to build your list.

Not sure where to start?

Don’t worry—I’ve got you covered.

I have a ton of experience building email lists for my companies: Crazy Egg, Kissmetrics, Hello Bar, and my blog.

While none of these businesses have an ecommerce store, you can still use many of the strategies I used in your list building.

I even have some other methods specifically designed for gaining exposure and increasing conversions on your ecommerce platform.

Here’s what you need to know before you start building lists.

Signup forms on the website

You’ve got to give your customers plenty of options to sign up for your email list.

Having a signup form on your website is a pretty standard option.

While it may not be the most effective way to build your email list, it’s a necessity and has to be somewhere on your site.

But where do you put it?

The most optimal location to place your signup form, which will show up on each page, is in the footer:

While the number of companies using the footer form to solicit signups is slightly down in 2017 compared to 2016, the footer is still by far the most common placement for an opt-in location.

By the time your customers reach the footer, they have already had a chance to browse through your site and get a feel for your brand and product.

Now, they can make a more informed decision if they want to be on your email list.

This is different from having your opt-in form in the header because your visitors may feel spammed or forced to sign up too soon.

Chances are, joining your email list is not the first thing on someone’s mind when they visit your website.

The customer has other priorities and intentions.

So ease them into it, and put your opt-in form at the bottom of your page.

Here’s an example from the Adidas store:

If you want to sign up for their email list, you can enter your email address at the bottom of their page.

Notice that Adidas also gives you an incentive to sign up.

Get news and 15% off.

It’s a great way to get more people on board.

We’ll discuss incentives in greater detail shortly.

If you have an ecommerce store and you’re just getting your feet wet with your list building strategy, adding an opt-in option to your footer is a logical place to start.

Use standard popups and incentive-based popups

Based on the graph we looked at earlier, popup ads are the second most popular method of gathering email addresses on websites.

I think they are more effective, so I’m surprised more ecommerce sites aren’t using this strategy.

Don’t believe me?

Well, the numbers don’t lie.

Brian Dean at Backlinko added a popup to his website, which looked like this:

The results were undeniable.

The popup had a conversion rate of 3.42%.

Before implementing the popup, Brian was getting 35 people subscribing to his newsletter each day.

After he implemented the popup strategy, this number jumped to 75 subscribers per day.

He’s not the only one who had success with popups.

According to a case study by OptiMonk, companies like BitNinja got 65% more leads and saw a 114% improvement in their subscriber rates.

This was all done with a simple popup.

Companies may be hesitant to use popups because they have a bad reputation.

The word popup can sound like spam—something intrusive and unwanted by the users.

While this may hold true for harmful, malicious, or unwanted advertisement popups, that’s not the case with our list-building strategy.

The consumer is already on your website.

Your popup isn’t opening a new window or spamming them with irrelevant content.

In fact, the information may be extremely useful for the visitors, especially if your popup adds an incentive.

“Sign up for emails” isn’t the most effective way to build your list.

Why should the consumer provide you with their email address?

You need to give them a reason.

Look back at some of the examples we saw earlier.

• Adidas – “Get news and 15% off.”
• Backlinko – “Get exclusive strategies for more traffic.”

What’s your incentive?

Forever21 offers customers 10% off with this popup strategy:

Don’t think of popups in a negative way.

You should be using this strategy to build the email list for your ecommerce website.

Just make sure you give your customers a good incentive to subscribe.

Collect email addresses from customers making a purchase

People are hesitant to give out their information.

It’s understandable.

There’s a good chance your customers have had some negative experiences with other companies after giving out their email addresses.

A few bad apples ruined it for the rest of us.

They got a hold of their customers’ email information and abused the trust.

Spam.

Sending out way too many promotions.

Your customers do not want many emails.

It’s the biggest issue reported by consumers.

After some bad experiences, people may not be so willing to hand over their email addresses to every brand that asks for it.

You may need to get creative.

Ask for your customers’ email addresses while they are finalizing the order.

But give them a reason.

You’re not adding them to your email list just yet, but you’ll need to send them an order confirmation.

Here’s a great example from SAXX:

The email address is required to check out.

Why?

SAXX will send you a confirmation of your order.

They also don’t force you to create an account.

Forcing the customer to make a profile in order to check out is one of the top reasons ecommerce sites experience shopping cart abandonment.

So it’s an added bonus that this checkout form specifies that.

All right, let’s get back to building your email list.

You have an excuse to send them some emails now.

Specifically, you can email your customer four times before they officially sign up for your email list or newsletter.

Here’s what you send:

1. Order confirmation message.
2. Email stating that the order has shipped.
3. Confirmation when the package gets delivered.
4. “How did we do?” follow-up message.

Each of these emails is a chance for you to get these people on to your subscriber list.

Make sure you have an option in each message that allows the customer to join.

You already have all their information, so it should be a simple process taking only one or two clicks on the part of the consumer to sign up.

But keep in mind, the majority of people don’t want to disclose personal data.

That’s why most of the top Internet retailers are only asking for email addresses and names.

Requiring too much personal information to join a subscription list could be the reason why a customer decides not to subscribe.

If your customers are hesitant, just ask for their email addresses while they check out and finalize their purchases.

Then you can send a drip campaign with subsequent messages about the status of their orders.

This is a prime opportunity to get more subscribers.

However, if the customer still doesn’t sign up, don’t keep harassing them.

You’ll have another opportunity to send the same drip campaign when they make another purchase in the future.

Develop a segmentation strategy

Once you add someone to your email list, make sure to segment the user into a specific category.

Not every message you send will be applicable to everyone on your subscriber list.

This is why a proper email segmentation strategy is absolutely essential.

These are some of the top benefits of segmenting your email lists:

• increased open rates
• improved unsubscribe rates
• higher customer retention
• fewer spam complaints

Email segmentation will ensure your content is relevant to each subscriber.

Let’s look at an easy example.

If you have customers all over the world, sending a promotion for the 4th of July is not relevant to everyone.

Independence Day in America is only relevant to your customers in the United States.

Geographic location is an obvious way to create segments, but it’s not the only way.

The graph above shows you some other data you can take into consideration when developing your lists.

It’s a great reference to make sure your content is relevant to all subscribers in each segment.

So before you start building your email lists, think about some general segments you’ll want to use.

Keep in mind, as you continue to add subscribers, you may slightly change or tweak your segmentation strategy.

It’s not a perfect process, and you’ll still get some customers who’ll unsubscribe or feel like they’re getting irrelevant emails.

That’s inevitable.

But the key is making sure you minimize these instances.

It’s a difficult strategy to master, but it needs to be a top priority.

Improving segmentation and increasing subscriber engagement are the top two initiatives for email marketers.

Engagement and segmentation go hand in hand.

Proper segmentation will ultimately increase engagement.

It’s important you recognize all of this before you start building your list.

Don’t just start mass emailing everyone until you can figure out what messages are relevant to each subscriber.

Create interactivity with your email marketing campaigns

Once you have customers on your email subscriber list, you’ll want to make sure you keep them there.

Don’t give them a reason to unsubscribe.

You spent all this time and effort acquiring their email addresses, now you need to keep them engaged.

How can you accomplish this?

Follow the trends.

Use interactive emails to stay relevant.

This is the top email marketing trend of 2017.

Here are some of the best ways you can increase interactivity in your emails:

• use real-time marketing
• incorporate reviews, polls, and surveys
• run scratch card advertisements
• add menus to the message
• incorporate videos within the email
• use live shopping carts
• add GIFs

These strategies will keep your ecommerce site relevant.

You don’t want to send dull emails to your subscribers.

Use interactivity to retain users who signed up for your messages.

Conclusion

It’s awesome you’ve recognized the importance of building an email list for your ecommerce site.

But before you jump in, think about some of the things we discussed.

If you don’t know where to get started, add a signup form to your page.

The most common place to include this is in the footer of your website.

While it’s a necessary feature, it’s not the most effective.

You also need to add popups to your website.

Just make sure these popups give the consumer an incentive to join your email list.

If your website visitors don’t take the bait signing up through your popups or footer, it’s not over yet.

Get their email addresses when they check out.

Develop an automation strategy, like a drip campaign, to send them messages about the status of their orders.

You’ve got several chances to add subscribers during the following emails:

• order confirmed
• order shipped
• order delivered
• order follow-up

If this strategy doesn’t work, it’s okay.

Try again the next time this customer makes a purchase.

You need to develop a segmentation strategy before you start sending out emails to your subscribers.

Not every message is relevant to every subscriber.

Segmenting your lists will help you increase opens and conversions.

It will also improve your unsubscribe rate.

Interactive emails will help prevent customers from unsubscribing.

Creating interactivity will keep the subscribers engaged.

Follow these tips before you start building an email list for your website.

What popup incentive will you offer to your site visitors to encourage them to sign up to your email list?

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50% of People Get Financial Advice From This Seriously Unreliable Source

Where do you turn when you have questions about money?

All hands point to The Penny Hoarder. Aw, thank you. But we know this relationship isn’t exclusive (and we’re cool with it).

When you’re thinking about taking out a loan, who do you talk to about your options? When you’re ready to up the ante on your retirement savings, where do you trust your money most?

The most recent release of the Federal Reserve’s Consumer Credit Report sheds some light on how most Americans find answers to these questions.

We’re a little concerned.

The study has been surveying U.S. families three times a year for decades, so it helps us see how our approach to financial advice has changed over the years, as well.

Where Do We Get Borrowing Advice?

To gather information about borrowing in 1998, the vast majority of people relied on some kind of human contact:

• 36% were “calling around.” (For the youngest among us, that’s like an analog Google search.)

• 44% asked friends, relatives and other people they knew. (Like Yelp, but with IRL conversations.)

• 32% relied on bankers, brokers and other people who sell financial services.

• 18% relied on lawyers, accountants and other financial advisers.

Just 11% relied on the internet. Even that sounds like a lot to me, considering you could probably talk to every bank in town in the time it took a computer to dial in to the internet in 1998.

In 2016, more than half — 52% — refer to the internet to inform their borrowing choices.

It’s not clear from the report, but I suspect a lot of that jump includes the accessibility of sites like Credible and Even Financial, which make comparing loan options quick and easy.

These financial sites connect you with a variety of potential loan offers for student loans, debt refinancing and mortgages. In one place, you can see how much you could borrow, your interest rate and your repayment period from each lender.

That beats picking up the phone half a dozen times to reach a representative at banks around town. Ugh, can you imagine all the busy signals?!

It seems the World Wide Web is just one tool in a growing arsenal, though. A lot of numbers were up for 2016, so it seems we’re just diversifying:

• 50% now look to friends and family.

• 41% rely on bankers.

• 30% rely on financial advisers.

And, though the number’s seen a fairly steady drop over the years, 22% of people are still calling around to learn about borrowing options. You guys, what even is a phone call?

It’s no surprise the internet has eclipsed newspapers and similar information sources. The number of people consulting print media has dropped 62% since 1998.

Where Do We Get Investing Advice?

People seem less concerned with investment overall, but the resources they use to learn about it have still changed in the digital age.

We’ve apparently always trusted our friends more than bankers or financial advisers:

• In 2016, 44% looked to family and friends, versus 39% bankers and 37% advisers.

• In 1998, 39% relied on family and friends, versus 32% bankers and 18% advisers.

Gathering investment information from the internet has skyrocketed — from 8% in 1998 to 41% in 2016. Newspapers and other media dropped by half in that period.

Again, this is probably related in part to the rise of companies offering digital investment services — a.k.a. robo-advisers.

With apps like Betterment, Acorns, Stash and Clink, you can invest with way less than the folks in 1998 had to fork over — we’re talking as little as $1 or $5 at a time.

You can also set most of these apps to automatically withdraw the money from your bank account periodically or even toss in a few cents at a time when you make purchases with a debit or credit card. That certainly cuts down your calls to a broker!

While the internet has replaced print media as a source of investing information, I’m surprised to see many of us still rely on good old-fashioned conversation for advice, as well:

• 13% are still calling around.

• 44% look to family or friends.

• 39% consult bankers.

• 37% consult financial advisers.

Where We Get Financial Advice: the Good and the Bad

While some people might worry about our reliance on “the internet” for financial advice, I know it helps connect us to plenty of good information sources and tools.

What worries me more about this report is how many people rely on friends and family for financial information. In most cases over the years, this was the most common source.

Not sure about you, but my friends and family are not bankers, accountants or financial advisers. They’re not brokers. Most aren’t even good at math.

If you’re asking unqualified people for financial advice, they could just be passing on myths — or straight-up lying.

But I saw a couple of small wins for financial literacy in this report.

We may have become privy to the fact that bankers and other people who sell financial services don’t always have our best interest in mind, compared with certified financial advisers, who are required to. In 1998, 27% more people consulted bankers for investment advice than consulted financial advisers. Now the two are almost even: 39% bankers and 37% advisers.

While some information sources have fallen by the wayside in favor of the newer-better-faster, this report shows one positive trend: We seem to seek more information about our finances.

Regardless of what kind of technology (or lack thereof) we use to obtain it, it looks like we’ve become more interested in gathering information from several sources so we can make informed choices about money.

We’ll call that a win.

P.S. If you want to jump on the internet train yourself, we’ve got special deals for some of those robo-investing apps I mentioned:

• Sign up for Acorns here, and you’ll earn a bonus $10 when you make your first investment.

• Sign up for Stash here, and you’ll earn an extra $5 when you invest your first $5.

• Download the Clink app here and you’ll get a $5 sign-up bonus. Be sure to use the promo code: PH2016

Dana Sitar (dana@thepennyhoarder.com) is a senior writer/newsletter editor at The Penny Hoarder. Say hi and tell her a good joke on Twitter @danasitar.

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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