By Christy Schutz Maybe you have been lurking around the site, reading up on all the pros and cons involved with working from home, evaluating whether you have the temperament to succeed, or judging whether your particular work can even be done from home. But the truth is, that kind of work arrangement seems very […]
The post How to Write and Pitch a Telecommuting Proposal to Your Boss appeared first on The Work at Home Woman.
Are you currently living your best life?
Could you be living a better life?
Would living your better life involve working from home in a job that offers you flexibility, freedom and the option to not wear pants?!
Then you’re going to want to read on, Cubicle Dweller, because a company called Auth0 needs all hands on deck (but from home) — and that could include you.
And if these jobs aren’t for you, be sure to check out our jobs page on Facebook, where we post new opportunities all the time.
Auth0 is a single sign-on universal identity platform that helps customers and employers with identity-use needs.
The company is headquartered in three different cities — Seattle, London and Buenos Aires — so its employees are scattered around the globe, working from more than 30 countries.
Auth0 is currently filling dozens of positions, including everything from account managers to technical writers. Most of the open jobs on their site are full-time and remote, with options for workers based in the U.S., Europe, South America and Australia.
Pay obviously will vary by position and location. As for benefits, the company cites flexible work hours and top-of-the-line tools like Macbooks along with other “extraordinary benefits.” We’ve reached out to the company to see what these are, and we’ll update this post when we hear back.
Go here to see the full list of open positions on the company’s site. You can narrow down your search criteria by clicking the appropriate option on the column on the left-hand side.
All of the jobs sound like great options, depending on your skillset, but I’m also gonna give you some highlights because you’re still reading, meaning you’re serious about finding a great work-from-home job.
Here are some open positions at Auth0 that caught my eye (and might catch yours, too).
As a creative writer at Auth0, you’ll be tasked with driving content marketing initiatives and applying the brand voice to the company products, website, blog and more.
You’ll help develop marketing and PR content, develop and refine the company’s voice and create and streamline style and work processes.
The ideal candidate for this position will have proven writing experience showcasing a variety of styles, a history of writing and editing for both print and online media and experience with content marketing. You should also be able to maintain optimism and discipline in a fast-paced environment.
Auth0 notes that special consideration will be given to anyone who demonstrates their skills by creating new or improving old content for the company as a little trial of sorts. (Note: not everyone likes to do work for free — even on a trial basis — and that’s OK! It’s up to you whether you’re comfortable doing a skills demonstration during the application process. This step isn’t required.)
To apply for this position or to find out more info, check out the original listing here.
As a customer success manager, you’ll be tasked with driving customer engagement, adoption and retention.
You’ll manage the onboarding of new customers, prepare and deliver educational materials, monitor customer trends and activities, build relationships and oversee the renewal process.
The ideal candidate for this role will have prior experience in SaaS customer success, account or technical management. You should be excited about driving and tracking engagement, have a passion for customer satisfaction and a general knowledge of cloud, web and mobile software.
To apply for this position or to find out more info, check out the original listing here.
As a technical writer, you’ll be tasked with researching and writing about the latest technologies in the industry. You’ll write a variety of things, including blog posts, user documentation, tutorials, landing pages and ebooks. You’ll also proofread and edit other pieces of writing for clarity and will mentor non-writers to help them improve their writing skills.
To be successful in this position, you should have experience in software development, proven experience writing blog posts and documentation and a strong ability to translate technical information into readable content. You should also be able to work effectively both independently and in a global team environment.
To apply for this position or to find out more info, check out the original listing here.
Remember, those three jobs are just a sampling — you can find the rest of the open positions here.
Grace Schweizer is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, one of the largest personal finance websites. We help millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. In 2016, Inc. 500 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the No. 1 fastest-growing private media company in the U.S.
Here’s one of those money things you feel like you’re supposed to understand, so you never ask the question…
What the heck is the difference between debit and credit cards?
Some of you might have no idea. Some of you might think it’s obvious. Wherever you stand, I bet there are a few things you don’t know about how your debit card affects your bank account.
If you have a checking account, you probably carry a debit card in your wallet. It’s probably the same shape and size as a credit card, and it probably even bears the Visa or Mastercard logo on the front.
But it’s significantly different, and lots of people don’t know exactly how.
Here are four facts you might not know about those powerful pieces of plastic.
Let’s start with some basic definitions.
Laura Adams of the Money Girl podcast defines credit and debit cards:
In other words: When you pay with a debit card, it automatically deducts the money from your checking account.
When you pay with a credit card, you’ll get a bill at the end of the month. If you don’t pay it in full, the charge sits on your account and accumulates interest until you pay it off.
Here are some examples of different types of credit and debit cards:
Here’s what baffles me. I don’t have a credit card, but I do have a debit card linked to each of my checking accounts. And all of my debit cards have a Visa or Mastercard logo on them.
What do those companies have to do with me and my bank accounts?
Mastercard and Visa are like the go-betweens that process transactions for banks. Businesses that accept them as payment are part of their respective networks.
Say I make a purchase at Publix, my local grocery store. I use my debit card from my Summit checking account. Publix manages its money at, say, Anytown Bank Corp.
I swipe my card, and Mastercard’s job is to let Aspiration and Anytown Bank Corp. know about the transaction. So my money is debited from my account and credited to Publix’s account.
That’s the kindergarten version of the explanation. Picture me in a dinosaur costume on set with a mini town. That’s as far as I want to go into this web of finances floating around the ether.
Here’s where the distinction becomes hazy: What does it mean to run a debit card transaction “as credit”?
When you make a purchase with your debit card, the cashier — or the machine — usually offers the option to run it as “debit or credit.” Here’s the gist:
What does the difference mean for your wallet?
Regardless of which way you process the transaction, the money you spend on your debit card will come out of your checking account. You can’t actually use a debit card to buy something now and pay later, like a credit card.
The major difference you’ll notice is in security.
As Adams explains, your debit or ATM card is protected under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA). Under this law, your liability for fraudulent charges depends on how soon you report it.
That’s why your debit card comes with a personal identification number (PIN). A thief might snatch your card or number, but if they don’t know your PIN, they can’t complete a purchase at the register (assuming the cashier does their job and checks ID and requires a signature for a non-PIN purchase).
Credit cards, on the other hand, are protected under a law called the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA), which says you’re never responsible for more than $50 in fraudulent charges.
Some people think FCBA protections extend to a debit card when processed as credit — that’s not true.
However, processing your debit card as credit could offer additional protections under Visa and Mastercard’s policies.
Visa debit cards are extended Visa’s Zero Liability Policy. The company’s site says, “If your Visa Debit card is lost or stolen and fraudulent activity occurs, you are protected by Visa’s Zero Liability Policy. That means 100% protection for you.”
It adds, however, “Visa’s Zero Liability policy does not apply to certain commercial card and anonymous prepaid card transactions or transactions not processed by Visa.”
That last part means Visa doesn’t have your back if you process the transaction as debit. So if a thief gets hold of your card or card number and your PIN, they could run up charges on the card that you’ll be liable to pay under the terms of the EFTA.
Mastercard protects you from fraudulent debit purchases with similar Zero Liability Protection.
One other major difference between running your card as debit versus credit is how much it costs the business. Each transaction comes with a fee that goes to the card issuer, the financial institution and others.
Those fees tend to be higher for credit card transactions, especially those with great rewards. If you want to help your favorite local merchant save money, choose debit to reduce their fees — or pay in cash.
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.
Never ask a woman how old she is. Never ask a woman how much she weighs. And never ask anyone how much money they make.
Well-accepted American workplace culture dictates you don’t dare discuss salary information. Yet a recent survey from The Cashlorette found millennials aren’t exactly heeding that unspoken rule.
Sixty-three percent of millennials surveyed said they’ve disclosed their wages to an immediate family member. Nearly half (48%) shared that information with a friend, and 30% discussed it with a co-worker.
Baby boomers, on the other hand, are more discreet. Only 41% of boomers surveyed spilled their salary to an immediate family member, 21% to a friend and 8% to a co-worker.
It’s no surprise millennials have to do things differently, but it brings up a good question: What’s the big deal about staying silent when it comes to money?
Keeping quiet about what you earn is so ingrained in our culture, it feels taboo to go against the grain. But sharing your salary can have its benefits.
Knowing what your co-workers (or others in similar careers) make can serve as a great tool when it comes to negotiating salary. It’s easy for wage gaps to thrive when the amount of money others are being paid is kept in the dark.
Though it might be frowned upon, it’s important to know that sharing your salary with your fellow colleagues is not illegal, despite common myths.
Having insider information about what a company pays its employees is also great for job seekers.
Popular advice for those on the job hunt includes checking sites like Glassdoor and Payscale to find out what others in that role are being paid. Though that information is typically given anonymously, it puts new hires at an advantage when it comes to that initial salary discussion.
And if you’re struggling financially or working toward a particular money goal like saving for a house, sharing salary information with family and friends could help take some of the weight off your shoulders.
That way, no one just assumes you can go out for drinks every Friday, that you can cover the costs of being a bridesmaid or that you can host Thanksgiving dinner at your home… again.
Now before you go telling everyone you meet how much you make, you might want to consider the flipside — there are certain disadvantages to sharing your salary.
It can be an awkward conversation to have. You’ve got to be prepared that it could unfairly change the way people think of you.
If you make less than what friends and family assumed, they could start judging you or start questioning your life choices. If you make more, you may find yourself picking up the tab more often or being asked for “loans” that never get repaid.
Co-workers earning less than you may resent you and start believing you should be the one to pick up the slack or put in the additional work needed for a collaborative project.
Sharing how much you make can never be unshared. Though it definitely has its benefits, some people have completely valid reasons to remain hush-hush about their salaries. At the end of the day, the choice is yours.
Nicole Dow is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She favors transparency and recently shared how much she made with a co-worker. It wasn’t too awkward.
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.
So your favorite baseball team didn’t make it to the postseason? It’s OK — neither did mine.
But even if you’re not invested in this year’s World Series matchup, there’s a good reason to pay attention: potential free food.
If someone steals a base during the World Series, Taco Bell will reward fans with a free Doritos Locos Taco.
If a player steals a base in the first two games of the World Series, which starts Tuesday, Oct. 24, head to Taco Bell on Wednesday, Nov. 1 for your reward.
If a base is stolen in games three through seven, you can pick up your free Taco Bell on Tuesday, Nov. 7. The tricky part is you need to visit Taco Bell between 2-6 p.m. to get your freebie.
Don’t want to stay up late watching baseball? You can always check Taco Bell’s Steal a Base, Steal a Taco site for confirmation of your free taco payday.
The Doritos Locos Taco usually costs $1.49. One taco per customer, regardless of how many bases get stolen.
There’s no guarantee you’ll get to redeem this crunchy reward. Last year, Cleveland Indians player Francisco Lindor stole a base and earned the gratitude of millions of Penny Hoarders. Prior to that, the last “taco hero” was the Kansas City Royals’ Lorenzo Cain in the 2015 World Series.
Tensions can run high during World Series play, but one thing’s for sure: These teams will do anything for the title. I’d expect at least a few stolen base attempts.
So it might be worth keeping your eye on this World Series, if for nothing else but the free Taco Bell potential.
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.
This is a paid post written by me on behalf of Discover Personal Loans. All opinions are my own.
While I’m a financial advisor by trade, that doesn’t mean I’m always perfect.
The life I live with my family is a lot like anyone else’s – rewarding and amazing but also flawed and even stressful at times. And yes, I’ve made my share of financial mistakes both big and small.
For example, this one time I decided to dive into the world of rental real estate with my father-in-law. Basically, we tried to purchase a rental property and ran into all sorts of problems until the deal finally fell through. By that point, I was actually relieved because the process taught me I had no idea what I was doing!
Another time I fell for a Solo 401(k)-related business scam.
It all started after I bought into a bunch of hype after receiving some marketing emails from a company that wanted to help me set up a Solo 401(k) business to accompany my financial planning practice. This company promised me the world; they would set up my Solo 401(k) and help me set up a business that would help others do the same.
The catch? I had to purchase their program within the next 24 hours to secure a discounted $8,000 price.
After talking it over with my wife, Mandy, we decided to go for it. After all, we were investing in our business. At least, that’s what I thought at the time.
Unfortunately, it was all a sham. Once I started the training, I found out there were a ton of extra (and expensive) steps to the process that would make this new business venture cost a lot more than the initial $8,000 that I planned. Second, the business was actually pretty shady. For example, the company that sold me the program wanted me to pay them $100 per lead!
Worse, I later found out the Solo 401(k) they set up for me wasn’t even set up the right way. I then had to pay another company to fix it. Long story short, I was sold a pack of lies and lost $8,000 as a result.
And yes, my wife still gives me a hard time about it!
But, did I let those mistakes ruin my life? Obviously not.
Over the years, I’ve learned that you really do have to get over past financial mistakes if you want to build a wealthier, more prosperous future. You live and you learn, and we all make mistakes. It’s how you recover from those mistakes that determines whether you win or lose in the long run.
If you’ve screwed up, you should know that you’re not alone. We all make poor decisions sometimes, whether we want to admit it or not. In terms of how to recover, here are six ways to get over your mistakes and end up better off in the long run:
Albert Einstein once said that “insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.” This quote is painfully true, especially when it comes to financial matters.
Plenty of people rack up debt, spend years paying it off, then end up in the same position years later because they never change their ways or fix the core source of their problem. Other people never reach their savings goals because they just “wing” their finances and never use a budget. Yet, they still act confused when, year after year, they can’t get ahead.
In addition to learning from your mistakes, you can also set up safeguards or rules that can prevent the same type of thing from happening.
That way, I would never fall victim to a similar “today only” sales tactic again. I also have a one-page checklist I complete named the “Impact Filter” which helps me more clearly identify what my success criteria is on this great idea.
Whatever your financial transgressions are, look for systems you can set up that will help prevent a repeat. This will help you prevent some financial mistakes from happening in the first place.
While some mistakes can’t really be “fixed” (i.e. getting scammed out of $8,000 for a business idea), others can be remedied. If you racked up credit card debt, quit paying your bills, and ruined your credit score, for example, there are ways to bring your score back into good graces over time.
With a wrecked credit score, your plan of attack would include paying your bills to get your accounts out of default, coming up with a plan to repay your debt over time, and using credit responsibly. If you made an impulse purchase with a credit card you regret, on the other hand, your plan to fix the issue might be keeping credit cards at home when you shop.
If your financial mistakes can be fixed, take steps to start fixing them right away. Not only will this help you “get over” your mistakes, but it will help you get back on solid financial footing.
Another smart strategy to recover from financial mistakes is educating yourself. By learning all you can about personal finance, credit, and other money-related issues, you can discover the many ways you can succeed and which pitfalls to avoid.
Remember, anything you can learn about personal finance will leave you in a stronger position to build wealth and avoid problems in the future.
No matter what, don’t wallow over your financial mistakes. Any problem you’ve created can be fixed, although it might take time to get there.
It’s easy to get down on yourself, to stress over your mistakes, and to feel like it’s the end of the world, but this is a waste of time! The best way to avoid self-loathing is to act. Instead of moping around, take steps to improve your situation and you’ll start feeling better right away.
“Make Your Future Bigger Than Your Past”
If there’s one financial lesson I know for sure, it’s this: Failing to plan is the same as planning to fail.
Without a short-term and long-term financial plan in place, you’re less likely to achieve any of your financial goals. If you want to succeed, you need to plan for success, and that includes writing down your goals, creating a financial plan to get there, and sticking with that plan.
Your financial plan doesn’t have to be time-consuming or overwhelming, either. Most people would benefit immensely from a few simple acts like:
If you’re having trouble coming up with a financial plan, also keep in mind that you can hire a financial planner to help. You don’t have to do this alone if you don’t want to, and professional help is the best option for many people struggling to get started.
While money blunders can be hard to endure and downright embarrassing, you don’t have to let them wreck your financial future. Instead of letting your problems get you down, channel your energy into improving your finances instead.
While money issues may seem like the end of the world when you’re going through them, anything can be overcome if you try hard enough.
The post Don’t Let Past Financial Mistakes Haunt Your Future appeared first on Good Financial Cents.
There are those who love Dunkin’ Donuts, and then there are those who… love Dunkin’ Donuts. I don’t know. Are there people out there who don’t groove on DD’s coffee and baked bits of joy?
I know I do.
Now, thanks to a groovy Groupon, you can get your donuts and get your cash back, too.
Here’s the deal: Head to Groupon and claim your deal. You don’t pay anything upfront. Zip, zero, nada. Just claim it.
Groupon will ask you to link the deal to one of your credit or debit cards. Then, head to your nearest Dunkin’ Donuts and order up your favorite java, iced coffee, jelly-filled donut or whatever fulfills your cravings. Just don’t get suckered by the blueberry donuts.
Pay for your order using your linked card and get up to $3 back as a credit on that card.
The Groupon deal says the cash back rewards will be credited to your credit card statement within a few days.
If you hit the DD frequently, you’ll get 20% cash back on all Dunkin’ Donut purchases on the same card for another 14 days.
Do you really, really like your Dunkin’ Donuts? Believe it or not, you can claim this deal multiple times. You just need to have multiple Mastercard or Visa cards to link with the deal, and you’ll get $3 worth of free goodies per card.
Who would do such a thing as use multiple cards to get more cash back? Penny Hoarder assistant editor Justin Cupler was all over it with every card he has and is now up to $18 worth of free Dunkin’ Donuts. The dude likes free stuff.
Once you’ve claimed the deal, you have 14 days to use it. If you do use a debit card, you must run it as credit to score the deal.
It doesn’t get any easier. Just claim it, buy your donuts and coffee, and watch the money go right back to your account. It’s like sugary, caffeinated magic!
It’s time to eat the donuts.
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.
It’s that time of year again. Die-hard baseball fans are sitting at the edge of their seats waiting for the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers to square off in the World Series.
Astros fans hope their team can bring the city, which is still reeling after Hurricane Harvey, its first MLB championship. Dodgers fans hope to follow the Chicago Cubs and end a streak that has kept a World Series win out of reach for about 30 years.
Baseball fans everywhere will be glued to their TVs.
Unless… you don’t have a TV. And what if you don’t have cable? Are you banned from baseball for the next two weeks?
Before you head to your local watering hole for four to seven nights of spending all your disposable income on Tater Tots, you may want to try this method of “free” sports streaming.
Livestreaming service Sling TV offers a variety of broadcast and cable channels for rates ranging from $20 to $40 per month. In many areas, subscribers can also stream local broadcast affiliates like Fox, which is showing all the World Series games.
Sling also offers a free seven-day trial for new members.
Are you picking up what I am putting down? Tuesday, Oct. 24 would be a great time to start your free Sling trial. If the series runs for five games, you’re all set — just cancel your subscription after the final out.
If the series stretches to seven games, it gets tricky. You have to enter your credit card information to start your trial, so if your billing address is the same on all the credit cards in your wallet, you may get rejected from signing up for a second trial.
Sadly, it’s not as easy as using your second email address, worldseriesfan2017@email.com, which you definitely have had for more than two days.
But there is another solution. YouTube TV, a streaming service for those who cut the cord but still want some live TV options, has partnered with the MLB to carry the World Series live.
YouTube TV costs $35 a month, but you can get a free seven-day trial.
While neither trial will last through all seven World Series games on their own, if it lasts that long, staggering the two will give you 14 days of free TV. That’s plenty of time to catch the whole series.
Sure, it’s complicated, but finding a World Series livestream is way cheaper than going to the bar every night.
Just don’t forget to cancel both subscriptions before the trials end. Otherwise, you could round out the World Series with a $75 bill.
If you have a TV but lack cable, an antenna is all you need to pick up broadcast channels — including, of course, Fox. If you anticipate you’ll continue watching your local stations on occasion, you can pick up an antenna for as little as $15.
Just want access to baseball? All you need is $9.99 to get MLB.tv for the rest of the season, including live World Series coverage.
Meanwhile, if you already have a TV and a PlayStation 3 or 4, Amazon Fire device, Roku Streaming device or Google Chromecast, use your PlayStation Network account to sign up for a free five-day trial of PlayStation Vue.
Access to dozens of channels starts at $39.99 per month, but the free trial will grant you access to Fox. You’ll have the same challenge as Sling trial subscribers if the series goes beyond five games, but that’s what friends are for, right?
Lisa Rowan is a senior writer and producer at The Penny Hoarder. Baseball gives her heartburn, but she just can’t quit. Staff writer Desiree Stennett updated this post.
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.
‘Tis the season for holiday hiring.
Yes, I know it isn’t even Halloween yet, but as stores are increasing their staffing to handle all the upcoming seasonal demand, you’ll continue to see these types of job openings on our site and Facebook page.
The latest holiday job we’re highlighting: Williams-Sonoma, the coveted kitchen-and-home brand, is looking for full-time seasonal customer service associates.
This work-from-home position connects associates with customers by phone, email or live chat to provide assistance with orders, returns and replacements, among other related duties.
To score this gig, you should have a high school diploma or equivalent, as well as strong data entry, typing and communication skills. You’ll need to be able to navigate through multiple systems and internet pages.
Having a year or two of previous customer service experience will look good on your application.
Since this is a remote job, you’ll need a desktop computer or laptop, high-speed internet and a home phone or cell phone with a compatible headset. The listing says you’ll receive more detailed requirements about what else you’ll need during the application process.
According to the job listings, the salary for seasonal customer service associates is $11 to $11.50 per hour depending on location, and associates are expected to work 30 to 50 hours a week. You could end up earning between $330 and $575 a week, pre-tax.
Some locations offer virtual training while others require you to live within one-and-a-half hours of a Care Center and train in person. Training is paid.
Williams-Sonoma also offers promotional opportunities, contests and reward and recognition programs, but I saved the best work benefit for last — a 40% employee discount on most merchandise!
Just be careful you don’t spend all your hard-earned money buying kitchenware and home decor items with your discount!
See here to apply for the seasonal customer service position with Williams-Sonoma.
Nicole Dow is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. The 40% discount has her thinking about filling out an application herself. She wants ALL the things!
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.
Passports used to be something only jetsetters needed when traveling overseas.
Thanks to a new law set to take effect in 2018, many U.S. citizens may need a passport even if they don’t plan to leave American soil.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is about to make it even harder to get through security checkpoints around the country.
Beginning Jan. 22, 2018, many states will require a U.S. passport, U.S. passport card, U.S. military ID or other TSA-approved documentation to board commercial flights in the United States.
Some states are ready to begin enforcing the new policy right away, while others have been granted an extension to have more time to prepare.
Visit the Department of Homeland Security website to learn the status of your state and what documentation you’ll need to travel by air.
Even if your state doesn’t currently require additional documentation, it’s still a good idea to get your passport paperwork in order now.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, “Starting October 1, 2020, every air traveler will need a REAL ID-compliant license, or another acceptable form of identification, for domestic air travel.”
In an effort to crack down on fake IDs, Congress enacted a law requiring domestic travelers to produce a supplementary form of identification besides a driver’s license or state-issued ID card.
It might seem like this new regulation came out of nowhere, but Congress actually passed the REAL ID act in 2005. Oh, wheels of government. Why you gotta turn so slow?
Anyway, what this means for you is if you don’t have an official second form of identification (say, a military ID), you’ll need to get one sometime in the next few months. Your best bet is probably to apply for a passport.
Passport fees for first-time adult applicants aren’t cheap.
The application fee is a whopping $110. The execution fee (which is a really aggressive way to say “processing fee”) will run you another $25.
Renewals aren’t a whole lot cheaper. You save $25 on the execution fee, but the application fee remains the same.
The good news is passports last a really long time — 10 years to be exact. That breaks down to a little over $13 a year, not too bad for something that gives you access to most of the planet.
There are very few situations that might exempt you from passport fees.
If you fall into one of those categories chances are you’re already aware of it, but just in case, let’s recap.
The State Department will waive passport fees if you are:
If a passport application or renewal is out of your budget’s reach, you’ve got a few options to explore.
Unless you’re jet-setting to all corners of the world, you might be able to get by with a passport card instead of a traditional passport book.
Cards are just as official as books, but the $30 application fee makes it a much cheaper option.
One thing to note. Passport cards can only be used at these sea ports-of-call and land border crossings:
If you travel overseas for work, talk to your employer about paying for your passport and application fees.
If the boss says no, keep your receipts — you can at least write off the expense on your taxes.
Thanks to a grassroots movement on Twitter, transgender citizens can ask nonprofit organization Trans Law Help for assistance with paying passport fees.
The group has collected thousands of dollars in donations to help transgender citizens defray the cost of updating a passport following a legal name change.
Think about what formal or informal groups you’re a part of that you could tap into for help. Churches, cultural communities and veterans organizations in your area may be a resource for help paying your passport fees.
Some colleges also help with passport fees. Temple University’s scholarship program offers first-year and transfer students up to $135 to help offset the cost of applying for a passport.
Be sure to check into whether your college offers a similar program.
Lisa McGreevy is a Staff Writer for The Penny Hoarder. She’s also a travel junkie who keeps her passport with her because she never knows when opportunity will strike.
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.
Once every few months, I get an offer from someone who thinks that I would be a perfect fit for being a “personal finance coach” or a “financial independence coach.” Usually, this idea comes from someone who has made some money doing that very thing – they’ve worked as a professional coach or a life coach, made some money doing it, and likely helped out some people.
First of all, what’s a personal finance coach? What’s a financial independence coach? For that matter, what’s a life coach?
All three of those things boil down to the same thing: a person whose job it is to help you identify some goals you have in your life, develop a plan to get there, and then motivate you to actually execute that plan.
In all honesty, it’s not really that different than hiring a coach or a trainer at the gym, except those coaches are focused on physical fitness. A life coach is focused on helping you develop the overall life you want. A personal finance coach is focused on helping you develop the kind of financial success that you want. You get the idea.
What differentiates a personal finance coach from a financial advisor? Generally, a financial advisor is going to be directly responsible for your investments and that comes with a great deal of additional regulatory oversight. A personal finance coach almost never has anything directly to do with your finances; instead, they’re focused on analyzing your life and looking at the day-to-day choices you’re making related to money and making suggestions for how you can improve them.
In general, that means that there’s a much lower threshold for someone to become a “personal finance coach,” because they’re not actually making financial decisions on your behalf. While there are certification and training programs for personal finance coaches, they’re not required – pretty much anyone can be a personal finance coach and you have to filter through them yourself.
So, let’s ask the big question here: do you actually need a personal finance coach?
Even though this answer probably cuts off a nice income stream for me, my answer is no, with a few small caveats. Let’s dig into why that’s the case.
A personal finance coach or life coach or professional coach or speaking coach – any type of coach you might hire – exists to help you figure out how to perform at your best with regards to the area that person is coaching.
Typically, a coach’s most valuable aid comes in the form of motivation. That coach is going to help motivate you to make financial changes in your life. They’re going to use persuasion to get you to spend less and to do smarter things with your money. Really, it’s not that different than a personal trainer motivating you to go that extra mile and push through the pain for the reward of having a healthier body. A personal finance coach is going to encourage you to make seemingly hard personal choices to build a strong financial foundation.
A personal finance coach will typically help you figure out changes that will bring the most benefit for the time and energy invested. Again, this is much like a personal trainer – they’ll both sit down with you, figure out where you’re at, figure out your goals, and then help you determine what you need to work on to get to your goals.
Usually, a personal finance coach will help you work out some goals and some practical life changes you need to make to achieve those goals, and then keep checking up on you and motivating you to stick to those changes or modify those changes as needed. Again, it’s like a longer relationship with a personal trainer. You’re going to see success with some of the things you’re doing and you’re going to struggle with other aspects. You also might start to lag in the self-motivation department. A coach helps keep you motivated and also uses the stuff you’re successful at and the stuff you’re not successful at to mold your new habits and tactics into something better.
One last thing: a truly good coach inspires joy from mastery. In other words, a good personal finance coach will help you to find the joy in making tough financial choices on your own. They’ll accentuate the pleasure you feel when you succeed due to overcoming hard challenges. Not only that, they’ll make you want that feeling more and more, and they’ll make it clear that the path to that feeling comes through making continuous good personal finance choices. In other words, they’re cultivating your own internal success.
So, what doesn’t a coach provide?
A coach doesn’t force you to do anything. If you don’t think that a coach’s suggestion is the right move, you don’t have to do it. Of course, if you think that a coach is out of line, you can quickly move on to a different one. A coach shouldn’t make you do anything – instead, they should be helping you to see the moves you need to make and drawing out that focus and self-motivation from within you to do those things.
A coach doesn’t make financial moves on your behalf. That’s what a financial advisor / financial planner is for. A coach is all about encouraging you to make your own moves, not to make moves on your behalf. They shouldn’t ever have access to your accounts or be making any financial moves on your behalf, ever.
A coach can only provide useful help if you lay everything on the table – and most people are unwilling to do that (and probably shouldn’t do that). It’s pretty rare that people are willing to lay all of their financial cards on the table – and the truth is, you probably shouldn’t do that. For a financial coach to really suggest what you should do, they should be able to see bank statements and credit card statements and mortgage statements and lots of other financial details that you’re probably not willing to share. It’s like going to a personal trainer and not revealing that you have an old knee injury and are strongly pre-diabetic. A coach who doesn’t know the full picture isn’t going to give you the best advice, but a mix of unwillingness (and some smarts about protecting your identity) can result in an unclear picture being presented to that coach.
There’s another key part of this equation, too.
In the end, any personal finance changes you make are going to be up to you. You’re going to have to do your part. You’re going to have to make the hard choices to spend less and to pay off debt. A coach might be able to motivate you, but they can’t do it for you.
Furthermore, whenever you make financial moves, you should really understand what you’re doing and why you’re doing it beyond what your coach or advisor is telling you. This is your future. You owe it to yourself to understand why you’re doing what you’re doing and whether it makes sense beyond the mere word of your coach or advisor.
Together, those things mean that you’re going to have to work hard to make financial change happen, regardless of whether or not you have a coach. You need to know the basics of personal finances on your own so that you’re making smart moves. You’re also going to, in the end, have to have the willpower to make good choices, especially when your coach isn’t present.
Think of a fitness coach. That fitness coach isn’t going to be standing beside you when you’re at the ice cream shop, encouraging you to get just a single scoop of fro-yo. You’re going to have to make that call on your own. With a personal finance coach, you’re not going to have that coach standing beside you when you’re thinking about buying something frivolous. You’re going to have to make the right call on your own.
In the end, even with the best coaching in the world, success really is up to you.
One element of all of this is that many personal finance “coaches” often suggest that they have this secret strategy that will help you turn around your financial situation if you pay their high fees. Anyone who listens to a talk radio station has probably heard ads for such services, which tend to be repeated quite often – you’ve probably got a name or two in your head, in fact, if you’re a frequent radio listener.
Here’s the reality: there are no “secrets” of personal finance. Anyone who is telling you that they know some secret plan is feeding you a story in order to get you to buy an overpriced product or is trying to execute some kind of multi-level marketing scheme.
Don’t get me wrong – almost all of those people will give you some personal finance coaching. However, the message of such programs boils down to one (or more) of the following elements:
+ It simply presents traditional personal finance material repackaged in a new way. It’s the same info you’d get on The Simple Dollar, printed up in a nice “workbook” or something similar. Sometimes, it’s tied to seminars or one-on-one coaching programs where someone talks to you about the same personal finance principles you’d find everywhere else.
+ It involves shifting money around in a way that appears to provide huge returns because of fuzzy accounting. Many systems involve using debt as leverage to make it appear as though you have a lot of assets. However, such systems usually involve really strange accounting practices – your actual simple net worth (your total assets minus your total debts) doesn’t really improve. It just looks better from some particular angles, angles that are largely meaningless in the reality of personal finance.
+ It hinges on really speculative investment or specific short-term loopholes. These types of tricks often end up backfiring on you. The speculative investment fails, or the loophole closes with your finger in the trap. If it involves moving money into things that you can’t find information about on your own, you shouldn’t be putting your money in there unless you’re fine with just losing that money.
+ It involves completely unrealistic returns on investments. Some coaches offer suggestions that sound really great on paper, but they only work out if you’re getting a 12% or 14% per year return on your investments forever. Those types of returns can happen over a few years, but they don’t happen forever. Eventually, there’s a market correction. Over the long haul, most solid investments end up averaging around a 7% to 8% average annual return. You can beat that, but it involves a lot of work, a very large amount of money to invest, and a tolerance for some major risk (like losing your whole investment).
Basically, if a personal finance coach is pitching something to you that involves “secret” information or things “they” don’t want you to know about, run away. That person is peddling snake oil and you don’t want to put your money into snake oil.
The reality is that, between personal finance sites like The Simple Dollar and the personal finance section at your library, there’s a ton of great personal finance coaching material already available to you. There are tons and tons of motivating and inspiring websites and blogs and books. There are tons and tons of websites and books out there that spell out the plans you need to follow and the strategies you need to use to get where you need to go. Best of all, those tools don’t cost anything.
While you might not find plans that are strictly personalized just for you, it’s pretty easy to find books and websites geared toward people in similar life situations to your own, with similar values to your own. Often, those books and sites talk about personal finance issues from that perspective, which is useful if it matches your own perspective and situation (but it can also be useful if you’re in a different place, too).
The only difference is with books and websites, you have to be motivated enough to go find this material yourself. You don’t just sit down in a room and have someone explain it to you, as you would with a coach. You have to find the material on your own by going to the library or using Google and reading through a site’s archives.
You also have to have some degree of self-motivation to apply that material. You don’t have someone in your face talking directly to you. Instead, you have a book or a website – while those things might be communicating directly to you (or people like you), it’s a little different than a coach in your face.
The point is this: if you’re self motivated, everything you need for personal finance success is already out there for you, on The Simple Dollar or other websites or in books at the library.
In the end, the real value of a personal finance coach is in motivation. If you’re lacking enough self-motivation to make the change yourself, a coach might just be enough to push you over that threshold.
However, if you’re motivated enough to have found a site like The Simple Dollar, have read through a lot of articles here, and have read all the way through this one, you’ve got a healthy start in the self-motivation department. You probably have a strong sense of what you need to do.
The question then is how you translate that into action in your own life.
It’s simple: once you know the principles, reflect on them regularly. Think about what you need to do today to achieve the success you want, and make that kind of thinking part of your morning routine and let it pop up throughout your day. Regularly read websites like The Simple Dollar, not because you’re getting tons of new ideas, but because it’s reinforcing the good principles and sometimes providing new angles you might not have considered.
In other words, keep your goals and the principles of personal finance fresh in your mind on your own.
For many people – myself included – that’s enough to put yourself on a much better financial path without paying for a coach at all. If you’re motivated enough to regularly think about your finances and your future and to regularly read and absorb material on good personal finance behavior, it’s very likely that those things are feeding your decisions each day and moving the scale toward good financial choices without needing a coach.
So, my answer for anyone who has read this whole article is that they don’t actually need a personal finance coach. They already have all the tools they need for success, and the additional benefits of a coach aren’t going to be worth the extra cost.
That’s not to say personal finance coaches are useless. They provide a useful service, and there are definitely people who find motivation from being nudged constantly by a coach to make better choices.
The thing to always remember is that there are other ways to find that motivation and to find that information outside of a coach, and if you’re reading The Simple Dollar regularly, you’re likely on that path anyway. A coach might provide an additional push, but you’re already jogging, and the cost of that additional push is likely not worth it for you.
Good luck!
The post Do You Need a Personal Finance Coach? appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
While rates have nudged up recently, it is still hard to get a good return on savings you may need to access it in an emergency. The average easy-access savings account pays just 0.37%, according to research by Savings Champion.
For those with smaller savings pots, current accounts can be a better place to save. Providers are offering rates of up to 5% on their current accounts, so many consumers are saving here instead. A Moneywise poll of 781 readers in October found that 66% use one or more current accounts to boost their savings.
Current accounts often have more Ts&Cs than a bond or savings account, such as minimum pay-ins or direct debts to set up, but the perks usually outweigh the effort.
The highest rate of interest is offered by the Nationwide FlexDirect account. This pays 5% interest on balances up to £2,500, although this is just a 12-month introductory offer. It then drops to 1%, so consider switching at that point.
To get the top interest rate, you’ll need to pay in at least £1,000 a month, but there are free agreed overdrafts on offer for the first year. You’ll also be able to open the linked Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver, which pays 5%.
The Tesco Bank Current Account pays 3% interest on balances up to £3,000 and has guaranteed to maintain this rate of interest until 1 April 2019. Users must deposit at least £750 and pay out at least three direct debits each month.
It also rewards debit card spending with Clubcard points. You earn one point for every £1 spent in Tesco, plus one point for every £8 spent elsewhere.
A 3% interest rate is also offered by the TSB Classic Plus account, but only on balances up to £1,500. To get this rate, you’ll need to pay in at least £500 a month, register for online banking, plus opt in for paperless bank statements and correspondence. New customers also earn £5 cashback every month if they have two active direct debits, plus another £5 cashback for spending with their debit card 20 times a month. This cashback offer ends on 30 June 2018.
For higher balances, the Bank of Scotland Vantage account pays 2% interest on balances up to £5,000 if users pay in £1,000 each month, stay in credit and pay out at least two direct debits. To get this interest rate, open a current account with the bank and request its Vantage add-on.
Lloyds Bank’s Club Lloyds account also pays 2% interest on balances up to £5,000. You must have two direct debits set up and pay £1,500 into the account every month. But beware the £3 monthly fee if you do not meet the minimum pay-in level. Account holders can get perks such as six cinema tickets or Gourmet Society membership.
For those with bigger savings, the Santander 123 Current Account is Moneywise’s Best Buy. It pays 1.5% interest, but is available on balances up to £20,000. It comes with a £5 monthly fee and cashback on household and utility bills.
This requires at least a £500 monthly pay-in and two direct debits. Account holders can open Santander’s 123 Regular eSaver, offering 5% for the first 12 months.
Virgin Money Essential Current Account If you’ve suffered with bad credit or persistent debt in the past and aren’t eligible for a current account, then you may need to open a basic bank account. These accounts offer few bells and whistles, but give people the chance to rebuild their finances. My Moneywise Best Buy is the Virgin Money Essential Current Account.
While most basic accounts pay no interest at all, this pays 0.75% on balances up to £100,000. It offers limited online access and it must be opened in a Virgin Money branch, but no minimum monthly pay-ins or direct debits are required.
He didn’t want to be a pirate, even though they were known to pillage and plunder the shores of St. Augustine.
Nor did he consider wearing the “funny looking” outfits sported by Spanish conquistadors in the 1500s.
In the end, Doug Stenroos settled on the ghost of St. John’s County Deputy Sheriff Guy White as his persona when he became what he says was the first ghost tour guide in historic St. Augustine.
Now, he says, he’s got fan clubs in Sweden, Japan and the United Kingdom, and, on a good night, he can make $400 in less than two hours on one of his walking tours.
It’s a pretty sweet side gig for a 71-year-old retired history buff.
As the owner and sole guide of the Sheriff’s Ghost Walk Tours, Stenroos assumes the ghostly apparition of White, who was killed by inmates in the line of duty in 1911.
If you want an up-close-and-personal account, look no further than the short film Stenroos produced with the help of a Flagler College television station manager in 2011. (Warning: The film is a little graphic at points.)
The tours last about 90 minutes, with Stenroos cajoling patrons into playing characters in the tales he weaves. He remains in character as White, of course.
There are plenty of other walking ghost tours and trolleys in the historic town, but, according to most TripAdvisor rankings, one thing stands out about this one (besides the fact that a “ghost” is the host): historical accuracy.
“If you start making this stuff up, it’s going to come out eventually,” Stenroos said.
To that end, he spent nearly six months poring through the St. Augustine Record’s archives and through city documents. He also visited every graveyard in the area and took detailed notes before launching the tour in 1996.
Stenroos also found plenty of ghostly fodder while interviewing local business owners and residents, including the story of a 5-year-old boy who fell from an oak tree in 1877 and died in what is now the Tolomato Cemetery. A young girl on a 2016 tour took a picture of the tree and swears his ghostly apparition is visible.
There was one notable deviation from history: White’s attire.
Historical pictures had the sheriff in drab clothes. So Stenroos took some liberties and went with Western cowboy look — complete with the fancy six-shooter spinning and spurs.
When Stenroos was around 9, he lived in St. Augustine for a year while his dad helped build B-25 bombers at a nearby airfield.
He fell in love with the town, which boasts 17th century fortresses, the impressive Castillo de San Marcos fort and the oldest street in the U.S. After moving down to the South Florida, he returned as often as possible.
“Every time I got a new girlfriend we’d come up here,” Stenroos said.
He settled in the Florida Keys, where he owned body shops, repairing and detailing Corvettes and other antique cars.
But then Hurricane Andrew devastated Florida in 1992, leaving Stenroos wondering if he should head north. Further, his doctor was telling him his lungs couldn’t handle much more auto body paint.
Two years later, he and his wife Rhonda sailed his boat — which they would live on for several years — to St. Augustine. They’ve never looked back.
After moving to St. Augustine, he worked for one of the historic trolleys. This was the 1990s, before the historic town had much of a nightlife, and he heard constant complaints from tourists about a lack of entertainment when the sun went down.
He saw a niche, and decided to launch a walking ghost tour.
You’ve got to have charisma to maintain the attention of two dozen distracted tourists, especially in the muggy dregs of Florida summers. And if you’re playing the role of a ghost murdered in cold blood, you’d better have acting chops.
So how did Stenroos, a Vietnam veteran who spent most of his life working on classic cars, take to this role so well?
Well, there’s the fact that he says he was an extra in the 1980 action film “The Dogs of War” and did some modeling for Burger King advertisements in his youth. But his time spent as a bell captain at the Cheeca Lodge in Islamorada, Florida, brought him in contact with new faces nearly every second.
“I’ve never met a stranger,” Stenroos said. “I can walk up and talk to anybody.”
In his years playing the ghost sheriff, Stenroos has learned to read the crowd and to respond accordingly.
“You’ve got to like people, you’ve got to have the voice and you’ve got to make people feel like they’re involved,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for so long I can tell by the expression on their faces whether they’re enjoying it.”
Twenty-one years later, the ghost sheriff isn’t ready to ride off into the sunset quite yet.
“I’ll be doing this until I can’t walk or talk anymore,” Stenroos said.
Alex Mahadevan is a data journalist at The Penny Hoarder. He’s a ghost-tour fanatic who believes in the paranormal, the Skunk Ape and all things that go bump in the night.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, one of the largest personal finance websites. We help millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. In 2016, Inc. 500 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the No. 1 fastest-growing private media company in the U.S.
Have you ever taken on a debt that you were eventually unable or unwilling to pay as initially agreed? If so, then you may be very familiar with the unpleasant reality of dealing with third-party debt collectors.
Third-party debt collectors include collection agencies, attorneys, debt buyers, and anyone who regularly collects debts initially owed to others. These are the friendly folks who call you at home and work and lean on your to make payments.
No one likes a debt collector, but the truth is that there’s nothing illegal about trying to collect a legitimate debt, provided that the debt collector follows the law. If you’ve had a defaulted debt turned over to a debt collector then it’s important for you to learn about the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).
The FDCPA is the Federal statute that regulates the behavior of third-party debt collections in the United States. The FDCPA, originally enacted in 1977, dictates what a debt collector is and isn’t allowed to do as it attempts to collect debts from consumers.
If a debt collector calls you, the first thing that he or she must do is to properly identify where the call is from and that the purpose of the call is to collect a debt. It’s their version of Miranda Rights.
Debt collectors are not allowed to call you whenever and wherever they wish. Unless you’ve specifically agreed otherwise, a debt collector may not call you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. This time frame is subject to the time zone where you live, not the time zone where the debt collector is located.
For the most part, debt collectors are not allowed to speak with anyone else regarding your debt. That’s known as “third -party disclosure,” and it’s a big no-no under the FDCPA. Exceptions to the rule do exist, but they’re largely limited to a debt collector speaking with your attorney. Additionally, debt collectors may contact other people you know, but only to inquire regarding your address, phone number, and place of employment.
Debt collectors are also allowed to call you at work, at least initially. However, if you tell a debt collector that you’re not allowed to receive calls at work, then the calls must stop immediately.
In fact, you even have the right to demand that a debt collector stop trying to call or contact you altogether, but this request must be sent in writing. Keep in mind, however, that if you send a written demand to a creditor to stop contacting you, then you leave the collector with only one final recourse to try to collect the unpaid debt – a lawsuit.
Some collectors are notorious for using high-pressure tactics to compel you to pay. If those high-pressure tactics become harassment, however, then the debt collector has crossed a line.
It’s not acceptable for a debt collector to use obscene or insensitive language, threaten to harm you physically, call you excessively, threaten to arrest you, publish your name as a past-due debtor, or to threaten legal action unless the debt collector truly intends to sue you.
Debt collectors are prohibited from lying or making false statements in their attempt to collect a debt. They cannot, for example, pretend to be calling from an attorney’s office or a government agency. They cannot misrepresent the balance you owe, nor can they give you a fake name. It is also illegal for a debt collector to imply that failure to pay a debt could result in your arrest. Dishonesty of any kind is off limits.
Regardless of how you may feel about debt collectors, they do serve a valuable purpose. And to the extent you actually do owe the defaulted debt, you should pay it. It’s what you agreed to do when you signed your cardholder agreement, apartment lease, or promissory note. If you make a habit out of not living up to your end of the deal when you apply for credit or services, you’ll always have poor credit, and you’ll have to constantly deal with debt collectors and collection attorneys, which isn’t a great way to go through life.
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The post This Is the Law That Protects You From Abusive Debt Collectors appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
By Holly Reisem Hanna Are you a foodie? Do you love wine? Are you a fan of sipping a satisfying cup of tea? Would you like to get paid for talking about your love of culinary delights? Well, it turns out, there are a lot of awesome direct sales beverage and food party plan companies […]
The post The Best Beverage and Food Party Plan Companies appeared first on The Work at Home Woman.
