EAST STROUDSBURG — A landmark business on Crystal Street is closing its doors after 33 years. Liztech Studios and Gallery will cease production early next year.“We expect to run out of most of our inventory by January,” said owner Jill Elizabeth. “We’ll still be making some jewelry, but the gallery will begin to shut down at that point.”Liztech, short for Elizabeth Technologies, has operated out of the same facility at 95 Crystal street [...]
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الأربعاء، 25 أكتوبر 2017
Too Many of Us are Ignoring Our 401(k)s. Here’s Why That’s Really Bad
With the stock market going like gangbusters, Americans’ retirement savings are growing as steadily as grass in the summertime.
Yessiree, the balances in our 401(k) accounts are hitting all-time highs. The average account holds nearly $100,000, almost a 10% increase from last year.
But a couple of new reports about 401(k) accounts suggest it’s probably time you give yours a checkup.
Here’s what these studies found:
- Most people pretty much ignore their 401(k) plans after they sign up.
- A lot of people have too much of their 401(k) savings in stocks, not bonds.
Wait, didn’t we just say that stocks are doing great?
Well, it’s complicated, but here goes …
Ignore Your 401(k) Plans at Your Peril
These days, a full-time job usually comes with a 401(k) retirement plan you and your employer contribute to.
Here’s a good Penny Hoarder article on 401(k) basics.
Here’s a longer one explaining everything about a 401(k).
Most people put their accounts on autopilot and rarely make any changes. In 2016, only 8% of 401(k) holders adjusted their mix of investments to be more aggressive or more conservative, according to a recent Vanguard study.
It’s one thing to stay on cruise control when you’re just starting to save for retirement. But you should be prepared to make periodic adjustments as your retirement funds grow.
One way to do this is with a robo-adviser. One we recommend is Blooom, an online investment advisory firm that’ll optimize and monitor your 401(k) for you. It gives you an initial checkup for free and tells you if you’re paying too many fees, have enough invested in stocks versus bonds, etc.
Consumer Reports also has a primer on how to give your 401(k) plan a checkup. Be prepared to boost your contributions and adjust your asset mix.
Stocks and Bonds and Risk, Oh My!
The stock market has been going up for eight years now — and hey, that’s good! Yaaaay, stock market! Whoo-HOO!
But the rising value of stocks also means this: If you haven’t been adjusting your stock-and-bond allocations, you’re probably holding way more money in stocks than you originally meant to.
That means more risk of losses when the stock market inevitably hits another rough patch.
And as the stock market continues to rally, 401(k) participants are getting more aggressive in their investing strategy.
Mutual fund giant Fidelity Investments tells USA Today that a whopping 40% of savers who are managing their own 401(k) plans are keeping more of their money in stocks than Fidelity recommends.
The crazy thing is, that’s up from 38% a year earlier. Not only that, but nearly 9% of male investors and 6% of female investors have their accounts only in stocks.
So, how much should you keep in stocks versus bonds? That depends on your age and your tolerance for risk.
Again, a service like Blooom can help you strike the right balance. The $10-per-month service — cheaper than a financial adviser — will figure out if you’re getting the most bang for your buck.
Mike Brassfield (mike@thepennyhoarder.com) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. He looks forward to spending his 401(k) money on denture adhesives and Bengay when he’s 90.
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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Senate Just Said No to Making it Easier for Consumers to Sue Banks
Have you heard of a mandatory arbitration clause? Many credit card companies and banks use them in their contracts to prevent consumers from banding together and suing them for unfair practices. In other words, the fine print makes it impossible to go after a crooked bank or credit card company with a class-action lawsuit.
In July 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a rule banning companies from using mandatory arbitration clauses in their contracts. Nice, right? This rule gave power to consumers to fight back against companies that take advantage of them.
Seems fair, right? Congress doesn’t think so.
Mandatory Arbitration Supporters, Opponents Say They’re Helping Consumers
On Tuesday night, the Senate passed a measure to repeal the consumer agency’s rule by a 51-50 vote, with Vice President Mike Pence casting the deciding vote.
That means banks and credit card companies can continue to include fine print in contracts that requires disputes to be resolved outside of the court system, giving the financial companies the upper hand.
Supporters of the repeal claim that the consumer agency’s ruling left financial companies vulnerable to an overwhelming number of frivolous lawsuits.
The White House issued this statement: “By repealing this rule, Congress is standing up for everyday consumers and community banks and credit unions, instead of trial lawyers, who would have benefitted the most from the CFPB’s uninformed and ineffective policy.”
But not everyone agrees.
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said on the Senate floor: “This bill is a giant wet kiss to Wall Street. Bank lobbyists are crawling all over this place, begging Congress to vote and make it easier for them to cheat customers.”
President Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill.
It’s a classic case of both sides claiming that they are looking out for the American people. Who is right? It’s hard to tell, but for now, it looks like mandatory arbitration clauses are here to stay.
Tyler Omoth is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder who loves soaking up the sun and finding creative ways to help others. Catch him on Twitter at @Tyomoth.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, one of the largest personal finance websites. We help millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. In 2016, Inc. 500 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the No. 1 fastest-growing private media company in the U.S.
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Planning on Retiring in Your 70s? Here’s Why That Might Not Actually Happen
Are you one of those people who says, “I’m never going to retire!”
If so, you may want to work on your backup plan.
The U.S. mortality rate has shifted, and the number of deaths per year rose 1.2% between 2014 and 2015, Bloomberg reported on new data from the Society of Actuaries Mortality Improvement Scale. It’s the largest change to the death rate since 1980.
What does that have to do with your retirement savings? Everything.
Americans are feeling the pressure to work well into their late 60s and 70s, and the age at which you can claim full Social Security benefits is slowly climbing.
But at the same time, more middle-age Americans are struggling with health problems that may take them out of the workplace sooner than expected.
A study by University of Michigan economists measured middle-aged Americans’ health by looking at “activity of daily living,” (ADL) or how easily someone can complete routine tasks.
“The study showed the number of middle-age Americans with ADL limitations has jumped: 12.5 percent of Americans at the current retirement age of 66 had an ADL limitation in their late 50s, up from 8.8 percent for people with a retirement age of 65,” Bloomberg’s Ben Steverman explained.
So trying to work into your 70s is a great plan, until it isn’t. Health limitations can dictate when you retire — possibly much sooner than you would prefer.
How to Kickstart Your Retirement Savings Right Now
Feeling the pressure to get your retirement savings on track? Remember, the recommended savings amount is six times your salary by the time you’re 50.
Giving up on your 401(k) and burying your head in the sand isn’t recommended if you don’t have anywhere near that amount.
Careful budgeting to prioritize your retirement savings can help you add a considerable amount of cash to your nest egg.
Starting in 2018, the yearly cap on your personal 401(k) contribution rises from $18,000 to $18,500. If you’re over 50, you can set aside a one-time “catch-up payment” of up to $6,000, bringing the total max contribution in the year to $24,500.
Real talk about your retirement lifestyle can help you get a clearer picture, too. And let’s face it, it’s way more fun to talk about your retirement plans than it is to talk about death.
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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Nordstrom to Fill Over 13K Jobs Ahead of the Holidays (Discount Included!)
Fashion retailer Nordstrom is hiring over 13,600 part-time and full-time seasonal and permanent workers across the U.S. and Canada right now.
Candidates can apply online from anywhere, but if you happen to live near a location where the company is hosting a hiring event, you can apply in person to snag a job that same day.
Benefits include a merchandise discount at Nordstrom, Nordstrom.com, Nordstrom Rack and HauteLook.
If these jobs aren’t the kind of work you’re looking for, check out our Jobs page on Facebook — we post new opportunities there all the time.
Types of Jobs
Nordstrom is filling a wide range of positions, including:
- Customer care
- Photo studio
- Retail sales
- Retail stock and fulfillment
- Restaurant cashier
- Barista
Where You’ll Work
The company is filling positions at:
- Nordstrom
- Nordstrom Rack
- HauteLook
- Trunk Club
- Nordstrom, Inc. fulfillment and distribution centers
How to Apply in Person
Nordstrom is holding dozens of hiring events in seven states.
Oct. 27 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Massachusetts
- New Jersey
- New York
- Connecticut
- Rhode Island
Oct. 30 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- California
Nov. 3 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Washington
Check Nordstrom’s job announcement for details on a hiring event near you.
How to Apply Online
Navigate to Nordstrom’s online career page. Enter your country, state or province to learn what jobs are available in your area.
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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All the Single Ladies… Are Way Less Likely Than Single Men to Own a Home
When is having more debt actually a good thing?
That’s a trick question. The answer is never. But it’s a slightly different story when that debt is in the form of a mortgage.
According to a recent GOBankingRates study of 2,500 adults, men have three times more debt than women do.
But that’s not exactly good news for women. Having less debt is generally a plus, but it may indicate the gender gap in homeownership.
When GOBankingRates asked respondents about their mortgages, among other debts, men were more likely than women to report having a mortgage.
Women were only more likely than men to have a mortgage when it was for less than $100,000 or between $150,000 and $200,000.
Considering women have been able to seek their own credit without a male co-signer — including mortgages — since 1974, why are women buying homes at lower rates than men?
Women: Not Winning, Even When They’re Breadwinning
GOBankingRates looked to a recent Credit Sesame study to make sense of the difference. According to that study of 1,000 people, 42% of women renters said they couldn’t afford a down payment, while 38% of men said the same.
Twenty-two percent of women said they were “extremely concerned with housing affordability,” while only 19% of men felt the same.
Credit Sesame also noted that, on average, women have lower credit scores than men, so perhaps it’s not surprising that 21% of women who said they were delaying buying a home due to low credit scores.
Women may still be feeling the pressure to buy despite their concerns about housing affordability. Redfin examined down payments of men and women and discovered that while the median down payment was around 20%, single men were more likely to make a 20% down payment. On the other hand, single women were more likely to make a down payment of less than 5%.
If you think the wage gap is a culprit here, don’t expect change anytime soon. The gender wage gap is closing, but it won’t be even-steven until 2119, the American Association of University Women predicts.
How to Be a Woman Trying to Buy a Home
There really aren’t tips for women who want to purchase a home; there are just general tips for everyone. But they’re worth considering well before you start going to open houses.
Consider the Responsibility
Buying a home isn’t just about getting a good rate on your mortgage and then resting easy for 30 years. There’s maintenance, unexpected expenses and homeowner association meetings that can stretch on for hours but accomplish little (trust me on this one).
Owning a home has to be a part of your lifestyle, and if you’re not excited about the prospect of constantly tinkering to keep your home running smoothly, it may not be worth the daydreaming (yet).
Think About the Costs of Buying a Home
Do this before you start looking at homes. Credit Sesame’s mortgage map feature helps you figure out what you might be able to afford based on your location and income.
Save Now to Save on Your Mortgage Later
While a 20% down payment on a home is no longer the norm, a low down payment usually requires private mortgage insurance (PMI). You pay PMI — usually 0.5% or 1% of the home loan value — each year until you’ve paid off about 20% of the home’s value.
There is a win here, when you look at housing outcomes. When the Urban Institute analyzed solo female and male borrowers, it found that single white, African-American and Hispanic solo female borrowers consistently default less than their male counterparts.
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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Halloween Just Got Better: Chipotle’s $3 Boorito is Back
All geared up for Halloween? Listen up, because this most-loved holiday just got a little bit better.
Chipotle’s bringing back its Boorito deal, offering $3 entrees to customers who show up in costume.
No tricks. Just delicious, corn salsa-filled treats.
How to Get a $3 Chipotle Boorito This Halloween
It’s super easy (and fun): Just show up to Chipotle in costume from 3 p.m. to close Oct. 31.
You’ll be rewarded with a cheap, delicious dish — and since Chipotle’s meals usually cost more than $7, this price is actually better than a BOGO deal!
Yes, Halloween falls on a Tuesday this year… but who doesn’t wear their costume to the office? And if you’re taking the kids trick-or-treating, this deal is a perfect, easy dinner.
Despite the promotion’s name, the Chipotle Boorito deal isn’t limited to burritos. Guests can get a bowl, salad or order of tacos for $3, too.
It excludes online, smartphone, fax (lol) and catering orders, so you’ve got to actually walk your costumed self into the store.
The only scary part? You’ll probably still have to pay extra for guac.
No big deal, though, since you totally DIY’d your costume and decorations.
That’s why we hoard pennies, after all: Some things are just worth the splurge.
Jamie Cattanach’s writing has also been featured at The Write Life, Word Riot, Nashville Review and elsewhere. Find @JamieCattanach on Twitter to wave hello.
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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Shutterstock is Looking for Work-From-Home Photo and Illustration Reviewers
Like looking at photos?
Mountain landscapes? Cats? Food? Funky illustrations?
Me too. In fact, I could get swept up in it all day. If you’re the same way, you could actually get paid to do this.
Shutterstock — a website that offers millions of royalty-free photos, illustrations and videos — is hiring work-from-home editorial image and illustration reviewers.
What Does a Shutterstock Image Reviewer Do?
As an editorial image reviewer, you’ll check images to be sure they meet Shutterstock’s guidelines before hitting the online stock image catalog.
You’ll act as an authority, making sure photos meet technical standards and restriction expectations, detect fraud and ensure editorial integrity. You’ll look at a high volume of images in a short amount of time with keen eyeballs.
If something doesn’t hit a threshold, you’ll provide feedback to the contributors. In addition, you’ll monitor keywords and editorial captions for accuracy.
As an illustration reviewer, your responsibilities will be similar — only with illustrations.
Either way, you’ll do this all from home on a freelance basis. As an image reviewer, you’ll work for about 25 to 30 hours per week, including between five and eight hours on the weekends.
Hours aren’t listed for the illustration editor, but we’ve reached out to the company to get more information.
Am I Qualified To Work For Shutterstock?
You need some experience to snap — I mean snag — one of these gigs.
As an editorial image reviewer, you need two or more years of photography experience (think: photographer, stock agency contributor, photo editor, photo researcher).
So, you’ll likely have knowledge of editorial events (in the realm of news, entertainment and sports), industry trends and styles.
You’ll also need high-speed wired broadband internet access connected to your own PC or Mac that has accurate color display (none of that f.lux color-change on).
You should be organized, analytical, authoritative and confident in your judgements. You should also be fluent in English and be able to participate in business meetings.
On the illustration side, requirements are nearly the same, except the company’s looking for someone with two or more years of illustration/vector experience (think: graphic designer, stock agency contributor, art buyer).
You also must own a license for Adobe Illustrator and know your way around Photoshop, Google Docs and Microsoft Office Suite.
Feeling qualified? (I wish I was…) Find more job postings in all available time zones on Shutterstock’s career page. Seriously, it’s hiring a ton of people right now.
Want to find more work-from-home job opportunities? Visit our Facebook Jobs page.
Carson Kohler (@CarsonKohler) is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder. After recently completing graduate school, she focuses on saving money — and surviving the move back in with her parents.
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 Write a Double Opt-in Landing Page That Converts Well
It’s always great news for a business when their subscriber list starts to grow.
The growing list of subscribers implies that people are interested in your company and you have the opportunity to increase your revenue.
But that’s not always the case.
People ask me all the time why their bottom line hasn’t improved as their subscriber rates increase.
It’s because they don’t have active subscribers.
How do you stay connected and make sure your customers are actively engaged with your content?
Take a step back, and assess your current opt-in process.
It may have some flaws.
Sure, you may see your number of subscribers grow.
But that’s useless if these people aren’t actually interested in your company.
Switching to a double opt-in strategy may be the solution.
I’ll show you how to use a double opt-in landing page to increase conversion rates.
What’s wrong with the single opt-in landing process?
If you don’t know the difference between these two types of landing pages, it’s safe to assume you’re currently using a single opt-in form.
A single opt-in is simple for both you and the subscriber.
They enter their email address and automatically get added to your subscription list.
Here’s an example from Lowe’s Home Improvement:
All they ask for is your email address and zip code so that they can send you relevant promotions based on your location.
Once you click “Save Today,” you’ll instantly join the email list.
It’s easy for users, and it’s a great tactic to increase the number of newsletter subscribers fast.
However, there are some problems with this strategy as well.
You may end up with some invalid or useless email addresses on your list.
Here are a few scenarios.
- The customer mistyped their email address.
- The customer intentionally submitted a fake email address.
- Someone signed up for your list by mistake.
People make mistakes when they are typing.
So it’s not uncommon for someone who wants to join your subscriber list to incorrectly enter their email address.
This person may eventually realize the error if they don’t receive any messages from you.
Hopefully, they will go back and submit the correct information.
However, their invalid address will remain on your list.
Sometimes a customer could purposely enter a fake email address if it means they can receive a discount on their order.
To prevent this, you should always email the sign-up promotion instead of automatically applying it to their checkout page.
Here’s an example from Topshop:
It’s also possible that someone entered their email address by accident.
Sometimes people may get confused and think they needed to submit an email address to continue, especially if you have a popup form.
Here’s another possibility.
Let’s say you’re an ecommerce store that requires an email address during the checkout process.
The customer may want to get shipping details and an order receipt sent to their email address, but that doesn’t mean they want to join your newsletter.
Here’s an example:
If that box is checked off by default, you may get subscribers who don’t actually want to be on your list.
Depending on your email marketing service provider, you may be paying a monthly, quarterly, or annual fee based on the number of subscribers on your list.
You’ll happily pay if all those subscribers are active and engaged.
But if you have fake emails, invalid names, and people who signed up by mistake, you’re wasting money.
Plus, all of your analytics will be thrown off.
You can’t effectively analyze the success of your campaign without accurate data.
Double opt-in landing pages are more efficient
The double opt-in strategy can eliminate some of the problems we just discussed.
Your company may be experiencing some of those issues if you’re currently using a single opt-in strategy.
So, what’s a double opt-in?
It’s a form that appears after the visitor clicks your call-to-action button.
Here’s what Khol’s double opt-in page looks like:
Basically, it’s a two-step verification process.
Sending a confirmation email is another great way to accomplish this.
Look at the impact double opt-ins can have on your unique open rates:
Here are some more top benefits of a double opt-in email:
- increased user engagement
- no spam or fake email addresses on your list
- more accurate analytics
- a great way to start a drip campaign
Let’s continue to break down the double opt-in email.
The subscriber has to verify their email address before they get added to your list.
Earlier I mentioned that incorrect or fake email addresses could be plaguing your single opt-in strategy.
This won’t be an issue if you send the prospective subscriber a confirmation message.
Don’t get me wrong.
This isn’t a perfect system either.
Since it requires more steps, some users may not complete the process.
Some people may think the double opt-in emails could be too much.
This is especially true if you’re sending a confirmation message and then a welcome message after their address is verified.
So, here’s what you can do.
Combine your verification email with the welcome message.
That’s how nearly 80% of email marketers are handling their double opt-in emails.
Otherwise, it can be an overload of messages, which the subscriber could mark as spam.
- Confirmation email
- Welcome message
- Newsletter
- Promotion or discount
That’s potential four messages your subscriber could receive within the first few days of signing up.
It’s too many.
Yes, once they are added to your list, it makes sense to send out a drip campaign.
Just don’t do it all at once.
Space the messages out over a longer period of time so you aren’t perceived as a spammer.
How to create a double opt-in email
Now you understand the basic differences between a single and double opt-in landing page.
It’s time to learn the step-by-step process for your double opt-in email.
Depending on your email service provider, the wording on each page may be slightly different.
In this example, I’ll show you how to set up a double opt-in email on HubSpot’s platform.
Step #1: Select “Double Opt-In” under the “Email” section of “Content Settings”:
Navigate to the “Content Settings” tab.
Next, click on “Email.”
You’ll see the “Double Opt-in” option about halfway down this menu.
Step #2: Customize the double opt-in message:
From the double opt-in page, click “Edit email.”
This will be the message your prospective subscribers receive after they complete the first step of your opt-in process.
The message should be delivered immediately so the user can proceed and officially join your list.
Step #3: Create a confirmation page and follow-up email:
Once the subscriber verifies their email address and completes the second opt-in phase, they will receive a confirmation.
There are two types of confirmations:
- confirmation landing page
- email confirmation
The landing page will open in their Internet browsing window after the subscriber confirms the first message.
At the same time, they can receive a follow-up message that also confirms their subscription.
If you don’t want your new subscribers to receive too many messages in a short period of time, simply uncheck the “Include follow-up email” box.
I would recommend using this opportunity to send a welcome message to your newest subscribers.
It’s much more practical than another confirmation email.
Step #4: Review the “Enable” options:
The enable section allows you to choose when to put the double opt-in option on your website.
By default, this option is marked as disabled.
I recommend enabling this option for all your pages.
This will increase the chances of getting higher conversions.
But it’s not required. You can enable your double opt-in on specific pages only.
If you want to include the opt-in on most of your pages, but not all of them, check off the “Disabled for some pages only” box.
It’s pretty straightforward.
Step #5: Manually send an opt-in (optional):
Here’s a scenario.
Let’s say you forgot to change the default enable options in our previous step.
If a user subscribes, they won’t receive your opt-in email verification when the page is disabled.
In this case, you can manually send a new subscriber an opt-in message.
Just navigate to your contacts page and click on the user.
Click “Actions” under their name, and select “Send opt-in email.”
That will ensure that your new subscriber receives the message you customized in the second step.
HubSpot’s platform is really easy to navigate and understand.
So if your current email marketing software doesn’t have this feature, you may want to consider signing up for an alternative.
Additional tips for getting sky-high conversions
Before you can send out your double opt-in email, you’ll need the user to click on your CTA button in the first place.
Otherwise, they will never have the opportunity to receive a confirmation message.
One of the first things you should consider is the placement of your opt-in button.
The majority of companies are putting their opt-in CTAs in the footers of their websites.
Just make sure it’s big, bold, and clear so that the visitors can’t miss it.
Your page should also have:
- a strong headline
- a clear call to action
- value and benefits
- social proof of concept
All of these factors can help increase your chances of getting customers to proceed with your double opt-in.
Here’s something else you want to consider.
Timing.
It may sound silly, but it’s one of the most important components if you’re sending a double opt-in email.
Don’t leave your subscribers in the dark.
Especially if you’re putting them through a two-step verification process.
Making the customer wait could lower their interest and engagement.
Maybe they wanted to join your list to receive a promotion or a discount.
If the customer doesn’t get that offer right away, they may be more inclined to make their purchase elsewhere.
Conclusion
If your email list is growing without benefiting your business, you may want to consider changing your opt-in strategy.
While single opt-in forms are simple and a fast way to grow your email list, they are not always effective.
You’ll get some incorrect email addresses that will:
- cost you more money
- increase your bounce rate
- give you incorrect analytics for each campaign
Instead, you can create a double opt-in landing page to increase engagement.
Consider the components of an opt-in email:
Make sure your message is active.
This will get the subscriber to complete the two-step process and join your list.
A double opt-in also ensures that your subscribers are legitimately interested in your brand, products, and content.
Ultimately, this will increase your conversions.
If your current email marketing software doesn’t allow you to write double opt-in messages, you may want to consider changing platforms.
Then you can follow the step-by-step guide outlined above for creating the perfect double opt-in email.
Make sure your initial opt-in button on your website has a clear CTA. Otherwise, visitors won’t be able to start the two-step process.
How will your offer entice website visitors to confirm their email addresses before officially joining the subscriber list?
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The Power of ‘Good Enough’
Over the last few years, one of the biggest principles I’ve found in personal finance – and in any flavor of self-improvement – is that the perfect is always the enemy of the good. If you set yourself up so that the only acceptable result is perfection, you’re setting up a house of cards for yourself. Things are going to inevitably collapse. You will fail if perfection is your only possible outcome.
I once thought that the principle of dangerous perfection (as I like to call it) only really applied to setting goals. If you set a goal that could only be achieved by perfect or near-perfect outcomes, that goal was going to be a failure, and that a much better approach to goal setting is to focus on somewhat improving your performance each day. Thus, by focusing on my daily performance, I would gradually get better and better and better outcomes and thus achieve most reasonable goals that way. I don’t expect all perfect days, but I do expect “good enough” performances most days, performances that are noticeably better than how I used to do things.
That type of success by little positive steps and of tolerating little setbacks works incredibly well for me. It’s an implicit understanding that little improvements work incredibly well over time, like drops wearing down a rock, and that if I shoot for “good enough” most days – meeting a daily goal that’s a realistic improvement over how I used to do things – I’m going to have better outcomes.
What I’ve come to realize recently is that “good enough” pops up over and over again in good personal finance and good life habits. This was illustrated really clearly for me in a recent article in The Atlantic by Olga Khazan, entitled The Power of “Good Enough”.
In that article, Khazan makes a great case for a different type of “good enough,” one not associated at all with setting goals. She does this by looking back at the work of Barry Schwartz, who published a book about 10 years ago called The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less. In that book, Schwartz makes the argument that, when faced with an abundance of choices, we add a ton of stress to our lives by trying to find the “perfect” choice instead of finding the “good enough” choice. Khazan followed up with Schwartz to find out if his advice still holds true. A few good quotes:
If you ever aren’t sure if you attended the very best party or bought the very best computer, just settle for “good enough.” People who do this are called “satisficers,” and they’re consistently happier, he’s found, than are “maximizers,” people who feel that they must choose the very best possible option. Maximizers earn more, Schwartz has found, but they’re also less satisfied with their jobs. In fact, they’re more likely to be clinically depressed in general.
and
As people have contact with items of high quality, they begin to suffer from “the curse of discernment.” The lower quality items that used to be perfectly acceptable are no longer good enough. The hedonic zero point keeps rising, and expectations and aspirations rise with it. As a result, the rising quality of experience is met with rising expectations, and people are just running in place. As long as expectations keep pace with realizations, people may live better, but they won’t feel better about how they live.
and
Whenever you need a new laptop, call up one of your maximizer friends and say, “What laptop did you buy?” And you buy that laptop. Is it going to be the perfect laptop for you? Probably not. Is it going to be a good enough laptop for you? Absolutely. It takes you five minutes to make a decision instead of five weeks and it’s a “good enough” decision.
and, finally
In a Q&A session on Reddit last year, Schwartz said people can generalize this concept by arbitrarily limiting the number of choices they’ll consider—five colleges, not 25—and “decide that all you need is a good enough X, not the best X,” he said. “‘Good enough’ is almost always good enough.” It’s helpful information to keep in mind right after, say, the debut of a dizzying array of shiny, new iterations of a popular consumer tech product.
It can be hard, in our culture, to force yourself to settle for “good enough.” But when it comes to happiness and satisfaction, “good enough” isn’t just good—it’s perfect.
So, let’s unpack this a little bit.
First of all, seeking out the “perfect” option in a universe where we have tons and tons of options at our disposal for almost every choice is almost always a poor move. It almost always leads to analysis paralysis – we invest way too much time in a decision – and we’re almost always left feeling that the choice we made wasn’t really the perfect one after all. In other words, even though we might have made a truly excellent choice, it’s still tinged with negative feelings because we suspect that it wasn’t truly the perfect one.
A much better approach, then, is to seek out the “good enough” option. The idea isn’t that you’re finding the perfect thing, but finding one that’s merely “good enough” – it takes care of your need quite well without investing tons of effort into digging through mountains of choices.
This intersects incredibly well with living a financially sensible life. Often, the “good enough” option is just a low cost option that takes care of what you need – for example, a store brand bottle of hand soap. It’s “good enough” – it gets your hands clean and it doesn’t cost very much. The “good enough” principle steers me right toward store brands for many everyday items, unless the store brand demonstrates that it’s not “good enough.”
Is the store brand “the best”? Usually, no. Is it “good enough”? Absolutely. I pick it up and don’t think twice about it, and I’m rewarded with less headache when buying almost all household supplies and many food staples. I almost always save money, too.
What if the store brand turns out to not meet my expectations? Yep, it happens sometimes. For example, I generally don’t like store brand garbage bags, as they often seem to rip out right in the middle of my kitchen floor. In those cases, I turn to Consumer Reports. I just look up their top-rated “best buy” for that type of product and start buying that instead. I don’t worry about the latest and greatest unless, for some reason, the product I already buy isn’t meeting my needs somehow, which almost never happens.
Another example is pens. I’ve had cheap pens blow up on me far too often, so now I just buy boxes of Uniball pens, which I can get for about $0.50 a pop. They were recommended by a friend as a really good reliable pen. Are there better pens? I’m sure there are. Is it “good enough” for my use? Absolutely. So, I just buy them.
(Another nice advantage of this strategy is that it makes flipping through coupon sections really easy. I just flip through and see if I see a coupon for one of the handful of things I buy that aren’t store brands, and if I do, I’ll snag that coupon because it’s as good as money and I’ll put it in my wallet. If not, I don’t clip anything.)
What about bigger purchases? You can find the “good enough” option by simply throwing out the question of what your friends use to your social network, collecting the positive answers, and picking up the lowest cost option that matches what you need. I have used this exact technique to find things like the North Face backpack that I currently use as a “portable office,” for example.
Is that cheapest recommended item from friends “the best”? Usually, no. Is it “good enough”? Absolutely. I can just buy it by default without really thinking twice about it, and I’m rewarded with less headache and less time invested in the choice. I usually save money, too – sometimes, a lot of money.
What’s the consistent theme here? When I buy the “good enough” item, I almost always save a ton of time and a ton of decision making. The funny part is, I’m usually happy with the product, too. It does what I want it to do, and I didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about whether or not that item really is “the best” or not. Honestly, I don’t even really care if it’s “the best.” I just care if it’s “good enough” and it has a good price on it.
I reduce the time invested in the decision. I reduce cognitive load, saving my focus for other important things. I save money. I’m also almost always happier with the outcome, too.
That’s the power of “good enough.” Do I buy the best coffee? No, but what I buy is good enough – I really like my morning coffee. Do I buy the best toothpaste? Probably not, but no one in my family has cavities with any regularity. Do I buy the best laptop when I need a replacement? No, but I have one that does everything I need it to do.
In each and every case, I didn’t have to spend much time on research, I didn’t have to think a lot about the purchase, and I’m pretty happy with what I have. If I did research it extensively, I’d wind up less happy about my decision after having spent a ton of time on it and probably spending more money on it. Would that product be “better”? Probably… but would it be that much better, considering I already have something that’s “good enough”? Probably not.
When considering your buying decisions going forward, consider simply shooting for “good enough.” It’ll get the job done, save you a lot of thinking, save you some time, save you a little money, and you’ll probably be happier with the outcome to boot. If that’s not a frugal victory, I don’t know what is!
Related Articles:
- Seeking ‘The Best’ vs. ‘Good Enough’
- ‘I Make Myself Rich By Making My Wants Few’
- Wealth Is Not a Route to Happiness. So What Is?
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How to get 3.22% interest on your £10,000 savings – the Moneywise model savings portfolio
Cash savers continue to battle against low interest rates and poor returns across the market, but there are ways to get more out of your savings pot.
With the effect of high inflation also whittling away the real value of cash, savers are looking for new ways to beat the savings market.
Moneywise and Savings Champion have created a model savings portfolio which helps savers get the best return possible return on their cash.
The rules
Our portfolio is based on using high interest current accounts, regular savers and one-year bonds in order to maximise your total return.
Money will be drip fed through the accounts in order to achieve the best returns. There is some legwork involved in setting up this portfolio, but we think the returns make it worthwhile.
There are ways in which you can earn slightly more interest, but this will require multiple current accounts. We have limited our portfolio to two current accounts for simplicity.
Many current accounts have requirements such as minimum pay-ins each month and need a number of active direct debits. Make sure you have ‘float money’ on top of the figures listed below so that you can pay your direct debits each month.
Also ensure that by the end of the year you do not go overdrawn on any of your current accounts, as this is likely to incur fees and charges. We’re looking at a one-year timeframe in our analysis and will not include accounts that charge a fee.
Depending on how much you’re saving, we have two model portfolios for you to use.
£10,000 savings portfolio
For a £10,000 cash pot you will be able to maximise your savings by using a pair of current accounts, a linked regular saver and a fixed rate one-year bond.
To start, you need to open the following four accounts;
- Hodge Bank One Year Fixed Rate Account – paying 1.8%
- Nationwide FlexDirect current account – paying 5% on balances up to £2,500 for the first year
- Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver – paying 5%
- Tesco Bank Current Account – paying 3% on balances up to £3,000.
Over the course of the year £10,000 saved in the model portfolio will generate £321.62 - an effective return of 3.22%. This compares to just £1 in a typical high street savings account, the NatWest Instant Saver paying 0.01%.
This mean a saver has made an additional £320.62 by using the model savings portfolio.
Existing savings accounts
| Amount | AER % | Gross interest per annum | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NatWest Instant Saver | £10,000 | 0.01% | £1.00 | Easy access |
| Total savings | £10,000 | 0.01% | £1.00 |
Recommended savings accounts
| Amount | AER % | Gross interest per annum | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High interest current accounts | ||||
| Nationwide Building Society FlexDirect current account | £2,500.00 | 5.00% | £125.00 | Bonus ends after 12 months |
| Tesco Bank Current Account (feeder account) | £2,750.00 | 3.00% | £34.37 | Diminishing balance to fund regular saver |
| Regular savers | ||||
| Nationwide Building Society Flexclusive Regular Saver (Issue 2) | £250 pm | 5.00% | £81.25 | 12 month term |
| Fixed term bonds | ||||
| Hodge Bank One Year Fixed Rate Account | £4,500 | 1.8% | £81.00 | 12 month term |
| Total savings | £10,000 | 3.24% | £321.62 | |
| Maximise the interest you can earn | Increase in gross returns of £320.62 in year one |
You will be required to move money between your accounts in order to meet the minimum monthly pay-in requirements, but these can be set up as standing orders. Leave a couple of days between these money transfers to ensure the money has cleared in your account and you don’t go overdrawn.
For the Tesco Bank Current Account you will need to pay in at least £750 and pay at least three direct debits each statement month. The Nationwide FlexDirect does not require any direct debits, but you will have to pay in £1,000 a month or more. Here’s how to do it.
Month 1
Day 1
Open and deposit £4,500 in Hodge Bank One Year Fixed Rate Account
Open and deposit £2,500 in Nationwide FlexDirect
Open and deposit £2,750 in Tesco Bank Current Account
Open and deposit £250 in Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver
Final balances:
£4,500 Hodge Bank One Year Fixed Rate Account
£2,500 Nationwide FlexDirect
£2,750 Tesco Bank Current Account
£250 Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver
Month 2
Day 1
Transfer £250 from Tesco Bank Current Account to Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver
Transfer £1,000 from Nationwide FlexDirect to Tesco Bank Current Account – meets funding requirement
Day 4
Transfer £1,000 from Tesco Bank Current Account to Nationwide FlexDirect – meets funding requirement
Final balances:
£4,500 Hodge Bank One Year Fixed Rate Account
£2,500 Nationwide Current Account
£2,500 Tesco Bank Current Account
£500 Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver
Month 3
Day 1
Transfer £250 from Tesco Bank Current Account to Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver
Transfer £1,000 from Nationwide FlexDirect to Tesco Bank Current Account – meets funding requirement
Day 4
Transfer £1,000 from Tesco Bank Current Account to Nationwide FlexDirect – meets funding requirement
Final balances:
£4,500 Hodge Bank One Year Fixed Rate Account
£2,500 Nationwide FlexDirect
£2,250 Tesco Bank Current Account
£750 Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver
Month 4
Day 1
Transfer £250 from Tesco Bank Current Account to Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver
Transfer £1,000 from Nationwide FlexDirect to Tesco Bank Current Account – meets funding requirement
Day 4
Transfer £1,000 from Tesco Bank Current Account to Nationwide FlexDirect – meets funding requirement
Final balances:
£4,500 Hodge Bank One Year Fixed Rate Account
£2,500 Nationwide FlexDirect
£2,000 Tesco Bank Current Account
£1,000 Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver
Month 5
Day 1
Transfer £250 from Tesco Bank Current Account to Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver
Transfer £1,000 from Nationwide FlexDirect to Tesco Bank Current Account – meets funding requirement
Day 4
Transfer £1,000 from Tesco Bank Current Account to Nationwide FlexDirect – meets funding requirement
Final balances:
£4,500 Hodge Bank One Year Fixed Rate Account
£2,500 Nationwide FlexDirect
£1,750 Tesco Bank Current Account
£1,250 Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver
Month 6
Day 1
Transfer £250 from Tesco Bank Current Account to Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver
Transfer £1,000 from Nationwide FlexDirect to Tesco Bank Current Account – meets funding requirement
Day 4
Transfer £1,000 from Tesco Bank Current Account to Nationwide FlexDirect – meets funding requirement
Final balances:
£4,500 Hodge Bank One Year Fixed Rate Account
£2,500 Nationwide FlexDirect
£1,500 Tesco Bank Current Account
£1,500 Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver
Month 7
Day 1
Transfer £250 from Tesco Bank Current Account to Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver
Transfer £1,000 from Nationwide FlexDirect to Tesco Bank Current Account – meets funding requirement
Day 4
Transfer £1,000 from Tesco Bank Current Account to Nationwide FlexDirect – meets funding requirement
Final balances:
£4,500 Hodge Bank One Year Fixed Rate Account
£2,500 Nationwide FlexDirect
£1,250 Tesco Bank Current Account
£1,750 Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver
Month 8
Day 1
Transfer £250 from Tesco Bank Current Account to Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver
Transfer £1,000 from Nationwide FlexDirect to Tesco Bank Current Account – meets funding requirement
Day 4
Transfer £1,000 from Tesco Bank Current Account to Nationwide FlexDirect – meets funding requirement
Final balances:
£4,500 Hodge Bank One Year Fixed Rate Account
£2,500 Nationwide FlexDirect
£1,000 Tesco Bank Current Account
£2,000 Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver
Month 9
Day 1
Transfer £250 from Tesco Bank Current Account to Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver
Transfer £1,000 from Nationwide FlexDirect to Tesco Bank Current Account – meets funding requirement
Day 4
Transfer £1,000 from Tesco Bank Current Account to Nationwide FlexDirect – meets funding requirement
Final balances:
£4,500 Hodge Bank One Year Fixed Rate Account
£2,500 Nationwide FlexDirect
£750 Tesco Bank Current Account
£2,250 Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver
Month 10
Day 1
Transfer £250 from Tesco Bank Current Account to Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver
Transfer £1,000 from Nationwide FlexDirect to Tesco Bank Current Account – meets funding requirement
Day 4
Transfer £1,000 from Tesco Bank Current Account to Nationwide FlexDirect – meets funding requirement
Final balances:
£4,500 Hodge Bank One Year Fixed Rate Account
£2,500 Nationwide FlexDirect
£500 Tesco Bank Current Account
£2,500 Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver
Month 11
Day 1
Transfer £250 from Tesco Bank Current Account to Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver
Transfer £1,000 from Nationwide FlexDirect to Tesco Bank Current Account – meets funding requirement
Day 4
Transfer £1,000 from Tesco Bank Current Account to Nationwide FlexDirect – meets funding requirement
Final balances:
£4,500 Hodge Bank One Year Fixed Rate Account
£2,500 Nationwide FlexDirect
£250 Tesco Bank Current Account – cancel DD so next month you don’t go overdrawn.
£2,750 Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver
Month 12
Day 1
Transfer £250 from Tesco Bank Current Account to Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver
Transfer £1,000 from Nationwide FlexDirect to Tesco Bank Current Account – meets funding requirement
Day 4
Transfer £1,000 from Tesco Bank Current Account to Nationwide FlexDirect – meets funding requirement
Final balances:
£4,500 Hodge Bank One Year Fixed Rate Account
£2,500 Nationwide FlexDirect
£0 Tesco Bank Current Account – make sure you’re not overdrawn.
£3,000 Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver
After the twelfth month the Nationwide Current Account bonus ends and the Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver matures. Transfer your cash out of these accounts and start the process again.
Over the year this will have generated £321.62, an effective return of 3.22%. £10,000 cash saved in a typical high street easy access saver would have generated just £1, based on an interest rate of 0.01%.
This mean a saver has made an additional £320.62 by using the model savings portfolio.
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What Overeating Can Teach Us About Overspending
In “The Hungry Brain,” obesity researcher Dr. Stephan Guyenet provides a fascinating look into the reasons why many first-world countries are battling an obesity epidemic.
His thesis boils down to the idea that modern humans face an evolutionary mismatch. Our genes were designed to help us store fat, because food used to be hard to come by in the wild. We couldn’t have survived, pre-agriculture, without intense biological drives to eat as much food as possible when it was available and to store as much fat as possible.
For better or for worse, we now find ourselves in an environment where you can buy a 5,000-calorie pizza for eight bucks. We have not had the time to evolve biological mechanisms for navigating a world in which calories are cheap and abundant. For this reason, many of us consistently overeat. Thus, there’s been an explosion of the the dreaded “diseases of civilization,” such as heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension.
As I read the book, I found myself thinking about the parallels between dieting and budgeting. Each one is essential for living a happy and healthy life as part of the developed world. Overeating causes health problems, and overspending causes financial problems. And even though most people have a good idea of what constitutes a healthy diet and a sustainable financial plan, millions of people still find themselves overweight or in debt, or both.
The parallels are striking. Here are some of the ways in which the modern world creates an environment conducive to making us both physically and financially unhealthy. I’ll also offer some ideas on how we can fight back.
Cheap Calories and Easy Credit
Our brains are wired to seek out the calories that require the least possible effort to acquire. In a world where you had to exert a lot of effort to hunt or forage for your food, this made sense. But when you can buy an entire birthday cake for about the same price as a salad, it makes a lot less sense.
Similarly, we have engineered a society where you can have access to a lot of money without having to actually earn it. It’s called credit.
While capitalism could not function without it, we all know what happens when lending practices spiral out of control. In the housing bubble that preceded the crash of 2007-2009, it wasn’t uncommon for lenders to issue “no-doc” mortgages, meaning you could conceivably take out a giant loan on a five-bedroom mansion without even having to document your income – or the fact that you were already overleveraged on another house.
Much like a delicious fast-food meal that only costs a few bucks, easy credit proved too good a deal to resist. We are prone to seeking out deals that look good in the short term without properly considering the long-term consequences.
The resulting real estate crash, and subsequent loss of wealth worldwide, was the financial equivalent of thinking we could eat McDonald’s every day and avoid health problems.
The decision to open a line of credit can be damaging without being so dramatic. Credit card debt and student loan debt are often taken on for noble reasons, but still can cause massive problems if we overextend ourselves. Similarly, we can eat too many calories without scarfing down massive pizzas everyday. Well-meaning consumers sometimes don’t realize how their morning coffee drink, or their afternoon soda, can saddle them with hundreds of extra, hard to get rid of, calories.
Advertising as Culprit
Our hankering for junk food is not entirely our fault. It’s engineered into society, via the incredibly powerful advertising industry. The Coca-Cola Company spent over $3 billion on advertising in 2013. Companies like McDonald’s and Nestle are not far behind. This level of spending has real, lasting effects on our eating habits.
We’re driven to eat via our exposure to food cues, and our brains appear to have a hard time distinguishing between viewing an advertisement and seeing food in front of us. Both have the same result: We get hungry for those foods, and we buy more of them. When the majority of ad dollars are spent marketing unhealthy food, the result will be an unhealthy population.
It’s not hard to see similarities with the way we eat and the way we spend our money.
The money deployed toward food marketing pales in comparison to the money spent on advertisements by the retail industry. In 2016, U.S. retailers spent $16 billion on digital advertising alone. When a population already owns more than enough stuff, it takes a Herculean advertising budget to get them to continue shopping. Sadly, it works. While $16 billion seems like a lot of money to spend, it doesn’t feel like very much when you learn that consumers responded by spending $395 billion online last year.
We’re buying more stuff than ever before, even though 78% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. We just can’t help ourselves from wanting to keep up with the Joneses. The ads make us want the next best thing, even if what we have is more than good enough. They tap into our emotions, and often try to make us feel left out if we don’t buy a certain product.
In a world that inundates us with advertisements, we understandably start to eat food that’s unhealthy – and buy things we don’t need.
Chasing a Dopamine Hit
Bad food literally makes us feel good. It can ease stress by stimulating the release of certain brain chemicals, such as serotonin and dopamine. In theory, this should be good. Our brain releases these chemicals to signal something like, “This is calorie dense, enjoy it and seek it out whenever you can!” Unfortunately, it doesn’t only send these signals when you’re eating a tasty but healthy salad or grilled salmon. It sends them when we’re eating delicious yet unhealthy foods, too.
In a way, our brains are being tricked. Food that would have been fantastic to stumble upon in the hungry wild can be very bad for us in the modern world. But, our brains have a hard time making that distinction. We are, in a way, being fooled by a Taco Bell food scientist who spent years getting that burrito to have the highest reward value possible.
Similarly, research has shown that we make impulse shopping purchases for many of the same reasons we eat bad food — buying things make us feel good in the moment by giving us a rush of dopamine.
This creates a feedback loop that encourages more impulsive shopping. Retail therapy is a cliché, but there is truth to it. If you’re feeling down, buying something can make you feel better in the moment.
But, as many of us know, there can be a shopping hangover as well. It’s interesting how the feelings of guilt, regret, and lethargy can be much the same whether we’ve just eaten three king-size Snickers bars or purchased a shiny tech gadget that we no don’t really need or even want.
Possible Solutions
While we face an uphill battle, with an obesity crisis and unmanageable levels of debt of all kinds, there are ways we can move in the right direction. At the end of “The Hungry Brain,” Dr. Guyenet offers up six steps that can help lead to a slimming lifestyle: Fix your food environment, eat satiating foods, eat simple foods, make sleep a priority, move your body, and manage your stress.
Since many of the same triggers that cause overeating also lead to overspending, those same steps will likely help us make better spending decisions.
One way to improve (or “fix”) your spending environment is by limiting your exposure to TV, which makes you less likely to see advertisements. This, not to mention the cost savings, is a good reason to consider cutting out cable.
The spending parallel to eating satiating and simple foods could be buying high-quality items instead of junk, with a “buy it for life” mentality. Owning well-built, long-lasting items will reduce your desire to constantly upgrade to the next best thing.
The other suggestions are all related to stress management. If we don’t get enough sleep, don’t exercise, and generally live high-strung lifestyles, we’re cultivating a stressful environment. Stress is known to make us spend more, and to spend impulsively. So, to the best of your ability in this busy world, try to make small changes toward a healthy lifestyle. Getting on an exercise regimen and maintaining good sleep habits may seem far removed from your spending, but I hope this piece has convinced you that they are intimately intertwined.
Finally, we must find a way to rein in our instincts to “gorge” on easy credit. Just as a restaurant will happily bring you entree after entree, lenders may still extend to you more credit than you need; don’t feel compelled to buy the biggest house you can possibly afford, or to test the limits of your credit cards. Strategies like cash budgeting or using a zero-sum budget can be effective ways to keep your credit card spending under control.
Summing Up
I am not a neuroscientist, but I do know what it’s like to be semi-addicted to buying cheese, which hurt both my health and my wallet. I know how hard it can be to change spending and eating habits. I hope that by seeing similarities in the framework that causes us to overeat and overspend, we can find solutions that help us simultaneously with both issues.
At the same time that we’re working to change our habits, we should be kind to ourselves and others who are struggling. It’s not always a lack of willpower that trips us up so much as the irresistible temptations that arise due to the way we have constructed society. No one is perfect. If we embrace the bumps along the way, we can slowly work toward getting ourselves into shape and bringing our financial houses in order.
Related Articles:
- The Single Most Important Thing You Can Master for Financial and Personal Success
- Program Your Autopilot: 10 Good Money Habits and How to Form Them
- The Most Efficient, Science-Based Way to Memorize Nearly Anything
- How Popular TV Shows Subtly Encourage Bad Spending Habits
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