Monroe County will not increase taxes for the 2018 calendar year, according to a budget that commissioners intend to approve on Dec. 15, with falling debt obligations and fund balance withdrawals helping keep taxes stable.The total budget is $103.6 million, including a general fund budget of $60.4 million.The millage rate will remain at 21.25 mills. Of that, 18.42 mills will be used for general purposes and 2.83 mills for debt service obligations.Non-union employees will [...]
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الجمعة، 24 نوفمبر 2017
Small Business Saturday returns to Poconos
STROUDSBURG — Co-owner Ron Siwiec of Fine Jewelry Designs on Main Street put it best."Black Friday is for the big box chain stores with corporate addresses out of state," said Siwiec. "Small Business Saturday is for the independently owned businesses whose owners live in the same communities where their businesses are."Started in Boston, Mass., in 2010 as an American Express corporation trademark, Small Business Saturday is held the Saturday after Thanksgiving, as a [...]
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Christmas tree buyers face shortage
There’s a shortage of Christmas trees this year.But it's not because of disease, the 2008 recession or lack of land.Young kids aren’t going into growing Christmas trees because it's work, Dale Kirk of A.J. Nursery in Saylorsburg said.Kirk has been in the business for 45 years.“It used to be people thought you threw a tree in the ground for a quarter and a few years later you sold it for $30 and you had a good deal,” Kirk said. [...]
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The Top Customer Engagement Strategies That Generate Sky High Revenue
In order to run a successful business, you’ll need to do more than just acquire customers.
One of the best ways to have a successful customer retention strategy is by creating customer engagement.
That goes for all companies across every industry.
Whether you have a brick and mortar location in a small town or have a global ecommerce distribution network, the customer is the lifeline of your business.
While it may not seem like an issue or concern right now, failing to keep your customers engaged could be detrimental to your business.
Fortunately, it appears as though you’ve recognized the importance of customer engagement and that’s what brought you here.
You’ve come to the right place.
I’ll show you my proven strategies to help you improve your customer engagement strategy.
Following these techniques will show the customer how much you care about them.
When customers don’t think you care, they’ll stop using your services and find another company to treat them better.
Part of successful engagement and retention involves going above and beyond to connect with your customers.
Big retail companies are even spending upward of $1 million on artificial intelligence technology to improve their customer engagement strategy.
It’s the top expected benefit from such a big investment.
I’m not expecting you to do this, but I wanted to show you how much stress big brands are putting towards improving their company.
My strategies are much more cost efficient and will yield a high return on your investment.
They don’t require too much time or effort either.
You can implement these tactics to your marketing plan right away too.
Here’s what you can do to get started.
Create interactive emails
How much time have you spent in the last few months making sure that your email marketing strategy is performing at a high level?
I see this mistake far too often when I’m consulting with various businesses.
They send the same boring weekly newsletters and promotions.
While your customers definitely want to hear from you, the constant repetition won’t keep them engaged.
That’s a problem.
You can spice up your email campaigns by incorporating interactive emails to your messages.
One way you can accomplish this is by getting your email to mimic the look and design of your website.
Include different menus that give the subscriber a reason to actively click to find out more information.
Accordion menus work well too.
It allows you to pack more information into a small space.
When a customer sees something that they like, they can click to expand the accordion.
This also improves the chances that your subscribers will see more of your content because it eliminates the need for scrolling.
Adding GIFs and videos to your messages can help increase engagement as well.
It’s much more exciting than just reading a plain email.
If you have a retail or ecommerce business, you should include live shopping carts in your messages too.
This is a great strategy to improve your shopping cart abandonment rates.
When a customer doesn’t finish the checkout process, send a follow-up email with the shopping cart embedded in the message.
That way the consumer can complete the transaction without having to go back to your website.
It’s quick and efficient for everyone, which will help generate more revenue for your company.
Use Facebook Live on a regular basis
Facebook Live is one of my favorite trends of the year.
It’s the perfect resource for businesses to engage with their customers.
More than half of marketing experts agree that video content yields the highest return on investment.
Why?
First of all, it’s so easy.
Second, if you’re using Facebook Live to promote video content, it won’t cost you anything except for your time.
Treat your live stream as if it were a television show.
Don’t just come on randomly whenever you feel like it.
Set a scheduled time once or twice each week to go live.
This will help you build a loyal audience, which will impact your conversions and revenue.
One of the best parts of going live on Facebook is the ability to interact with the viewers in real time.
As you broadcast, users have the option to comment on your stream.
These comments could be directed towards you or even other people who are watching the stream.
Make sure that you respond those comments.
Acknowledge those users.
“That’s a good point, John Smith. I’ll keep that in mind.”
It’s simple.
That recognition will help make the viewers feel special.
It encourages them to keep watching each week and it inspires others to comment as well, knowing that they could also get mentioned.
Facebook live videos are native, which means they are embedded on a page or feed as opposed to an external link.
Native formats increase the share rate of your content compared to other channels.
Don’t do a quick stream.
Longer live videos increase your chances of getting a larger audience.
Facebook allows you to go live for up to four consecutive hours.
You don’t have to stream for the full four hours, but I’d recommend doing at least two or three hours.
Not sure what to talk about during this time?
Don’t worry about it.
Just be yourself.
Obviously, you want to keep things professional, but this stream will give your customers a chance to see the human side of you.
Recognizing that there’s a real person behind the brand name will help them establish a closer connection with you.
This can ultimately increase customer loyalty.
Here’s something else you’ll want to keep in mind.
85% of videos on Facebook get viewed with the sound turned off.
So use lots of visuals in your stream.
You can also add captions to your video so the viewers can read what you’re saying.
Take a look at some of the top Facebook video statistics from 2016.
All of these numbers reiterate what I’ve been saying.
So add this strategy to your marketing campaign to improve the relationship between you and your customers.
Run a contest or sweepstakes
Promotions are a great way to get the attention of your customer base.
Everyone wants something for free, so give the people what they want.
First, you’ve got to understand the difference between a contest and a sweepstakes.
A contest means that the customers need to put forth some sort of effort to win.
There’s a judgment involved in selecting the winner based on skill.
A sweepstakes means that the winner is completely random.
Personally, I recommend running a contest as opposed to a sweepstakes because it gets the customer more involved and genuinely interested in your brand.
If they enter a sweepstakes, all they do is enter and forget about it.
I would recommend running your contest through social media platforms.
When analyzing the top benefits of social media marketing, we can see that the list applies directly to our discussion about customer engagement.
Developing loyal fans will help increase your revenue.
Running your contests on social media will also increase exposure for your brand.
One suggestion could be a photo contest on Instagram.
I like this technique because it’s so easy.
Plus, it encourages user-generated content.
Tell your customers to post a photo that relates to your business.
The user who has the most likes on their picture will win the contest.
Now your brand is all over social media exposed to people who may not have known about you before.
So in addition to improving engagement with your existing customers, you have the opportunity to acquire new customers at no cost.
It’s two birds with one stone.
Here’s an example of a contest that Infiniti ran on social media.
Using a hashtag to enter the contest can also help increase the chances of your promotion going viral.
Contestants know that their photo will be compared to other customers, so they’ll have a chance to check out all of the other entries as well.
Here are some tips to keep in mind when you’re running a contest.
- Make sure the rules are clearly posted
- Set a deadline
- The prize needs to be relevant to your brand
- Allow mobile users to participate
- Your hashtag should be creative and unique
- Make sure the contest is shareable on social platforms
- Announce when you’ve selected a winner
Since contests are so easy and inexpensive to run, I recommend doing this frequently.
Just because the contest is over, it doesn’t mean you can’t start another one up right away.
In fact, running these promotions often will give your customers a reason to keep entering and keep them actively engaged with your brand.
Post on your Instagram story
Take advantage of everything that Instagram has to offer.
Don’t just post to your profile.
Add photos and videos to your story as well.
Similar to Snapchat, anything on your Instagram story lasts for 24 hours.
So be active and add to it every day.
These are my top suggestions for what you should put on your story.
- Promotional information and discounts
- Social proof
- Content from your website
- Behind the scenes clips of your company workspace
- New product launches
- Introduce your staff
All of these will keep your followers engaged with your profile.
If you want to run an enhanced version of Instagram story, you can go live on this platform as well.
We already discussed the importance of this strategy when we talked about Facebook Live.
I recommend using Instagram live story for something different than your Facebook strategy.
With Facebook, you should host a weekly stream.
But with Instagram, you should go live when you’re at an event or doing something cool.
This will create an authentic interaction with your viewers.
As a result, they will stay engaged with your profile and brand.
Write a double opt-in landing page
Here’s a strategy that’s often overlooked.
To increase customer engagement, you need to acquire customers who want to be engaged in the first place.
Here’s what I mean.
If your customers can create a profile or join your subscription list with just one click, you may get some people who aren’t genuinely interested.
Making customers take an extra step to join a list will increase engagement.
The best way to do this is with a double opt-in landing.
So when a customer subscribes to your email list from your website, make them confirm their subscription with a welcome email.
It will help you filter out people who don’t want to be engaged.
Double opt-in emails will also improve your open rates.
While you may end up with fewer subscribers if you implement this strategy, you’ll get more active subscribers.
This will make it much easier for you to apply the other engagement tactics that we discussed.
Conclusion
Improving your customer engagement strategy will positively impact your revenue.
Not sure where to start?
Follow the tips that we outlined.
Start by developing interactive emails.
It’s easy. Just continue to email your current subscriber list but include videos, GIFs, live shopping carts, and menus to increase engagement with each campaign.
Schedule a time each week to go live on Facebook.
Interact with the viewers who comment on the stream.
This is a perfect opportunity for you to connect with your customers in real time.
Run a contest or sweepstakes that encourages UGC.
Contests will give the customers a reason to interact and engage with your brand.
Take advantage of the Instagram story feature as well.
Another way to make it easier to engage with your customers is by filtering the most viable candidates to your subscription list.
Create a double opt-in landing to ensure that your customers are interested and actually want you to keep engaging with them.
What type of content will you include on your Instagram story to increase engagement with your current customer base?
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Balancing Frugality and Caring Dog Ownership
A couple of years ago, our family made the collective decision to get a family dog. I wasn’t particularly sold on the idea, but my wife and all of our children clamored to have a dog at home, so I agreed.
During the process of finding a dog and the subsequent process of owning and caring for one, I learned quite a few things about both responsible dog ownership and frugal dog ownership and how to make the two overlap. The thing is, much like a child, you can sink a ton of money into a pet, but the truth is that most of that money isn’t all that necessary.
Here are nine key lessons I learned about balancing caring dog ownership and frugality.
Do some serious homework first. This is the first step and, in my opinion, it’s the most important step. Know what your needs are and why you’re getting a dog. Identify breeds that match your needs.
We decided early on that we wanted a low-allergen dog that didn’t shed and was friendly around older children (we weren’t concerned about issues with younger children). We also preferred a smaller dog for space-related reasons and to keep food costs relatively low.
This led us to identifying a number of breeds and mixes that would be ideal for our family and we used that as the basis before we even started looking for a dog. We knew what we wanted and we did homework to identify breeds that matched what we wanted.
Get a rescue dog. One big factor in our search was that we preferred to get a rescue dog from a situation that wouldn’t cause violent behavior. For example, many rescue dogs aren’t necessarily directly abused (which can cause violent behavior) but are simply neglected, which can sometimes simply mean that they may have minor attachment issues. Rescue dogs are also typically pretty inexpensive, which means that a rescue dog is not only a caring choice but a frugal one.
After a few months of contacting animal rescue services in our area and explaining what we were looking for, we were matched with a wonderful little Yorkie Maltese mix that checked all of our boxes. He’s small (so he doesn’t eat much), he was rescued from a situation where he was almost permanently kenneled but not abused, and he’s friendly and energetic with older children and adults who know how to interact well with him.
Choose a non-destructive dog and preferably one that’s already potty trained. One important option to consider is to choose a dog that’s relatively calm and doesn’t have destructive tendencies. A dog that routinely destroys shoes and furniture will be an expensive pet to keep around, so look into this before adding a dog to your family.
According to this survey, chihuahuas, dachshunds, boxers, dalmatians, and bulldogs are the most destructive breeds, whereas Staffordshire bull terriers, West Highland terriers, Yorkshire terriers, spaniels, and whippets are among the least destructive. We chose a Yorkie mix and it turns out that this is very true – he has damaged very little of our property over the past two years.
When you’re considering getting a dog, ask about the dog’s tendencies towards things like chewing up shoes and damaging furniture, as well as the status of their potty training. Having a dog that leaves shoes alone and is already trained will save you a ton of money and headaches.
Learn how to groom the dog yourself. Many people choose to simply take their dog to a pet groomer to have basic grooming services done, but most such tasks can be done at home in an environment that’s not only as low-stress as possible for your dog, but is also an environment that saves a lot of money for you. Note, of course, that dogs typically don’t enjoy grooming, but it keeps them healthy and smelling good.
You’ll want to look up the specifics of dog grooming for your breed, but some common dog grooming tasks include trimming claws, brushing teeth (particularly the fangs), cleaning ears, trimming hair, and bathing. None of these tasks are too difficult and they don’t require many tools, either. They just require some time with your dog.
Visit the vet annually and keep up with vaccinations and preventative medications. Think of this as being like getting an oil change for your car. If you skip the regular oil change for your car, things will be fine for a while, but your car will break down eventually and it will cost you far more money and angst than if you had just kept up with the maintenance schedule.
Get into the routine of scheduling an annual vet visit (ours is in October, close to our dog’s birthday). Get on board with the annual vaccinations for your dog and also follow your vet’s recommendation when it comes to preventative medicines. The cost of doing this is far less than the cost of caring for your pet should that pet be stricken with many common pet illnesses like kennel cough or heart worm.
Talk to your vet about dog food, but shop around. I’m not going to make specific recommendations about feeding your dog because the best choice varies greatly from breed to breed and even from individual dog to individual dog (depending on tooth health, food tolerances, and so on).
What I will say is that you should follow your vet’s suggestions regarding feeding and then take those suggestions and shop around carefully for dog food that matches what your vet suggests as closely as possible.
Remember: there are a lot of salespeople in the dog food industry who will use emotional tugs to try to get you to buy incredibly expensive foods. The more you learn and know from actual trusted sources (and not salespeople and anonymous folks on the internet), the better off you are.
Exchange pet sitting and pet walking. Pet sitting and pet walking can be a pretty significant cost for a pet owner, so if you can find neighbors or friends who are also pet owners who will share and divide those tasks with you, take advantage of it.
Talk to pet-owning friends about sharing pet care when you’re each on short (or even long) trips. This will keep the pet in the house of a trusted friend and save a great deal of money along the way.
The same is true for tasks like pet walking. If your friend works somewhat different hours than you, perhaps your friend can walk your dog once a day and you can walk your friend’s dog once a day, saving you both from hiring a pet walker or some other such service.
Make sure your dog gets lots of exercise. One of the best ways to ensure sustained health in your dog is to make sure he or she is getting plenty of exercise. Don’t leave your dog in a kennel constantly. Take your dog on plenty of walks and find places where he or she can run and get adequate exercise as often as possible.
This can be difficult in some situations, I know, but there are few things better for the long term health and happiness of your dog than opportunities to run free and get some real exercise. A dog kept inside all day might be a loyal companion, but for that dog’s best physical and mental health, some outdoor exercise is essential – and free.
Time is the most valuable ingredient. The most valuable thing you can give to your dog isn’t some amazing gourmet food or a spacious kennel or expensive dog grooming. It’s time. Time spent with your dog just cuddling or playing or petting or simply sitting together is incredibly beneficial for both of you, emotionally, physically, mentally, and otherwise. Do it often!
Not only that, such play will help you identify any issues with the health of your dog when such issues are minor and still treatable at a very low cost. If you play with your dog and spend a lot of time around him or her, you’ll naturally notice these little changes.
Even though I was very apprehensive about getting a dog, I’ve found Dexter to be a great little companion. He spends a lot of days when I’m working at home curled up at my feet. He’s always excited to go on a walk with me. He’s also great at alerting me when the kids are almost home, as he spies them getting off the bus and begins to emit this wonderful little yelp of joy because the true highlight of his day is romping with them when they first get home. I’m glad he joined our family, and thanks to these strategies, the financial impact has been much lower than expected.
The post Balancing Frugality and Caring Dog Ownership appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
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People With Poor Credit Make These Financial Mistakes Way More Often
Do you ever feel like no matter what you do, you’re doomed to have poor credit forever? Think an excellent credit score is a far-fetched fantasy?
You might have a vague understanding that your credit score stays low because you have trouble paying medical bills, can’t repay your student loans or ran up credit card debt when you were young.
But do you have a strong grasp on what’s really affecting your score?
Most of the people I know have no idea.
The good news is a solid look at your credit history can clear up your questions and make improving your score actually seem possible. We’ve pulled together a few common issues you’ll want to look for.
Credit Sesame, a service that shows you your free credit report card and tips to improve your score, analyzed its users to find common missteps among those with poor credit scores.
It found users with scores below 500 make these three missteps far more often than those with an excellent credit score.
1. Using Too Much of Your Available Credit
“When your credit-card balances are close to or at their limits, that sends the wrong signal to lenders about how responsible you are when it comes to using credit,” writes Rebecca Lake at Credit Sesame.
Your credit-utilization ratio has a huge impact on your credit score.
(Reminder: That’s the amount of credit you use versus how much you have available. If your credit card limit is $500 and your balance is $250, that’s a 50% utilization.)
While Credit Sesame found its users’ credit-card balances were similar — landing just over $2,000 — their utilization ratios were way different. Those with credit scores below 500 were using 73% of their available credit on average, while those with scores of 750 or higher were only using 9% on average.
Don’t Rely on Your Credit Card for Basic Spending
To reduce your credit utilization and improve your credit score, don’t use your credit card to expand your monthly budget.
Use it like a debit card: Don’t spend money you don’t have.
You can still keep using your cards. That’s a smart way to earn cash-back rewards and build strong credit. To keep your balance from creeping up, make sure you pay off your full balance at the end of every month, too.
If you’re leaning on your credit card for necessities like groceries or gas, try tightening your budget. Find the small places you can cut costs, and the little ways to boost your income without spending a ton of extra time.
2. Paying Your Bills Late
The most important item weighing into your credit score is your payment history. It accounts for 35% of the grade.
While folks with low scores aren’t overwhelmingly paying bills late, they’re still much more likely to have delinquent — read: “late” — accounts than those with high scores — 11% versus just 0.18%, respectively.
Any late payments could end up on your credit report, from student-loan payments to credit card debt to utility bills.
Pay Your Bills on Time — and Reduce Them When You Can
“Given how important payment history is to your score, the remedy for people with poor credit is obvious,” Lake writes. “Get into the habit of paying your bills on time, every month.”
If you’re struggling to pay the bills, figure out how to make them smaller. You could save thousands just by calling utility companies and asking for discounts.
Or, let Trim do it for you. This app works through Facebook messenger and your text messages to help you manage your finances — like a free personal assistant.
Trim lets you see where you’re spending (and wasting) your money, helps negotiate bills with companies like Comcast, Time Warner, Charter and others you never want to talk to; and it can easily cancel recurring charges you’ve forgotten about — like magazine subscriptions and gym memberships.
3. Having Accounts in Collections
More than half — 59% — of Credit Sesame members with poor credit scores have accounts with “derogatory” status. That includes stuff like collections, bankruptcy, tax liens and more.
Those with the good scores? Less than 1% have derogatory marks.
Even if you’ve cleaned up your act and have your spending and debt under control, derogatory marks can drag down your credit score for a long time.
“Like late payments, derogatory marks can remain on your credit report for seven years,” Lake explains.
You might just have to wait it out and let these marks fall off your report in time. But it’s worth trying to clean them up sooner.
Fix Mistakes on Your Credit Report
If a poor credit history is holding you back, start by carefully examining your credit report.
You can get your free credit report once every 12 months from each of the major reporting agencies: TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. To keep a closer eye on it, sign up with Credit Sesame, which updates every month with your TransUnion credit report and credit score.
There you can see exactly what’s affecting your score in plain English.
Start by looking for errors. If you find a mistake on your report, follow these steps to report it and have it removed.
If the black marks on your credit report are accurate, Lake says, “you could appeal to the creditor directly to ask them to remove it from your credit report.”
She says it doesn’t always work, but why not give it a shot? That excellent credit score might not be so out of reach.
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, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
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This is How to Simplify Your Life and Manage Your Money Like a Minimalist
Simplify, simplify, simplify.
Our lives are so complicated. Our world is so busy, so noisy, so distracting.
To counter that overwhelming feeling, there’s a movement afoot in America to embrace the idea of minimalism.
It means living with less. Buy less. Own less. You don’t need all this stuff to be happy. Without all that meaningless stuff dragging you down, you can focus on what really matters to you.
The Penny Hoarder recently ran an intriguing interview with Joshua Fields Milburn, one half of a two-man team who call themselves The Minimalists.
Stressed, miserable and overworked, Milburn quit his lucrative job and got rid of 90% of his possessions. Now he preaches the benefits of living a simple, meaningful life with less.
Now, we’re not suggesting you throw out 90% of your stuff. That’s not for everyone.
But along those lines, here’s an assortment of apps and tools that can help you simplify and streamline your life — and save you some money to boot.
Declutter Your Home
If you’re an American (or Canadian), let’s face it, you probably have stuff in your house or apartment you don’t need anymore. Get rid of your clutter —and make some extra cash — with these free apps:
Decluttr: Clear out your old DVDs, Blu-rays, CDs, video games, old phones and other electronics. Scan the barcodes with your phone, and Decluttr will make you an offer. It’ll send you a shipping label, so you can ship everything for free. One user, Gil Flores, sold about 100 DVDs and 75 CDs and made $275, an average of $1.57 each.
Letgo: You can sell nearly anything through this app. Just snap a photo of your item and set up a listing in about 30 seconds.
Drive Less, Save on Insurance
When your car-insurance bill comes due each month, do you find yourself asking, “Why am I paying this much when I mostly just drive to work and the grocery store like the boring human being I am?”
It doesn’t have to be that way with a pay-per-mile insurance company like MetroMile. Philadelphia resident Susan Gibbons switched to the provider and lowered her payment to $35 per month after spending 30 years with State Farm.
Right now, MetroMile is only available in California, Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington. If you live in these states, get a free quote. If you don’t, join the waitlist.
Use a Simple Cash-Back Credit Card
Credit cards and cash-back rewards programs can be so freaking complicated. Pay this annual fee. Remember to scan your receipts. If you rack up enough airline miles, you can get 5% cash back at Shell gas stations on Wednesdays in July.
No. Forget that noise. Simplify, simplify, simplify.
With a simple cash-back rewards card, you get paid for every dollar you spend. We recommend checking out the Barclaycard CashForward™ World MasterCard®, which gives you 1.5% cash back on every purchase. You also get a $200 sign-up bonus if you spend $1,000 in the first 90 days. There’s no annual fee, either.
Streamline Your Student Loans
Student-loan debt can be insanely complicated. It entangles you with your alma mater, the government, some private company you’re barely aware of, banks and sometimes debt collectors.
To simplify things, consider student-loan refinancing. Through a marketplace like Credible, you can refinance federal and private student loans.
Credible connects you with a lender to replace your multiple loans with a single loan, potentially with a lower interest rate and/or lower monthly payment. Just enter your info to see what your new interest rate could be.
Figure Out Where All Your Money Is Going
Nothing is more complicated than us humans and our weird spending habits.
To keep tabs on what you’re spending, use Trim, a Facebook messenger or text bot that helps you hold yourself accountable. It’s like a personal-financial assistant that lives in your phone.
The best part: Trim helps you negotiate bills with cable companies like Comcast, Time Warner or Charter. It’ll keep at it until it succeeds at saving you money. (It keeps 25% of whatever it saves you.)
Use Less Power, Spend Less Money
If you’re anything like me, you could probably be using less electricity. We all could. Have you already taken the basic steps to cut your power bill?
Contact your power company. Many offer programs that’ll lower your energy usage — and reduce your bill.
Or, if you’re a California resident, look into an online service called OhmConnect. This free app will pay you up to $300 for turning out the lights and shutting off your appliances for an hour at a time.
It pays you to help save when the energy grid gets overburdened. Once you connect your utility account, you’ll get notified about these earning periods called “OhmHours.” During this time, your job is to simply use less power.
Again, minimalism is about living with less — even though our culture has conditioned us to want more, more, MORE.
Joshua Fields Milburn, one of the duo called The Minimalists, says it best:
“How might my life be better with less?” he encourages you to ask yourself. “Maybe I’ll be able to regain control of my finances. Maybe I’ll focus more on my health. Maybe my relationships will improve. Maybe I’ll reclaim my time and my creativity and work on that passion project.”
“Or maybe I’ll just have a cleaner house.”
Mike Brassfield (mike@thepennyhoarder.com) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. He has too much stuff.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
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Women: What to do if you are struggling to make ends meet in retirement
It is females who lag the most when it comes to any sort of private pension saving, according to research by Fidelity International among people who have accessed their pots since April 2015.
We found a significant group - mostly women - whose savings are barely covering their essential expenses are struggling to know what to do.
Of the pension products women hold, they are far behind men in terms of employer pension coverage (except for defined benefit pension schemes) and for self-invested personal pensions (Sipps). They are also more than twice as likely not to be able to even say what type of pension they have. See the table below.
Which if any of the following pension schemes do you hold?
| Men | Women | |
|---|---|---|
| I have a self-invested personal pension (Sipp) | 47% | 21% |
| I have a guaranteed defined benefit (final salary) scheme | 52% | 54% |
| I have a defined contribution pension scheme | 40% | 27% |
| I have a pension but I don't know which type | 7% | 16% |
Source: Fidelity International 2017.
Among the women who do have some sort of pension product, for a significant group it’s not enough to cover even their basic expenses - 39% of women vs 23% of men.
In addition, figures from independent research organisation the Pensions Policy Institute show that, on average, women will get £30 less per week in retirement income than men, even if they have worked full-time with no career break.
So, what can women (and men) do to plug the gap? Watch the video below for tips from Moneywise editor Moira O'Neill and Fidelity International associate director Maike Currie.
For those approaching/at retirement:
- Plan as best you can - Our research shows that 11% of men and 18% of women have not done any form of retirement planning. Even more worryingly, 17% of people aged 65+ have no plan and crunch time will be soon approaching.
- Find out what you already have and what it is worth - Boring though it is, you need to know what pensions and savings you do have to spot the gaps. Use the next wet weekend to go through your old paperwork and get up-to-date statements for those which are out of date. And if you can’t quite remember these details then visit the Money Advice Service website, which includes template letters for what you will need to get together to trace any lost monies.
- Find out how much state pension you can get - It is a valuable source of guaranteed income and for someone with a full entitlement, it is worth £159.55 a week for 2017/18; a significant sum for anyone. However, many people in their 50s or 60s who have workplace pensions may have been “contracted out” during their working life, which means their state pension income could be lower. What is essential is that people find out EXACTLY what they will get. People should check here on the Gov.uk website.
- Investigate any additional benefit entitlements - If your income is low enough then do see if there are any additional benefits you can claim to top up your income. Again, visit Gov.uk and check if you can apply for extra money such as a winter fuel payment, income support and carer’s allowance.
And for those who are younger and saving?
For both genders:
- Stay auto-enrolled into your workplace pension – If you have a workplace pension, this should be your first port of call for retirement planning. Workplace employer contributions mean that it will almost always beat other products, such as the Lifetime Isa.
For women:
- Please claim child benefit, or at least, file the paperwork - Women are more likely to have career breaks so please claim your child benefit as it gives you national insurance credits towards your state pension. And if one parent earns more than £60,000 and you are worried about incurring a tax charge, you can still submit the form and not claim (and you still get credited). Useful links on this include Gov.uk’s Child Benefit Tax Calculator which gives information on whether you will be hit by a tax charge. Its website also includes the claims form.
- Every woman should have her own savings pot – Keep this separate from your partner’s or family’s savings. The Isa allowance can be passed between married couples and civil partners on death and this means you can inherit your spouse’s Isa when they pass away and continue to benefit from the tax-free income and capital growth of the Isa pot. Make sure you stipulate clearly in each of your wills whether you intend on leaving your Isa to your other half. This will be a sensible approach from a tax planning point of view too.
- If you don’t have access to an employer pension, consider a Sipp - Women are more likely to be part-time workers and fall outside the remit of auto-enrolment. So, if you earn less than £10,000 with one employer, consider opening a Sipp. However, if you are employed and earn more than £5,825, you can ask your employer to enrol you into their workplace pension and you should be entitled to receive employer contributions from them too.
Maike Currie is an investment director at Fidelity International.
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