MARSHALLS CREEK — One of Monroe County’s most notorious traffic snares could get a major makeover if plans for a massive, mixed-use development project move forward. Smithfield Township supervisors are expected to vote July 10 on a proposed tax increment financing district for the Smithfield Gateway project.Here’s what the developer and one of the area’s state lawmakers have to say about it.Jim DePetris – CEO, Legend [...]
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السبت، 30 يونيو 2018
Balancing Humility and the Credit You Deserve
I was lucky in that, late in my collegiate life and early in my professional life, I had a few mentors that gave me some amazing career advice that helped me to find a great job during the 2002 recession, springboard that to an even better job, and set myself up for a lifelong career path in that field (I chose to change career paths for other reasons unrelated to their great mentorship).
Two of their main pieces of advice were to be humble and give credit to others as much as possible while, at the same time, make sure people know what you’re working on.
At first glance, those two things might seem in opposition to each other, but they’re really not. You can manage to be humble and give lots of credit while, at the same time, ensuring that the people who need to know have knowledge of the things you’re doing and producing in the workplace.
This balance is an important one. Being humble and giving abundant credit to others is a vital part of being a team player in a collaborative workplace (which is the nature of most workplaces). On the other hand, if you work in an environment with lots of people, your actual contributions can easily get lost in the shuffle. People in management and your influential peers might literally have no idea what you’re working on, and that can end up in a situation where you’re sorely undervalued at work.
You have to balance the need for your work to be known with humility and sharing credit, and it’s not always an easy balance. I was lucky enough to have mentors to guide me along the way.
Here are some of the tips and tools and tactics they gave to me that helped to balance humility, sharing credit, and getting my name out there.
Communicate, communicate, communicate.
This was the first and most important rule that they shared with me. You should be communicating with your immediate peers and your boss on a daily basis at the very least, and with more distant peers and other people in the management chain at least once a week. They need to know your name, and they need to be associating that name with things that are happening in the workplace that you’re involved with. (We’ll get back to how to communicate in a bit.)
If you sit silently in the corner and don’t participate in meetings, in email, in Slack, in watercooler talk, and so on, no one will know who you are or anything about you. You’ll become invisible, and the invisible person is easy to replace.
This does not mean being the center of attention. It simply means ensuring that you’re a small but active part of the conversation.
How do you do that?
Ask lots of questions.
Asking questions is one of your best tools in the workplace. Asking questions demonstrates your curiosity and desire to learn more. Asking questions demonstrates your interest and respect toward others, which raises their esteem toward you. Asking questions often demonstrates active progress on your tasks, too.
However, a key part of asking questions is listening to the answers. Pay attention to what you’re told in response to those questions. This is easily done by asking questions to which you care about the response.
(Remember, this is a type of communication, and you can overdo it. Try not to be the most talkative person in the room.)
Here are some ways to really use questions to your advantage.
Ask questions about professional topics from your experienced peers. This not only makes them feel good (because you are nodding to them as an expert on the topic) but it also demonstrates your active efforts to learn at work, which is also good. The person asking questions about professional topics is going to build a good reputation.
Ask questions of your boss about what their concerns are and how everything fits into the mission of your department and business. Your boss will greatly respect your concern for the department’s overall purpose and your desire to gather information. This works really well when you voice it in terms of making sure your work hits the criteria that your boss’s boss will be looking for.
Ask mild and nonintrusive questions about your coworkers and peers. Ask them how they’re doing. Ask them how their family is doing. Ask about their hobbies and interests outside of work. Most importantly, remember those things and follow up with them. Remember your family-oriented coworker’s children’s names and what they’re into. Remember the main hobby of many of your coworkers and ask about their latest adventures in their hobby (leading to questions like “What have you been reading lately, Cindy?” or “Hey, I saw you reading XXX book at lunch and it looks interesting. Is it good?”).
Again, the key here is to listen with genuine interest. If you really don’t care about the answer, don’t ask. If it’s just an excuse for you to talk about yourself, don’t ask. However, it’s worthwhile to try to seek out common areas of interest with your coworkers and your boss and use them as fuel for asking questions.
Be present for every team moment, such as team photos and team events and workshops.
Yes, some meetings are really dull and boring. Yes, “team building activities” and group photos and the like can be awful sometimes. That doesn’t mean there isn’t value in being there.
One of my mentors once told me that even awful meetings are valuable for building teams, and he was completely correct on that. Some of the best bonding I’ve ever done is talking over a bad meeting (or a useless meeting) with coworkers afterwards.
Beyond that, there’s also the advantage of the fact that if you’re present at key team moments, the other people there at least have some chance of remembering your presence and that builds your reputation. If you’re not there, you’re guaranteeing a zero chance of being remembered.
Don’t miss team photos. Don’t miss key presentations. Don’t miss team events. Don’t miss workshops. Don’t miss any “team building exercises.” Yeah, they might not seem useful, but they’re valuable in building a team and establishing those involved as team players, which is something that’s very worthwhile.
Volunteer to present work you’re involved with, then give tons of credit at the end of the presentation.
Presentations and talks are scary, even if it’s in front of just a few friendly people. You feel like all of the focus is on you – and it is.
Here’s the thing, though: almost everyone in the crowd empathizes with that feeling. The vast majority of the people in the crowd have felt nervous at the prospect of presenting and feel stage fright to some degree when they have to present. Virtually always, they’re sympathetic with you and they’re on your side.
Having said that, the benefits of presenting are huge. Simply by presenting, you are establishing strong credit for yourself in relationship to your work. You are the one standing there talking about what happened. You are the person who will face the tough questions. You are the person who will be remembered in association with the work. Credit is a given when you’re presenting work.
That’s why it’s also a great opportunity to be humble and share credit. Every presentation that’s positive in any way should include lots of credit to everyone who helped make that work possible, and you’re better off being thorough. Include a team picture at the end of your presentation and name people off and what they did (in a few words, so that it’s quick). Make it abundantly clear that what you presented wouldn’t have been complete without their efforts. Don’t be afraid to particularly highlight a few people who gave a lot or someone who really raised their game for this project.
There’s almost nothing to lose by volunteering to give a presentation on group work and then doling out tons of credit at the end. You come off good and get lots of credit by virtue of presenting, people get the credit they yearn for, and everyone goes home happy.
The same thing is true with written reports. Volunteer to write a draft of that report under the assumption that others will help you edit it. This guarantees that you’ll be a big part of the team communication about that report and it guarantees your name will be on the final product. That’s a big win for you.
Give lots of status updates to your boss, and copy others who are relevant in on the updates.
When I started my first professional job, my boss (who was also one of my mentors) told me in no uncertain terms that I should send along a weekly update on what I was working on that week. “Just tell me what you did each day and how your big projects are coming along,” he told me. “I might not read every word, but I’ll get the big picture and it will help with performance reviews.”
So I did just that. It turned out that when I actually met with him, he was very clear on what I had been working on and how my projects were going, and they did help immensely with my performance reviews.
When I switched jobs a couple of years later, I kept up the practice with my new boss. I just sent a weekly update summarizing what I was working on and how it was relevant to my various projects. Again, when I would talk to my boss, she seemed to be up to date on what I was working on at all times and when it was time for a performance review, it was always positive.
This is a practice I will pretty much always continue in any workplace that I’m involved with moving forward. (With my current role, for example, my actual work output makes it very clear what I’m working on, so there’s little need to do this directly, but at most other jobs that’s not quite true.)
It’s not bragging. It’s just a status update, so that your boss is always in the loop regarding what you’re working on and how it’s moving forward. This usually helps your boss make relevant decisions, but even if your boss considers it too much information, it can always be filed away.
Another worthwhile factor about such updates is that they push you to keep doing relevant work. I didn’t like to ever send emails that didn’t include some kind of significant progress that I could report on. I wanted to say that I had either made a lot of progress on something or completed something of note each and every week, and that nudged me to be more productive at work.
Find a workplace mentor and do everything you can to build a strong relationship with that mentor.
A mentor in your workplace can help you navigate some of the particular issues relevant to your workplace and also provide an advocate for you in conversations where you’re not present. You need to find one in your workplace if you don’t have one.
I’ve written about finding a life mentor before and most of that advice applies here. Seek out someone who is highly regarded in your workplace and has been there for a while, ideally someone in a position that you would like to eventually achieve but you probably won’t get there for a long while. You might not be able to find this person immediately, but give it some time and keep your eye out.
When you find a potential mentor, ask that person out to lunch and simply say that you’re trying to find your way in your career and that they’ve achieved many of the things you hope to eventually achieve and you’d like to learn from them. Ask for advice and ask all of the follow-up questions you can think. Listen, and do what they suggest. Show appreciation all along the way. Keep in regular contact with your mentor and keep asking questions and listening to advice.
What will likely happen is that your mentor will toss some things your way to see what you’re capable of or to give you opportunities. These might not seem obvious, but tackle them with relish. If your mentor asks for help, give it in abundance.
What you’ll find is that if you keep the relationship positive and give as much as you can, your mentor will end up being a valuable advocate for you when you’re not around. Your name will be in conversations where it’s treated with respect and value and that can do nothing but help you in the workplace. You’ll be getting credit without having to talk yourself up at all and that’s invaluable.
A mentor-mentee relationship is one where both people get a lot of value. You give that value by listening, asking questions, following advice, and handling things that your mentor asks of you. They repay that value by giving great advice, opening a few doors for you, and subtly being your advocate. You both win.
Attend meetings, pay attention, take notes, and speak up by asking questions and bringing up relevant points.
Meetings are boring for many people. They can feel like a hassle that gets in the way of your actual work.
That perspective is a trap.
Instead, look at meetings as an opportunity to make sure that you’re a known quantity. Be present at meetings. Take notes on what’s actually happening and pay attention. When there’s an opportunity to ask a question or give feedback, do so. If you think of something to ask or a good point to bring up while someone else is talking, write it down and then use it later.
Your goal in any meeting that you’re required to be at should be to speak up at least once with a relevant question or a useful point. You should aim should be to be involved enough with what’s going on that you can actually ask a good question or bring up a good point, and that requires focus and attention. For me, taking notes is the best way to do that.
Not only that, almost every meeting you’re at will include a few nuggets of information that are valuable to you, ones that you’d probably miss if your focus were elsewhere.
Come up with solutions to problems, spell out your solution in detail, offer to solve the problem, and share your proposal with your boss and others to whom it is relevant.
If you notice a problem in the workplace, figure out a potential solution to it on your own that has minimal cost in terms of time and money, then write up that solution and share it with your boss. Offer to implement that solution yourself if it’s within your skill level.
Going with a “solution first” attitude for handling problems moves you from seeming like a person who complains to a person who notices issues and wants to fix them. You get attention as a problem solver rather than as a complainer, even if your offered solution isn’t a perfect one.
This, of course, centers around genuine workplace problems. Don’t just seek out problems to solve for the sake of solving them. Wait until genuine issues surface, then come in with a solution-first suggestion regarding that problem.
Avoid saying anything critical of other coworkers unless specifically asked to by a supervisor.
Being negative about coworkers and bosses almost always ends up having a negative impact on you, whether you directly see it or not. Undoubtedly, it can feel good to criticize a problematic coworker, but in doing so, you paint yourself as a person who will criticize others behind their back, thus reducing your workplace trust. Outside of some extremely cancerous workplaces, there are few things that will erode your respect in the workplace than consistently talking negatively about a coworker behind their back. This will quickly erode much of the credit and goodwill you’ve built up through the other actions listed here.
A much better approach is to just listen to negative talk without comment and, when asked for your opinion, just feign ignorance of the subject. “I haven’t spent enough time around person X to really see it. You guys know more than I do.” That’s usually a good way to handle lit.
On the other hand…
Always have something genuinely positive you can say about all of your coworkers when called upon.
Try to think of positive things you can say about every person in your office. If you don’t know that person well enough to think of a positive thing to say, then that’s a relationship you know you should work on.
This serves a number of purposes. For starters, it gives you the ability to immediately have something positive to say about anyone in the office should you be asked about that person. Second, it provides a great tool for evaluating which workplace relationships are weak and which ones are strong. If you can’t identify something positive to say about someone in the workplace, that’s a relationship you need to build, because they likely don’t know who you are either. It also gives you something powerful to say whenever you’re in a situation to give credit to others, as noted above in the bit about presentations.
Know all of your peers well enough to be able to say positive things about them. In that process, you’ll probably give them enough to be able to say positive things about you.
Then, say those positive things when you get a chance. It’s likely, then, that word will get around and they’ll say positive things about you (that isn’t a guarantee, but positivity is going to get you a lot farther than negativity will).
Final Thoughts
What’s the key to almost all of these strategies? Communication! You need to be willing to communicate in a variety of ways in your workplace, even if it feels uncomfortable to you.
You need to be willing to communicate to your boss what you’re working on and your solutions to problems that you observe.
You need to be willing to verbally communicate with coworkers, to learn more about them and build some rapport with them.
You need to be able to communicate in meetings, to present, and to give written summaries and reports of your work (and others).
If you’re not willing to do those things, it’s going to be hard for you to receive credit for your work. The people who communicate are going to get most of the credit, regardless of whether they directly claim that credit or not.
The person who speaks up at meetings is going to get known, not the person who says nothing. The person who makes it clear what they’re working on is going to be known for getting things done, not the person who says nothing. The person who presents is going to be a face for the project, not the person who hides in the corner.
You can do all of the great work in the world, but if you’re not willing to communicate, someone else will take credit for it, whether they do it directly or indirectly. It’s up to you to get the credit you deserve.
You can claim that credit with humility, however. By simply reporting what you’ve done, presenting that work, and giving credit for all of the help from everyone else, you’re both claiming credit and being humble. That’s a powerful mix that will help greatly with your career success.
Good luck!
The post Balancing Humility and the Credit You Deserve appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
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الجمعة، 29 يونيو 2018
Got 5 Minutes? This Simple Step Can Set You up for a Happy Retirement
You know it’s growing, but is it growing fast enough?
While you’re jamming out to your tunes, a company called Blooom could be hard at work optimizing your 401(k).
That’s money music to our ears.
Grow Your 401(k) Faster
Already contributing to your 401(k)? Great. That’s what you should be doing. But do you know what’s happening to your money after you contribute it?
Probably not. That’s where Blooom comes in. It’s an SEC-registered investment advisory firm that can optimize and monitor your 401(k) for you and set you up to retire when you want to.
The money in your 401(k) account is most likely diversified into a mix of stocks and bonds, but it might not be the right mix for you. Depending on your age, your desired retirement age and how much you can afford to contribute, you might need different settings to make your money grow the best way possible.
That’s where Blooom’s robo-adviser can help. Instead of setting your account and forgetting about it, it’s constantly watching to see that it’s optimized to make your money grow and avoid hidden (investment) fees.
Take a Commercial Break to Fix Your 401(k)
It just takes a few minutes to get a free 401(k) analysis that will show you whether your investments are allocated properly and whether you’re losing money paying hidden fees.
This check up will even tell you just how much more money your account could earn by the time you retire. You might be surprised at how much that is.
After that, if you sign up, it’s just $10 per month to have Blooom monitor and maximize your 401(k). Bonus: Penny Hoarders get the first month free with the code PNNYHRD.
Carson Kohler discovered that working with Blooom could potentially boost her 401(k) by up to $247,367 in additional funds by the time she retires. She plans to retire at 60, too, so that’s pretty sweet.
That’s $19 per day of extra earnings versus just 33 cents per day the service would cost her.
What Does a Robo-Adviser Do, Really?
Blooom’s robo-adviser looks at your 401(k) as well as factors including your age, contributions and target retirement age to see whether your account is zooming toward your goals or sputtering along the wrong path.
Here are some major factors it’ll keep an eye out for:
Risk: How aggressive are your investments? Depending on your age and the money in your account, you might want to be more aggressive to make that money grow. On the flip side, for some accounts, getting more conservative can help protect a healthy-looking future.
Fees: Many 401(k) accounts are riddled with hidden fees that bog down your earnings. How can you build your money if someone keeps taking little cuts? Blooom finds and minimizes your fees. It’s like tuning up your car to get better gas mileage.
Diversification: Small cap, mid-cap, stocks versus bonds, commodities, equities… who knows? It’s OK if you’re not a pro at investing. Most of us aren’t. The folks at Blooom are. They can balance out your portfolio and keep your account running smoothly. The tool can even change your investments for you as needed when the market changes.
What’s Your Future Worth?
You love your Netflix. It’s okay to admit it. Most of us do. It’s only $10 per month, right?
And, of course, there’s Hulu. Have you seen the latest episode of “The Handmaid’s Tale”?” I-N-T-E-N-S-E! That’s just TV. You get your big-screen fix with a movie per day with Moviepass. And on the way to the theater, you rock out to your favorite jams on Spotify, right?
That’s another $10… $10… and $10.
Think about the future you want once you retire. If you can afford to spend money each month to zombie out in front of the television, you should consider investing in your own future.
Just a few minutes now and a few bucks a month could add years’ worth of additional funds to your retirement kitty.
Okay, you can get back to jamming out to your tunes now.
Tyler Omoth is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder who loves soaking up the sun and finding creative ways to help others. Eddie Money is his mood music for writing Penny Hoarder posts. Catch him on Twitter at @Tyomoth.
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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Texans, This Gig Pays You up to $19/Hour to Work From Home for Progressive
Progressive Insurance is hiring licensed sales reps in the San Antonio area for up to $19 an hour, plus potential bonuses and benefits. All calls are inbound, meaning no dreaded cold calling.
To qualify for this full-time position, applicants need a property and casualty or personal lines license from the Texas Department of Insurance or a reciprocal state license from another state.
Preferred candidates will have remote work or call center experience. All candidates should have at least a year of college education or related work experience.
Perks include tuition assistance, wellness programs, a 401(k) and health, dental and vision insurance. Weekend work is compensated with a 10% pay differential.
Training is soon, so saddle up. The start date is Sept. 10; training hours are 10 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. Monday through Friday EST. If this gig’s not a fit, take a gander at our Jobs page on Facebook. We post new opportunities there daily.
Inbound Sales Representative at Progressive
Pay: $15.50 to $19 an hour, plus potential for bonuses
Responsibilities include:
- Handling inbound calls from customers interested in buying insurance.
- Explaining Progressive policy coverage and services to customers.
- Cross-selling and/or upselling insurance or services.
Applicants for this position must:
- Live within 60 miles of San Antonio.
- Have an active personal lines or property and casualty license.
- Have at least one year of related work experience or college education.
- Have a hard-wired internet connection (1 Mbps download speed, 0.5 Mbps upload speed).
- Have a distraction-free workspace.
- Use a surge protector for Progressive-provided office equipment.
Benefits include:
- Health, dental and vision insurance.
- 401(k) with up to 6% match.
- Paid training, tuition assistance and career development.
Apply here for the inbound sales rep position at Progressive Insurance.
Adam Hardy is an editorial assistant at The Penny Hoarder. He lives off a diet of stale puns and iced coffee. Read his full bio here.
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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Humana Has a Full-Time Work-From-Home Medical Clerical Position Open
Humana, the health insurance company, is hiring a utilization management specialist. This is a work-from-home gig with a strong preference for applicants living in Texas. As a UM specialist, you’ll assist your team by performing administrative, operational and/or customer support assignments.
In addition to preferring Texas-based candidates, Humana also has a preference for applicants with a background in healthcare clerical support, including certified nurse aides, medical assistants or people who are familiar with medical coding.
You’ll work 40 hours a week, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. CST.
If this job isn’t your jam, don’t forget to check out our Jobs page on Facebook. We post new opportunities there all the time.
UM Specialist at Humana
Pay: Not specified
Responsibilities include:
- Attaching faxes for chart reviews for the nursing team
- Answering departmental phone calls
- Making outbound calls to members or providers to verify information
- Documenting phone calls
- Making requests to providers and facilities for clinical information
- Sending written messages
- Collaborating with different departments, team members and providers
Applicants for this position must:
- Have a high school diploma (bachelor’s degree in business, finance or a related field preferred)
- Be proficient with Microsoft Office programs, including Word, Excel and Outlook
- Have impeccable phone etiquette
- Have a high-speed DSL or cable internet modem for a home office (no satellite internet service allowed) with internet speed of 10 Mbps
- Be a Texas Resident (preferred)
- Have a clerical background in a health care environment, such as experience as a certified nurse aide, medical assistant or medical coding (preferred)
- Be familiar with medical terminology and ICD-10 codes (preferred)
- Have experience working in a call center (a plus)
- Have a CNA or medical assistant background (a plus)
Apply here for the UM specialist position at Humana.
Matt Reinstetle is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.
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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Start Your Holiday (Job) Shopping Early: Kohl’s and JCPenney Are Hiring
You may be thinking more about Fourth of July fireworks, but retailers Kohl’s and JCPenney announced they have started hiring temporary workers for the back-to-school and holiday seasons.
Kohl’s is seeking seasonal workers for more than 300 store locations. JCPenney plans to hire 18,000 across the country, according to a company press release.
Facing an unemployment rate of just 3.8% and with hiring on the upswing, retailers are making an early push to find help, and they’re offering more than good tidings to attract employees.
Kohl’s notes that seasonal associates will receive a 15% store discount, while JCPenney boasts a 25% discount for seasonal hires, plus the promise of flexible holiday scheduling.
And both retailers say seasonal employees may have the opportunity to transition to permanent positions.
If you’re ready to apply, head to Kohl’s career page or JCPenney’s career page.
Tiffany Wendeln Connors is a staff writer for The Penny Hoarder.
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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How to Start Your Own Amazon Delivery Business for Just $10K
Now the e-commerce giant is kicking it up a notch with its new Delivery Service Partner program. Instead of a job or side gig, Amazon is offering entrepreneurs the chance to start their own package delivery business.
Amazon is famous for its quick delivery, offering two-, one- and even same-day shipping. In 2017, more than 5 billion items shipped to Prime members alone, and more new members joined Prime than in any previous year. This new program is an effort to meet rising demands.
“Customer demand is higher than ever and we have a need to build more capacity,” Amazon’s senior vice president of worldwide operations, Dave Clark, said in a press release. “As we evaluated how to support our growth, we went back to our roots to share the opportunity with small-and-medium sized business.”
How to Start an Amazon Business Through New Program
Amazon wants to help hundreds of entrepreneurs start and operate their own businesses delivering Amazon packages.
The company says startup costs are as low as $10,000, and applicants don’t need previous logistics experience.
Amazon also committed $1 million toward startup costs for veterans, allowing eligible candidates can receive $10,000 reimbursements.
Accepted applicants will receive three weeks of hands-on training and have access to Amazon’s resources and technology.
On top of training and delivery tech, delivery service partners will get discounts on Amazon-branded delivery vehicle leases, branded uniforms, fuel and comprehensive insurance coverage.
According to Amazon, the ideal partner will have 20 to 40 vans and 40 to 100 employees. The business owner is responsible for hiring, training and managing the drivers, but Amazon will help the owner set up the company and operate out of one of 75 Amazon delivery stations.
And don’t forget, this is Amazon we’re talking about, so delivery services have to be available seven days a week, 365 days a year. A lot of people expect that same-day delivery, even on Christmas.
Amazon says partners can earn profits of $75,000 to $300,000 annually — if you operate with 20 to 40 vans, that is.
So, besides the $10,000 in startup money, what are the qualifications?
Once you log in or create an Amazon account, you can see requirements on this application: Applicants should have experience hiring and developing employees, a strong credit history and at least $30,000 in liquid assets.
If that sounds like you and you’re ready to jump into the world of operating your very own business, you can check out this program brochure before applying.
Kaitlyn Blount is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.
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 $1K Scholarship Covers College, Tech, Career or Online Education Costs
The American Fire Sprinkler Association thinks so — and that’s why it created its Second Chance scholarship.
The scholarship is open to anyone with a high school diploma or GED certificate who is ready to go to college or attend a trade school — even if it’s been a little while since high school.
(And if you’re looking for more scholarship opportunities that can help you pay for school, be sure to like our college page on Facebook. We post awesome new scholarship opportunities there whenever we find them.)
Enter to Win $1,000 in the AFSA Second Chance Scholarship Contest
Here’s how you can enter to win $1,000 in the AFSA Second Chance Scholarship Contest to help pay for tuition or books.
Amount awarded: $1,000
Number of scholarships awarded: 5
To qualify for this scholarship, applicants must:
- Be a citizen or legal resident of the U.S.
- Have a high school diploma or GED certificate.
- Be enrolled or planning to enroll for the spring 2019 semester at an accredited two- or four-year college, university or technical, career or online school. (You can check accreditation through the U.S Department of Education or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.)
- Not be related to an AFSA staff or national board member.
- Not be a past winner of an AFSA scholarship contest.
Applicants must:
- Submit a completed entry form on the AFSA website.
- Complete a quiz about fire sprinklers and fire safety that follows the online entry form.
Scholarship deadline: August 31, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. Central time.
Five winners will be selected randomly and contacted within 14 business days of the entry period closing.
You can read the rest of the official rules and guidelines here.
Then, be sure to check out our list of 100 more college scholarships you can apply for.
Grace Schweizer is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.
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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Not Paying Credit Cards – A Timeline to Avoid: What Happens When You Miss a Payment or Three
Have you been tempted to let a credit card payment slide until payday? Don't do it. Learn what happens when you start missing credit card payments.
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9 Tips to Create Highly Engaging Content
Anyone can produce content.
But content without a purpose is not effective. You need to consider the goals of your content marketing strategy. Ask yourself what you want your audience to do when they consume your content.
Whatever that answer is, your content needs to be engaging if you want to accomplish those goals. What is engaging content?
Well, it all depends on whom you ask and how it’s measured. For me, engaging content is all about getting results, such as:
- increase in traffic
- clicks
- opt-ins
- conversions
- sales
- comments
- likes
- mentions
Any of these metrics can be used to measure engagement.
Here’s something else to keep in mind. If your content doesn’t engage your readers, they simply won’t consume and retain the information. This will end up being a big waste of your time, money, and resources.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying it’s easy to come up with great content.
If you’re currently putting out posts, images, and videos that are average at best, it’ll take some more effort on your part if you want to see some results.
But it’s worth it. If you put in the extra effort to focus on improving your content marketing strategy, it will ultimately help your business make more money.
Not sure where to start? That’s what I’m here for.
I’ve come up with this resource of the top 9 tips for producing content that engages your audience.
1. Be original
Today, it’s tough to produce content that’s 100% unique.
There is probably someone else out there who is talking about the same thing, took a similar photo, or conducted similar research. That’s okay.
The idea is to produce content that stands out. With so much competition, it’s no surprise that producing engaging content is the biggest challenge for marketers:
How can you overcome this? Be original.
Yes, you can still blog about a topic that’s been previously discussed. But don’t write it the same way everyone else has. Add your unique voice and spin to the subject.
Share personal experiences – nobody else had them.
Often, marketers try to come up with the most cost-effective solution to content creation. They pay some writer with no experience to write blog posts at $20 per article.
Well, like anything else, you get what you pay for. You can’t expect this type of content to be original and engaging.
Write your content so that it’s unmistakably your own. Put your personality into everything you produce. In doing so, you’ll end up growing a loyal group of followers and readers.
Again, this takes more time and effort, but it’ll be easier for you to increase your engagement metrics this way.
2. Produce actionable content
I just talked about the goals of your marketing campaigns.
What do you want? If you don’t know the purpose of your content, the consumer won’t have any idea either.
You need to know what you want someone to do after they consume a piece of your content.
For example, let’s say you’re promoting a new product on your website. You decide to blog about it. This is a great idea, but that alone won’t get people to buy the product.
Your post needs to highlight the features and benefits, how it can be used, how you have used it, and how it can improve the lives of the consumers.
This primes the reader to make the purchase. Let’s look at an example of that.
This blog post from BuildFire talks about how to hire a developer to build your mobile app. But as a custom app building platform, the team wants its audience to use its software instead:
This section of the blog post starts by questioning the need to hire a developer at all. It discusses some potential issues with that method and offers an alternative solution.
Then the company pitches its own service. The pitch is followed by a hyperlink that brings the reader to a landing page for sign-ups.
This is arguably the most important part of this post. Why?
You can’t assume your audience will read something, navigate to your ecommerce site, search for a product, then click on it and add it to their carts.
That’s way too many steps. They should be able to complete this action with one click from within the post, just like in the example above.
If your readers can buy something with just a click or two, they will be more likely to complete the action. Do you want readers to sign up for your email list? Give them the option to click to join.
Finding these buttons on your site shouldn’t be a scavenger hunt. The buttons need to be obvious so that your site visitors can complete the desired action.
3. Publish accurate information
If you’ve been reading my blogs for a while, you know how much I love to include statistics and research within my content.
I recommend you do the same.
But you need to be careful of the information you publish. Basically, anyone can put anything on the Internet today. It’s important that you recognize the quality and accuracy of the websites you’re sourcing.
You may come across a relevant statistic, but if it’s on some no-name blog and doesn’t include a data source, you can’t know for sure whether the information is accurate.
That’s why it’s best to source your information from authority sites only. In addition to making sure the source is reputable, make sure it’s recent.
Information changes at a rapid rate.
A statistic or study from ten years ago may not be relevant today. But if your content provides up to date and accurate info, people will be more inclined to engage with it.
Here’s another tip to keep in mind: don’t let your old content go to waste. Just because you published something in 2012 doesn’t mean you can’t refresh it with 2018 information.
Look at how HubSpot uses this strategy to keep its content as up to date as possible:
First, they changed the title. This lets their readers know the post has been updated with new data.
But that’s not all it does. HubSpot even tells you the exact date when the team updated the post.
It’s an effective strategy.
This shows everyone the website strives to publish accurate information, which readers find more engaging.
If you really want to wow your audience, you could conduct research yourself, producing your own study. This will help you stay original, which I discussed above.
Yes, this will be more difficult and time-consuming. But now you know for sure the results are accurate and 100% unique.
Even if someone else conducted a similar study, the results won’t be exactly the same, and yours will be more up to date.
4. Tell a story
While data is important, it’s easier for people to relate to stories than to naked facts.
That’s why we read books, watch movies, binge-watch television shows, and keep up with reality and celebrity news. We want to know what comes next in the story.
You can learn how to increase sales by mastering the art of storytelling.
Telling a story will help you connect with your audience. It can also improve your credibility on a subject.
For example, let’s say you’re writing a fitness blog. If you tell a story that happened during your personal certification training, your audience will realize you’re qualified and knowledgeable on the topic.
They are more likely to read what you have to say as opposed to reading content produced by someone who has never worked out a day in their life.
You want to share stories that stimulate an emotional response from the audience:
The graphic above explains how our brains react when we have an emotional connection to a story.
Speak in a way that’s relatable to your audience. Try to evoke powerful emotions such as joy, fear, or sadness.
Just make sure your story advances your goal and encourages the reader to complete the action you want them to take.
5. Make your audience think
Being original is one thing. But being thought-provoking is another. It’s an art.
The idea behind thought-provoking content is that the reader can relate to what you’re saying. You don’t always need to talk about a concept in black and white terms.
Let the readers’ imaginations run wild in that grey area.
Ask questions with no definitive answers. Paint a picture with some abstract scenarios.
But make it relevant to current events, pop culture, and our daily lives. This will keep your audience hooked and help them engage with your content.
This type of strategy can also help stimulate discussions in the comments section of your content. As a result, people will keep coming back to your website to check in on the discussion.
Ultimately, this is great news for you in terms of your traffic and engagement metrics. Each visit increases the chances of a conversion.
6. Use visuals
I know I mostly talked about written content so far.
But your overall content marketing strategy is much bigger than that. Pictures and videos need to be incorporated into this strategy.
Take original photos. It’s easy to take and edit photos without hiring a professional.
Look at how visual elements are being incorporated into blog posts over the past four years:
That’s because marketers recognize how much of an impact visual elements have on their successes.
You can also enhance your content by building infographics. As I said earlier, if you conduct your own research, you will have original content.
Infographics take this concept to the next level. Since people remember images more than text, they will be more likely to retain information if it’s in the form of a picture or graph.
Produce videos. The possibilities with video content are nearly endless. Here are a few of my favorite suggestions:
- “how-to” videos
- product demonstrations
- entertainment
- discussions
- interviews
Add videos to your website, posts, email newsletters, and social media channels.
7. Master your headlines
Before your content can be consumed, it needs to be clicked on.
That’s why you need to focus your efforts on creating clickable headlines. Whether it’s on your website, social media channels, or organic search results pages, your headline will be the first thing people see.
If you’ve got boring headlines, people have no reason to click.
Just don’t give it all away with your headline. For example, if your headline says something like “Men eat more than women,” nobody will have a reason to read the article.
But if it intrigues them with a question which sex eats the most, it will pique the readers’ interest, and you’ll get more clicks.
Here’s a look at some of the top performing headlines by engagement metrics on Facebook:
Use this as a reference when you’re crafting your own headlines.
8. Hook readers with your intro
Okay, so you’ve got some people who clicked on your headline. That’s great news.
However, this doesn’t mean they’ll read through all your content. In fact, research shows that 55% of your audience spends only up to 15 seconds reading your articles.
In short, they’re not actually reading it. They’re just skimming.
That’s why you need to learn how to write blog post introductions that make the rest of your post irresistible.
If you can hook the readers with your opening lines, they will be more likely to remain interested throughout the post.
This works in conjunction with your headline and CTA. All these elements should be working together toward your goal.
9. Mix up your content
Posts shouldn’t be all the same. That’s just boring.
Nobody wants to read a case study every day. Keep your audience on their toes to make sure they get excited with your content.
If one day you tell a story, the next day you talk about research. Your following post could be centered around a video.
Next, you could promote a product. Blog about recent events. Add a humorous or compelling spin to it.
Whatever you do, don’t let your content go stale.
Conclusion
Producing engaging content isn’t easy. That’s why businesses agree that it’s the most challenging aspect of their marketing campaigns.
But with some extra time and effort, you can figure out ways to create engaging content.
It’s all about being original and separating yourself from the crowd. Produce content that’s actionable.
All of your information needs to be accurate and up to date.
Tell stories to capture the attention of your readers. Make them think outside the box. Use visual elements to enhance your content.
Focus on getting clicks with your headlines and then keep your readers interested with the opening lines and introduction.
Don’t use only one of these strategies. Mix up your content to keep things interesting.
If you follow the 9 tips I’ve listed above, you’ll find it much easier to create highly engaging content.
What type of content are you producing to increase your engagement metrics?
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Is It Cost-Effective to Replace Your Refrigerator Today?
James wrote to me with an interesting question:
My neighbor recently replaced his 20 year old fridge that was still working just fine. According to his math he would actually save money over the next few years by replacing it rather than letting the old one sit. Is that possible? Also what about hooking it up in the garage as a second fridge?
At a quick glance, yes, it is possible to actually save money over the next several years by replacing a 20+ year old refrigerator right away. There have been enormous leaps forward in the last decade in terms of the efficiency of condensers and coils on refrigerators, to the point that the energy savings on a refrigerator made in the late 2010s can save you $75 a year or more compared to a refrigerator made in the 1990s. This doesn’t even include any rebates you might get as a result of replacing your fridge (many energy companies offer rebates for replacing an appliance with a more energy efficient model), or any state tax benefits you might get related to energy efficiency.
If you’d like to calculate the raw energy savings that you would get from replacing your older refrigerator, this EnergyStar calculator will prove really useful.
In other words, if you’re not buying an expensive high-end refrigerator, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll save money over the next five to ten years by replacing your old refrigerator right now with a more energy efficient model. That seems pretty certain.
I did the calculation on our own refrigerator (which was already installed in our house when we bought it) and I found that we’d be saving about $450 in energy costs over the next five years by replacing it with a new model of similar design, and perhaps even more if we chose a more energy efficient design.
Given this, the question switches from whether or not it will save you money to replace your older refrigerator right away to whether or not it’s the best time to replace your refrigerator. I did some research into this question and here’s what I’ve found.
First of all, over the history of home refrigeration, the energy use of a refrigerator has halved about every fifteen years. In the 1970s, refrigerators gobbled up about 2200 kWh of energy per year. By the early 1990s, that was down to about 1100 kWh. By the mid 2000s, that was down to about 600 kWh. Today, we’re getting close to 300 kWh on the most efficient models. Assuming that things continue to get more efficient, you can assume that a fridge will be down in the 150 kWh per year range by the mid 2030s or so.
Let’s translate that to today’s dollars. A good nationwide average for energy use is about $0.12 per kWh. So, a 1970s fridge would eat up about $264 a year in energy use, an early 1990s fridge would gobble up $132, a mid 2000s fridge would slurp down $72, and a fridge today would only consume $36 per year in energy use. At that pace, a fridge in fifteen years would only consume $18 per year in energy use.
Let’s look at that in terms of the average lifespan of a refrigerator, which is around fifteen years. Over the course of 15 years, a 1970s era fridge would eat up about $3,960 in energy use. A 1990s era refrigerator would swallow $1,980 in energy use. A mid-2000s era refrigerator would eat up $1,080 in energy use. Meanwhile, a modern refrigerator would eat up about $540 in energy use.
Thus, replacing a 1970s era refrigerator today would save you $3,420 in energy use over fifteen years, replacing an early 1990s refrigerator would save you $1,440 in energy use, and replacing a mid-2000s refrigerator would save you $540 in energy use.
There are two big conclusions to draw from that. One, the gain that you get from replacing an old refrigerator right now won’t be nearly as beneficial as your next refrigerator replacement. This isn’t something you can just repeat every few years – refrigeration is now so energy efficient that replacing a pre-2000 fridge is probably the last time that replacing a refrigerator will save you money in terms of the energy efficiency gains.
Second, the older your fridge is, the better the benefit in replacing it. Choosing to replace a refrigerator that’s more than 20 years old before it breaks down means that you’ll probably recoup the cost of that fridge in energy savings well before the end of that new fridge’s normal lifespan, plus you don’t have the cost of replacing any food in the event of a refrigerator failure (one that’s probably coming if you have an old fridge).
So, here’s my final conclusion on the matter. There are definitely situations where replacing your refrigerator right away will save you money in the long run, but there are some conditions on it. First of all, you need to be either living in your current home for the next several years or planning to take your appliances with you. Second, you need to be replacing a fridge that’s older – no less than fifteen years old, and preferably a fridge with a manufacture year in the 1900s. Third, you need to not be moving to the absolute latest state of the art fridge; an entry level fridge or a Consumer Reports best buy is what you should be aiming for with your replacement.
If all of those things are true, you will very likely save money by replacing your refrigerator with a new entry level model over the course of the next several years. If not, then you’re probably better off hanging on to your old one.
After this point, however, you probably won’t save money by replacing your fridge for energy efficiency purposes. Fridges today are so efficient that even if they continue to halve their energy use every 15 years, you still won’t be gaining enough compared to a modern refrigerator to make the cost of replacing it for energy efficiency purposes worth your while.
What about moving that old fridge into the garage and storing less essential things in it? Well, remember that if you’re moving an energy inefficient fridge into your garage, you’re going to still be paying those energy costs listed above. If you’re moving an early 1990s fridge out of your house into the garage, it’s going to be setting you back about $130 a year in energy use until it fails. If that $130 a year (and the cost of any ruined food items when it inevitably fails) is worth the value you’d get from a refrigerator in the garage, then move it out there. Otherwise, recycle it.
As for us? The numbers on this question have me leaning toward replacing our old refrigerator if I happen to find a good deal on a well regarded entry level refrigerator. I’m pretty sure that we’re going to be in our current house for the next five years and the energy efficiency numbers on our current fridge are perhaps closest to the early 1990s refrigerators, as I noted earlier. I would probably move our current fridge out to the garage and use it for additional cold storage, enabling some refrigerated items to be bought in bulk.
However, am I rushing out to the appliance store to buy a replacement? Nope. I’m just watching for appliance sales and seeing if I can find a low cost refrigerator with strong energy efficiency numbers and a good review from Consumer Reports. If I find that, then I’m pretty sure that we’ll save money by getting that new fridge into our home sooner rather than later. By doing it this way, we can transfer our food to the new fridge without losing anything and then, since the garage fridge would be secondary cold storage and probably include some things that wouldn’t be ruined by a failure (like beverages), it won’t be a major food loss if it does fail.
So, if you have a fridge that’s at least 20 years old and can find an inexpensive modern refrigerator and you plan on staying in your current place for at least five more years or plan to take your appliances with you when you move, then you’ll probably save money by replacing your fridge if you find a good deal on one. This is particularly true if your energy provider offers you a rebate for refrigerator replacement or if you live in an area where there are tax benefits (sorry, there are no federal tax credits for refrigerator replacements). Otherwise, you’re better off staying put with what you have.
The post Is It Cost-Effective to Replace Your Refrigerator Today? appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
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Why Am I So Freaked Out About Buying a Home With the Man I Love?
One of the awesome things about living in the present day is that you don’t have to do life in order anymore. You don’t need to get married before you buy a home before you have 2.5 kids and a dog. If you’re a family, in any sense of the word, you are free to progress according to your liking.
But while emotionally it’s all warm fuzzies, beyond that it’s more complex. I called in two experts to assist me in advising on your situation: a real estate agent and a couples counselor.
Chicago-based real estate agent Kim Howard said now’s a good time to think about who will actually own the house if you choose to buy. If one person technically owns the house, the other person in the couple can pay rent to the owner. If you decide to part ways, it can be a relatively clean break as far as the house is concerned.
But if you take this route, you probably want to consider writing and signing an agreement about how house finances will be handled — and what will happen in the event of a split.
Meanwhile, “if both partners want to invest in a home, and want to equally benefit in profits if a sale is anticipated down the line, they can both be added to the title and even on a mortgage together,” Howard explained by email.
She also recommended that long-term partners consider having wills, and updating them if you buy a house under one person’s name. No one wants to think about the worst-case scenario, but you’ll want to have clear instructions about who would take over the house in the event of the title-holder’s death.
So that’s your head stuff. What about your heart?
Couples counselor Raffi Bilek of the Baltimore Therapy Center recommends examining your emotional state of mind before moving forward in your house hunt.
“If you are remaining unmarried on principle but plan to spend the rest of your lives together, you are probably good to go ahead,” he said by email.
“However, if you aren't married yet because you ‘aren't ready,’ then you probably aren’t ready to buy a house together either.” He stressed that a joint home purchase requires a full commitment from both halves of the couple.
“If you are still not 100% sure that you intend to be together for the long term, it's probably not the right time yet to buy a house together,” he warned.
This is about the two of you. Remember that. It’s not about anyone else.
Forget about all the people who tried to flip homes in 2007 and lost their life savings. The investors are in their own category. As for the people living in their homes who lost them to foreclosure? For so many, there was another factor in the mix, like a job loss or medical bills. If your emergency fund is shored up, you’ll be less likely to suffer if the housing market drops dramatically again.
Don’t fret over interest rates. Today’s interest rates are between 4% and 5%. A decade ago, it wasn’t uncommon to see interest rates in the 6%, 7% or 8% range — and they got higher from there if the mortgage rate was adjustable. Even today’s adjustable-rate mortgages are less volatile than those of a decade ago.
Beyond interest rates, I’d consider the hidden costs of owning a home. You’re ready for the mortgage payments, but are you ready for the property taxes? What about the maintenance costs — and the actual maintenance?
As for putting down roots, that’s a question only you can answer. Are you confident you’ll want to stay in that house — and its accompanying town, county and state — for at least five years? It takes time to build equity in a house, so you’ve got to think of it as a long-term investment to recoup the upfront costs.
When you’re browsing around open houses, don’t just dream of paint colors and backyard gardens. Ask yourself whether you can picture living there together (and loving it) five or 10 years from now.
The inbox is open. Submit a question or send your worries to dearpenny@thepennyhoarder.com, and I’ll see what I can do to help.
Disclaimer: Chosen questions and featured answers will appear in The Penny Hoarder's “Dear Penny” column. I won't be able to answer every single letter (I can only type so fast!). We reserve the right to edit and publish your questions. Don’t worry — your identity will remain anonymous. I don’t have a psychology, accounting, finance or legal degree, so my advice is for general informational purposes only. I do, however, promise to give you honest advice based on my own insights and real-life experiences.
Lisa Rowan is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder.
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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Can my phone company make me pay this old debt?
Moneywise helps a reader with an old mobile phone debt.
I recently got a letter from a collection agency about an unpaid debt from T-Mobile, dated 2014, for £236.83. It was the first time I had heard about it. I called T-Mobile customer service but it was unable to share any details or give me more information. I asked if it was acceptable to chase a four-year-old bill and why I had never been contacted about it and, again, it refused to share any details. I began to think it was fraudulent and asked the debt collector for proof the bill existed. I was told it didn’t have the information on file and all it knew was that I owed £236.83.
Is it a legitimate bill? Do I owe the money? Is T-Mobile entitled to claim the money from me after such an amount of time?
VB/London
I hate it when companies resort to debt collectors as they almost always use dodgy scare tactics. They’re very hard to deal with, as they generally have no idea what the debt is. In short, they’re like dogs that have been sent to bark loudly outside your door in the hope that you will cough up. It’s disappointing that you were stonewalled by T-Mobile, now part of EE in the UK. Your questions were legitimate, given that the money was supposedly owed from several years ago and companies should equip their customer service teams with the means to assist former customers who are being hounded for debt.
Under the telecoms regulator’s rules, firms with a turnover of £40 million-plus from mobile and fixed voice services typically can’t back-bill for charges over four months old. My investigations with EE revealed that the debt related to international and premium-rate calls you made in 2014, and EE says it made attempts to contact you about it at the time. The problem was exacerbated by you moving home soon after, which may be why EE couldn’t contact you.
EE told me: “As VB’s bill remained unpaid for a number of months, it was passed on to a collections agency to settle.” I put EE in touch with you so it could explain the charges and, as a gesture of goodwill due to the age of the account, it offered to reduce the balance by £100, leaving you to pay £136. I suggested that was a decent gesture, so you offered to pay the remaining bill in three parts, which it accepted.
OUTCOME: Outstanding bill reduced by almost half
Simon Read is a money writer and broadcaster. He was the last personal finance editor at The Independent and is an expert on BBC1’s Right On The Money.
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How to appeal against a council parking ticket - and win
Parking is a big money-spinner for councils across the UK. Figures analysed by the RAC Foundation last year suggest that councils in England alone enjoyed a record £819 million in profit from parking activities in the 2016/17 tax year.
While much of that money comes from parking charges, penalty fines also swell council coffers.
But what if you believe you have been issued with a ticket correctly? How can you appeal and improve your chances of success? Moneywise gives you the lowdown.
The difference between council and private parking tickets
When you get a parking ticket, it will either come from a council or a private parking firm.
The ticket itself should explain where it has come from; bear in mind that a ticket from a council will be called a Penalty Charge Notice or Excess Charge Notice.
Martyn James from complaints service Resolver warns motorists to be on their guard for misleading tickets: “This is an important thing to note because some sneaky private tickets look very similar to council tickets - yellow notices, wrapped in plastic - and may say ‘Parking Charge Notice’ or other similar phrases. This matters because private firms don’t have a legal right to fine you, whereas the council or the police do.”
When can I appeal?
There are a number of different reasons why you might have grounds for an appeal against a council-issued ticket.
These include:
- An error by the traffic warden
- The signs were unclear, damaged or not visible
- The signs were wrong
- The meters were not working
- The fine documentation was wrong
- The fine was excessive
You can also raise a complaint around the circumstances that led to the ticket, which may include circumstances such as receiving a ticket when clearly being broken down, emergencies such as acting to prevent an accident, illness, or simply overzealous ticketing.
You get some leeway
It’s worth remembering that generally councils will give motorists a bit of leeway when it comes to the actual time on your ticket.
Generally, councils won’t implement a fine if you go up to 10 minutes past the official ‘end time’ on your ticket, so you could appeal if you’ve been caught out by a particularly keen warden.
Similarly, Mr James says you should appeal if you get ticketed while trying to pay into a meter. He adds: “The time period for this is around three minutes leeway.”
How to appeal
You will have to appeal directly to the council that issued the initial ticket. It’s important to note that different councils have different processes for handling these appeals; there isn’t a single method they all follow.
If you received the ticket in the post, then the letter should have included an appeal form, as well as information on how the appeals process works.
Otherwise you will likely have the option of appealing online via the council’s website or through the post.
Be sure to include all relevant details, such as your address, the car’s registration number, the ticket number and a clear explanation of why you believe the ticket was unfair.
Make sure you have proof
Your chances of a successful appeal are greatly improved if you have some evidence to support your claim. It’s not enough to simply state that the signs weren’t clear enough or not sufficiently visible; you’ll need to show that this was the case. So take some pictures if you can using a smartphone.
Similarly, if the meter wasn’t working, make sure you have a picture to show this.
If you were forced to park in the space by circumstances, such as the car breaking down or a medical emergency, then providing some form of proof will also help your case. This could include documentation from your breakdown recovery service or the garage for example.
Witness statements can also help support your case when appropriate.
Don’t pay if you’re going to appeal
You’ll usually qualify for a discount on the fine if you cough up the money within 14 days of it being issued. It can be tempting to pay it, and then appeal afterwards; the thinking going that if you lose, you’ll only have to pay the reduced fine.
This isn’t a great idea though. By paying the fine you are effectively admitting responsibility and so removing your chances of your appeal being successful.
It’s worth noting that many councils will freeze the 14-day fine discount if you lodge your appeal early, meaning that if your appeal is rejected and you elect to pay up, you will still only pay the smaller figure.
You don’t have to do it alone
You can appeal against a council ticket yourself - the process should be relatively straightforward.
However, if you feel you need a helping hand then you can make use of the free online complaints tool Resolver which can assist you with your initial appeal letter and push the council to provide a speedy response.
Similarly, you can make use of the template appeal letters on the website of consumer champion Which?.
If at first you don’t succeed
If your initial appeal isn’t successful, but you still believe you have a case, you can forward your complaint onto a dispute resolution body. The exact body to go to depends on your location; if your issue relates to a London council then you need to go to the Environment and Traffic Adjudicators, while for the rest of England and Wales you need to approach the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.
There is also the Parking and Bus Lane Tribunal for Scotland and the Northern Ireland Traffic Penalty Tribunal.
Again, you can do this alone or get Resolver to help.
Bear in mind that if your second appeal is again unsuccessful, you will have to pay the full fine - you will not qualify for the discounted penalty.
‘I proved the council was wrong’
Deepak Shukla, 31, runs an SEO (search engine optimisation) agency and was given a ticket by the council in Hillingdon, North London.
The council parking warden claimed that he had parked on a double yellow line and was obscuring a pathway.
Deepak took issue with this though.
He explains: “I took the images the council sent me and was able to demonstrate that there were was around 75% of one wheel on the double yellow line, and that there was enough space for three people to walk side-by-side in the space. It agreed to rescind the fine.”
JOHN FITZSIMONS is a freelance journalist who writes for Yahoo Finance, Lovemoney, Mirror.co.uk and Mortgage Solutions
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