East Stroudsburg University circulated a questionnaire to elected and appointed officials and hired employees in the county to look into the economic viability of the Poconos in 2017. About 66 participants responded to the survey.It became the basis of the 2017 Economic Scorecard a publication of the East Stroudsburg University Business and Economic Research Group and the ESU Office of University RelationsWhile the general results of the scorecard was previously published, this [...]
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الأربعاء، 21 فبراير 2018
Uber Express POOL Is Bringing a Less Expensive Option to These 8 Cities
Uber Express POOL passengers have to walk a few blocks to get picked up for their ride, but the company says riders could save as much as 30% off their total bill.
There’s one other catch, though, so if you’re an introvert, this new ride option might not be for you.
Uber Express POOL passengers share the car with other riders to allow drivers to ferry several people to the same general location at once.
Drivers can work more efficiently and passengers save money so it’s really a win-win situation
If you’re cool with sharing your ride with other people and live in a city where this option is offered, simply fire up the app and select Express POOL.
Within a few minutes, you’ll get walking directions on where to meet your driver and details on what time to arrive for your pickup.
As you get close to the end of the ride, the app will notify you where you’ll be dropped off and give you walking directions to get you to your destination address.
Uber Express POOL seems like a terrific alternative to crowded busses and trains. It’s also a less expensive travel option than single-rider taxis in areas where public transportation is limited.
And who doesn’t like to save up to 30% off, well, anything?
My colleague here at The Penny Hoarder, Staff Writer Nicole Dow, brought up another great point about the benefits of Uber Express POOL. She mentioned some passengers might prefer having co-riders in the car rather than riding alone with a driver they’ve never met.
Don’t fret if Uber Express POOL isn’t available where you are.
“This is just the start: we’ll be bringing Express POOL to more cities soon!” Ethan Stock, Product Director, Shared Rides at Uber said in a blog post.
Lisa McGreevy is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She loves the idea of tacking on a little exercise before and after a ride-share.
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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Check Out These Hidden Gems at Your Local Library That Don’t Cost Anything
I adore being surrounded by books, magazines and newspapers. But the library is so much more than that.
February is Library Lovers’ Month, and in its honor, we’d like to share some of the unique benefits you can get from your local library.
The best part about all this is they don’t cost a thing — and you can save hundreds of dollars.
Take Full Advantage of Your Library Card
Did you know some libraries lend cake pans? Others lend microscopes and musical instruments.
This post on nine unusual things you can borrow from public libraries will have you asking your librarian for a lot more than just book recommendations.
There’s an App for That
Sometimes you don’t even have to set foot in your library to gain access to books, magazines, movies and other media.
Your library may partner with apps like Hoopla, which offers digital access to music and TV shows in addition to your favorite ebooks and audiobooks.
Check out this post for other apps that might be available for library card holders.
Revamp Your Career at Your Local Library
Looking for a new job can be stressful, but the quiet environment of a library might be the perfect place to get a little focus.
While you’re there, make sure to take advantage of other resources, like free career workshops or access to adult learning programs.
See this post for more ways your library can help your career.
Want to Create a Home Library?
The benefits of going to your local library are myriad, but we all have those days when we just want to curl up with a good book without having to get out of our pajamas.
In that case, you might want to start a little collection of your own.
This post highlights nine ways to get free or low-cost books to build up your home library.
Nicole Dow 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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Know Your Way Around Technology? This Tech Support Job Pays $11/Hour
If so, you could be the perfect fit for this work-from-home tech support job with Conduent.
The company is seeking problem-solvers who can multitask as they assist customers, but after that fourth phone call from your aunt because she “can’t see the screen,” this should be a breeze.
The business service provider is hiring for full-time openings in the following states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Don’t see your state? Here’s why companies sometimes restrict location for work-at-home jobs.
You’ll need a distraction-free workspace to work eight- to 10-hour shifts between the hours of 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. CST, including weekends and holidays. So your aunt will just have to wait for you to tell her how to toggle between the letter and number keyboard on her phone.
Not the job for you? No worries, there are plenty of other gigs on our Facebook Jobs page. We post new opportunities there all the time.
Remote Tech Support Jobs at Conduent
Pay: $11 to $11.50 per hour
Responsibilities include:
- Answering customer calls and providing solutions to their technical issues
- Attending virtual training for five to six weeks that may include nights or weekends
- Completing initial training with perfect attendance
- Scoring at least 80% on the final training exam
Applicants for this position must be at least 18 years old and must have:
- High school degree or GED
- Technical experience with smartphones, tablets and PCs and Macs
- Minimum of six months customer service experience
- Ability to type 25 words per minute while talking to customers
- High-speed internet service
Benefits include:
- Medical, dental and vision benefits
- FSA, HSA and 401(k)
- Paid time off
- Varying schedules
- Ongoing training and mentorship programs
- Company discounts (but no hugs or homemade cookies from your aunt)
Apply here for the work-from-home tech support job at Conduent.
Tiffany Wendeln Connors 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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Applying for a Passport? Here’s Why You Might Want to Do It Before April 22
Then you’re going to want to stop dragging your feet on the passport application thing, because the process is about to get a little bit pricier.
Thanks a lot, passport fees.
In a statement published to the Federal Register, the U.S. Department of State announced it will be raising the “execution fee” on certain passport applications from $25 to $35 on April 2.
The execution fee is a handling fee charged to all first-time passport book or card applicants over 16 years of age, all child applicants under 16 and any applicants who are reapplying after reporting a previous passport as lost or stolen.
Actual passport book or card prices won’t change. To understand what fees you may encounter during your passport application process, you can use the U.S. Department of State’s fee calculator here.
The Department explains it is adjusting its current fee schedule to better align with the updated costs for providing consular services. (Meaning: Someone has to do the work of processing your paperwork and that person has to be paid.)
The last time the fee schedule was adjusted in 2008, the Department lowered the execution fee from $30 down to $25, where it has stayed for the last 10 years.
Back in September of 2016, the Department gave notice of the proposed rule change, and opened a 60-day comment period. Several commenters expressed that a $10 increase would not inhibit business or personal travel — but a couple of commenters disagreed, saying the $10 increase could “be a burden” to some travelers.
The Department responded by saying that while it is “sympathetic to the impact” the fee increase may have, it’s a necessary move at this point.
And let’s be really real for a second: If $10 means the difference between being able to take an international trip or not, travelers should take a look at their vacation budgets — or consider an alternative, affordable way to get a passport.
But if you are planning to apply for a passport this year, it wouldn’t hurt to get your application in before the planned April 2 price hike.
Keeping an extra $10 in your pocket never hurts, right?
Grace Schweizer is a junior 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 Free Hershey’s Gold Donut Deal Has Us Cheering for Team Krispy Kreme
Today only, you can get a free Hershey’s Gold donut at a participating Krispy Kreme near you.
What’s a Hershey’s Gold donut? We’re glad you asked. It’s a Krispy Kreme glazed donut topped with a salty caramel icing and pieces of a Hershey’s Gold bar. Yummy!
How to Get Your Free Hershey’s Gold Donut
You have to be a Krispy Kreme rewards member to scoop up this freebie. Not a rewards member already? No problem!
Just download the Krispy Kreme app, and sign up for an account there.
Once you’re registered, don’t worry if the deal doesn’t appear on your app. With a scan of your account bar code at the register, the delicious, doughy treat shall be yours, according to a rep at Krispy Kreme.
If you end up loving the Hershey’s Gold bar, you may still be able to score a free one before the Winter Olympics end on Sunday.
Stephanie Bolling is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She takes the Homer Simpson approach to donuts.
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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10 Under the Radar Tactics to Persuade Your Audience to Take Action
To be a successful marketer, you need to come up with ways to engage with your audience.
The goal of every marketing campaign should be to get people to complete a specific action. Some examples of these actions might be:
- generating a sale
- getting users to download something
- adding new subscribers
- creating social proof of concept
- driving traffic to a specific landing page
You know what you want your audience to do, but things don’t always go as planned. Sometimes these people need a little extra convincing.
That’s totally OK. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t have high conversion rates right now or if you need a boost in sales.
There is always room for improvement. That’s what inspired me to create this guide.
I want to share with you how you can use persuasion tactics to convince your audience to do something. As a result, you’ll get higher conversions and ultimately increase your profits.
These are the top 10 tactics that can be used to persuade your audience.
1. Be willing to accept criticism
While it may not initially seem like it, accepting criticism is a valid method of persuasion. You’re not always right. People know that.
If you’re carrying yourself as though every word you write and speak is never wrong, your audience may think you’re arrogant. As a result, they will be less likely to take action.
Instead, show your audience you’re reasonable and open-minded by accepting feedback and criticism.
Here’s an example from a blog post written by Ben Labay at ConversionXL:
One of the readers wrote a comment that disagreed with some of the points made in the article. There’s nothing wrong with that.
Some people are afraid to enable comments on their blog posts because they fear criticism. I always welcome comments and respond to them even if I don’t always see eye-to-eye with the writer.
Make sure you digest the opposite side of every argument. You may even realize the other person has valid points.
Now you can spin that criticism and re-position your argument with a positive angle that entices the person to take a specific action.
Live video streaming is another great platform to utilize for this purpose. You can converse with your audience in real time through these channels and have a discussion.
After watching a branded video, 64% of consumers are likely to make a purchase.
Furthermore, 46% of users complete an action after viewing a video advertisement.
Use this information in your marketing campaign. Next time you’re writing a post or streaming a live video, be more receptive to opposing opinions, and leverage that position to persuade your audience.
2. Find ways to get your audience to agree with you
On the other hand, it’s always better if your audience agrees with you. It just involves less work on your end.
But if you’re starting from a clean slate, the first thing you need to do is get people to start nodding their heads.
Make obvious claims or statements they’ll agree with.
Here’s a great example from an article written by Ian Blair at BuildFire:
Ian’s persuasion is set up perfectly in the first few lines. These opening statements get the reader nodding their head right off the bat.
-
mobile apps are growing in popularity
-
the development process needs to be optimized
-
it takes a long time and lots of effort to launch an app
Anyone reading the above statements would agree with all of them. Now that the reader is in agreement, Ian offers a solution in the third line.
And the audience is hooked. They’ll continue reading and follow the advice to take specific actions.
This tactic isn’t limited to blogging. You can do this when you’re speaking to someone in person as well.
For example, a car salesman may set up a pitch for a certain vehicle by discussing the rising cost of gas. In the very next breath, they’ll show the consumer a hybrid vehicle with great gas mileage.
It’s a simple technique, but it’s extremely underrated. Try to implement this into your marketing strategy.
3. Show them actual evidence
Telling people something isn’t always enough to convince them. This is especially true if they don’t know you personally.
While your closest friends and family members know you wouldn’t lie to them, consumers may be skeptical.
So you’ll need to show evidence to back up your claims.
For example, you could tell your audience people like to use Facebook to get their news. But does that really mean anything if you don’t have any proof?
It’s much more effective to say,
According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, 67% of adults in the United States use social media platforms to get news.
Show graphs or other data sources as a visual reference for your claims as well. If you’ve been following my blogs for a while, you know I use this technique all the time.
Visual evidence can have a remarkable impact on someone’s ability to retain information.
When information is communicated orally, the listener is only likely to remember 10% of what they heard three days later. But if images are paired with that data, 65% of the information is retained three days later.
You want your audience to take a specific action, but they may not do it right away. Give them some time.
Visual evidence will keep your persuasive voice in their minds even days after they consumed your content.
4. Limit their choices
If you’re trying to get people to buy a product or make a selection, limit their choices.
Marketers make this mistake all the time. They think offering hundreds of choices will appeal to a wider audience, leading to more sales.
The reality is, it has the opposite effect.
One of the best examples of this concept is referred to as the “Jam Study.” Here’s what researchers discovered.
A grocery store had a display table with 24 different types of jam. The table attracted 60% of people shopping in the store.
On average, each shopper sampled 2 flavors of jam, but only 3% of shoppers actually made a purchase.
On a different day in that same grocery store, a smaller display table offered 6 different jams. This time, 40% of shoppers were attracted to this display.
While people still sampled an average only 2 flavors, 30% of shoppers purchased jam.
When consumers had fewer choices, they were 10 times more likely to buy something. It’s known as the paradox of choice.
People are indecisive. Giving them too many options will overwhelm them. They can’t make a decision, so they end up getting nothing.
Consumers are also more likely to feel buyer’s remorse if you offer too many options.
They will constantly second-guess their choices and may end up having a negative perception of your brand. Obviously, you don’t want this to happen.
If you’re trying to persuade someone to choose something, narrow down their options, and you’ll have higher conversion rates.
5. Know what your audience wants
It’s important to make sure you know your audience so that you can properly persuade them to do something.
You should know what platforms they are using and how to distribute content to the right audience. For example, research shows that men are more responsive to email, but women respond better to face-to-face interactions.
Find ways to captivate your audience and get their attention. This will make it easier for you to get them to do something.
Let’s say you have a broad target audience of men. What gets their attention? If ads for men’s products include photos and videos of attractive women, it definitely grabs their attention.
6. Focus on repetition
Just because your marketing campaign didn’t work the first time doesn’t mean you should completely trash it. Sometimes it takes a couple of attempts to persuade your audience.
Here’s an interesting psychological concept that shows the importance and relevance of repetition.
Studies show that in a group setting, if one person in the group repeats an opinion, others are more likely to see it as a representation of the entire group.
Still don’t think repetition is important? Let’s see what you think of the following phrases:
- Just do it
- I’m lovin’ it
- 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance
As you know, those aren’t just random words. Those are recognizable company slogans. I don’t even have to say the names of those companies.
You knew exactly what I was referring to because these slogans have been repeated enough times to become familiar.
Are you experiencing shopping cart abandonment on your ecommerce website? Use the concept of repetition to remind the consumer about your products.
Here’s an email that Office Max sent out after items were left in a shopper’s cart:
This reminder improves your chances of persuading the recipient to finalize the purchase.
7. Be clear rather than ambiguous
Get right to the point.
Don’t speak in tongues or in terms unclear to your audience. It’s shady and can make you appear untrustworthy.
If you’re constantly talking in circles, you will confuse people and could make them think you’re trying to trick them or fool them. Don’t be deceptive.
Ambiguous sales techniques are not effective. All it’s going to do is raise the guard of your audience, and they won’t want to follow your advice.
8. Learn how to tell a great story
Rather than just telling someone to take a specific action, you can entice them to do that by telling a captivating story.
The story could even be about a personal experience.
92% of consumers say they want advertisements from brands to feel like a story.
Your stories should trigger an emotional response from your audience. Make sure you’re telling a story they can relate to.
Stories can be shared through multiple distribution channels, such as blogs, social media platforms, or your YouTube channel.
You can even tell stories if you’re speaking to a crowd to keep them engaged.
It’s an effective sales technique. Take a look at this example from the Nutrisystem website:
They display success stories of people who have lost weight using their products. After hearing these stories, their audience is more likely to be persuaded to try the product.
This also relates back to a tactic we discussed earlier about showing evidence.
Saying your products can make someone lose weight is much different than showing them actual people who were able to lose weight.
9. Control your body language
Body language says a lot about a person. Look around the next time you’re out in public. It’s easy to tell what kind of mood someone is in just by looking at them.
Something as simple as smiling or laughing can show that someone is happy. But slouching and staring at the ground are both typical signs of being upset.
This may not be applicable if you’re blogging, but you need to be aware of this whenever your audience can see you.
If you’re trying to persuade someone to do something, you should mirror their body language. Psychologically, this strategy helps you establish a rapport with your audience.
For example, let’s say you’re trying to make a sale.
If the consumer scratches their nose, you should do the same. When they cross their legs, you should cross yours. When they lean forward, you need to lean forward as well.
Get it?
Just don’t be obvious. Remember, you’re mirroring them, not mimicking them. These subtle actions can make the consumer trust you more, allowing you to convince them to do something.
Another body language trick is known as The Sullivan Nod.
Whenever you’re making a point or creating a sales pitch, you should subtlety nod three times when you’re talking about whatever you’re persuading your audience to do.
So for example, let’s say you’re doing a video review of a few products. When you get to the review of the product you’re trying to sell, nod your head when you’re talking about it.
Studies show this technique can have a 60% success rate.
10. Speak confidently
Confidence goes a long way. If you sound unsure, your audience will pick up on this right away.
How can they believe you if you don’t even believe what you’re saying?
So relax and speak as if you’re an expert. Speak with authority.
You should also speak fast. I’m not saying you should mumble or speak so fast that you can’t be heard. But speaking at a faster pace makes it more difficult for your audience to pinpoint any flaws in your argument.
If they don’t have anything to disagree with, they’re more likely to be persuaded.
Conclusion
Being persuasive is a great skill to have as a marketer, but it’s also something you can use in your everyday life.
The techniques I’ve outlined above can help you in every scenario imaginable.
You’ll be able to persuade people through your blog, website, and social media platforms. You can even use these tactics to persuade someone in a face-to-face conversation.
Some of these tips can be applied to a setting where you are a guest speaker in front of a large audience as well.
Keep these under the radar tactics in mind the next time you’re trying to persuade your audience to take action. You’ll be able to do this with success.
What persuasion tactics are you using to convince your customers to do what you want?
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The Big Cutback: The Value of Longer ‘No-Spending’ Challenges
During the early days of our financial turnaround, Sarah and I often did “money-free weekends,” where we would simply go for a weekend – from the time we got off work on Friday until we returned to work on Monday – not spending any money at all. We lived on the food we had in our home and enjoyed free entertainment or the items we already had on hand.
Several times, we extended this to a “money-free week,” where we essentially did the same thing from getting off of work one Friday to getting off of work the following Friday. That longer period was harder, as it usually required some planning ahead for food, and we did make the strict exception of putting gas in our cars to make sure that we were able to commute to work.
Twice, I took on a “money-free month” – a 30-day version of this challenge. Here, the only exceptions were putting gas in my car and buying fresh foods. I could have done this without the fresh foods, but the latter half of the month would have involved a lot of canned and frozen imitations of fresh foods, so I decided that it was silly to make that choice. Basically, I just bought fresh versions of things I could have had on hand in frozen or canned versions. It turned out that this was much harder, and it was in those challenging moments that I learned a lot about my relationship with money.
For starters, I felt really, really deprived in the middle of that challenge, but that sense of deprivation started to fade a lot near the end. At the start, I was rather inspired by the challenge, but after about 10 days, the challenge started to feel really restrictive and I began to feel like I had no freedom at all. I felt pretty miserable for a good two weeks in the middle of both of the 30-day challenges.
The funny thing was, near the end of the challenge, this feeling of being deprived faded away. For the last week or so of both challenges, I actually felt pretty happy with things, and it wasn’t because the challenge was coming to an end.
The truth was that I hit some kind of “breakthrough” point where my mind really switched to finding happiness in what I had rather than disappointment in what I didn’t have. I felt really excited to go home and read a book that had been sitting unread on my shelf for a few months. I went on some really long walks with my son around town (at the time I first tried this, my second child – our daughter – was on the cusp of arriving and our first child was a toddler) where I pushed him in the stroller and we just went wherever we wanted to go. He’d point in a direction and we’d go that way and then I’d say, “Let’s go this way!” and he’d smile and we’d go this way. I played all the way through one of my favorite old video games. I spent a lot of time working on The Simple Dollar, which was still in its infancy.
At the time, I didn’t really notice that the switch had happened. I only noticed it later, when I read my old journal entries and realized that near the end of those months, my entries got really bright and sunny and happy, even though I was still a good week away from the end of the challenge, and they stayed that way, and even at the end of the challenge, it was a long while before my spending really picked up again.
This brings me to a few additional interesting notes.
Shorter challenges didn’t really bring about any changes in our spending that really lasted. We saved some money by not doing any spending for a weekend and especially for a week, but our old habits returned after that short break. After my longer breaks, I found that I kept going with a lot of the new routines I’d figured out. I had “broken” at least some of the spending habits I had earlier – not all of them, but a lot of them. I never returned to some of them. A few others slowly came back later, and a few others came back in modified form.
Basically, the longer spending challenge actually created some real permanent change in my spending habits, in a good way. The things I ended up cutting were things that were genuinely unimportant in my life, so I didn’t really lose anything. I just hadn’t given those “bad” spending habits the kind of real reflection that they needed to realize that they weren’t really adding much value to my life. It took cutting all of those habits out for a while for those habits to break off.
The month-long “no spending challenge” also was a stark reminder that I used spending as a crutch in many ways in my life. I used it as an emotional crutch, to just buy something that would serve as a quick pick-me-up rather than actually fixing what the problem was. I used it as a convenience crutch, buying something that I thought would save me some time or effort. I used it as a tool to hide areas of my life that were out of balance, like a dog tossing leaves and dirt over his mess. Spending allowed me to hide all of those things.
With the emotional pick-me-up, buying something often simply served as a quick emotional lift. I’d feel good for a bit after buying a coffee or – my personal little treat of choice at the time – a slice of pizza and a Gatorade from the convenience store near our apartment. I’d feel happy for a little while, drink or eat or otherwise enjoy my treat, sigh, and ride that little emotional lift as long as I could (which often wasn’t as long as I’d like).
What I found during the challenge is that I could often find the same little lift in something free or nearly so. I’d find it in doing things like stopping work for a while to stretch, or going for a barefoot walk on a sunny day, or drinking some ice cold water. It might not necessarily lift me as “high” as other options, but it didn’t come with the “drag” of being yet another expense.
Furthermore, I came to realize that such treats were often just covering up some problem in my life. Why was I sad enough that I needed a little treat to lift me up? There were a number of things going on, largely revolving around my professional life and some familial concerns, that were causing me to feel a little less happy in my day to day life, and I often relied on those little bursts of happiness to help get me through the day. Simply backing off of those not only led me to some free solutions, but it also led me to actually addressing those concerns.
Regarding spending for convenience, I learned during the longer challenges that the “convenience” reason for unnecessary spending was often just a cover-up for my ineptness. I wasn’t very handy in the kitchen, so cooking simple meals seemed intimidating, so I’d back away from the challenge with restaurants, takeout, and prepackaged food. The longer challenges forced me to cook actual meals for myself, day in and day out, and I found that the more I did it, the easier it got. Now I’m not afraid to cook anything and most of the time I’d rather just do it myself because it turns out better in terms of what I like and it’s not much more effort, either, plus it’s far cheaper.
So, what can you take home from this experience?
Firstly, a long “no spending” challenge – say, for 30 days – is incredibly useful in terms of digging into your money habits. By the end of those 30 days, you will have learned a lot about how you spend money, whether it’s for convenience, for entertainment, or for other purposes. It’ll also nudge you into finding new things in your life to appreciate.
The reality is, however, that most people will never take on such a challenge, so what else can be gleaned from this?
A lot of money we spend on things that are convenient are mostly there to cover up the fact that we’re not very skilled at something. A lot of people spend money on convenience foods because they’re not adept in the kitchen, either at cooking or at efficiently cleaning up, for example. Many people spend money on entertainment because they’re not adept at finding other forms of entertainment. When you spend money on a convenience or something non-essential, consider for a moment what skills of yours that this expense is compensating for and consider whether there’s value in sharpening that skill.
Even more money is spent on things that are meant to provide a short term relief to a personal pain of some kind. We buy a treat to forget our cares for a while. This is a twofold problem. First, there are usually a lot of free treats that can have the same effect. There are a lot of wonderful free things in the world to appreciate and enjoy and even distract, without the expense. Second, treats don’t actually solve the problem, whether they’re free or not. If you find you’re indulging with any regularity in a treat or a vice, ask yourself what you are distracting yourself from and consider whether or not you’d be better off just working on solving that problem directly instead.
You can learn a lot in 30 days. Good luck!
Related Articles:
- The Value of a 30-Day Challenge – and 10 to Try This Month to Improve Your Finances
- 104 Things to Do During a Money-Free Weekend
- Treating Your Financial Goals as a Part-Time Job
- Using What’s Already in Your Pantry to Make Amazing ‘Free’ Meals
The post The Big Cutback: The Value of Longer ‘No-Spending’ Challenges appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
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Protect your property by entering the mind of a burglar
Burglary can be a financially and psychologically devastating event for a family. One way to help protect your property against crime is to get into the mind of a burglar.
Research conducted by forensic psychologist Dr Claire Nee of the University of Portsmouth has delved into the psyche of burglars to understand what they look for when it comes to burgling your home.
To help gain an insight into how householders can protect their homes from burglary, Moneywise participated in Dr Nee’s burglary simulation in partnership with Churchill Insurance. Here’s what we found out.
1. Very few burglaries are opportunistic
Very few burglars are opportunistic. Instead, many will be regularly scanning and analysing neighbourhoods and environments they encounter for future opportunities.
Dr Nee says: “Very few burglars are what we would call properly impulsive or indiscriminate, which is what we normally mean by opportunistic. The majority of burglars have a lot of knowledge in their heads; we call them cognitive schemers. They have lots of ‘recipes’ about how to commit different burglaries. They pick up the cues of vulnerable areas during their everyday activities. They’re constantly scanning.
“They’ll be thinking ‘Oh, that looks quiet down that road – it might be a good place for the day time’ or ‘I might come back here in the evening’. They’re using things like where the house is positioned on the street, or how many people they can be seen by.”
Burglars are far more likely to target isolated houses or end of terraces. According to the study, it is very rare for a burglar to try to gain entry from the front of the house, as the likelihood of being spotted is much higher. Burglars will often knock on the front door to see if anyone is home, before heading around the back to try to gain entry. Not only is an empty house an easier target, but the majority of burglars are aware of the implications of being disturbed in the course of a burglary as this raises the criminal implications to aggravated burglary, which carries much stiffer sentences.
2. It’s obvious, but don’t leave doors or windows open if you’re out
Staggeringly, Dr Nee says nearly half the time the burglars she has worked with report accessing a property through an open door or window: “How easy it is to physically get in? Usually it’s not too difficult, about 50% of the time, people just leave somewhere open. Burglars often say that households buy expensive security devices but leave a window open or forget to switch on the alarm.”
3. Smaller possessions are what burglars target
Contrary to popular belief, the items burglars most commonly target are not high value items, such as flat screen TVs and desktop computers, as these often have cables that are tedious to remove and are simply too large to steal.
Instead, most burglars target items that are easy to carry or put into pockets, such as jewellery, passports, wallets, phones, tablets and laptop computers. According to the study, having tracking software such as “Find my iPhone” on iOS and “Find Device” on Android makes little difference in deterring theft as burglars will switch off devices straight away. The burglar will then deliver the device to a middleman who wipes it of the owner’s information.
Dr Nee asked non-burglars and burglars to take part in her computerised burglary simulation. She says: “Our research showed that the non-burglars went around and picked up the big TVs or PCs, whereas a burglar probably wouldn’t take that. Burglars really don’t like cables.”
In many cases the burglars will steal thousands of pounds worth of possessions, but will generally only receive hundreds of pounds in return for their efforts. According to Dr Nee, it is highly unlikely the burglar will sell any of the stolen items online on sites such as eBay or Gumtree as generally burglars have pre-arranged middlemen to buy stolen goods or rely on quick-sale no-questions-asked pawn shops.
4. Burglars tend to avoid kitchens, bathrooms and children’s bedrooms
The research also shed fascinating light onto the way in which burglars analyse their environment and make decisions once inside a property. For instance, burglars tend to make sure a house is empty before moving to the furthest destination from their point of entry and systematically making their way through the house back to where they came in from.
The burglar will move through the house checking drawers and cupboards for valuable items with thoroughness. In many cases, burglars already know where to look as many householders follow the same tendencies when it comes to hiding items, such as valuable jewellery and passports, in filing cabinets.
Dr Nee says on average, burglars reported spending as little as eight minutes searching through a house. “Burglars are very fast, they don’t want to spend a long time in there, but they just know very quickly where high value areas are. They’ll go there and get the important stuff.”
When it comes to places in the house that burglars avoid, kitchens and bathrooms tend to be ignored as householders don’t put items of value in these rooms. Also, interestingly, it seems many burglars are not completely devoid of a moral code, as the majority say they wouldn’t enter a child’s room because it is “morally wrong”.
According to Dr Nee: “They really didn’t like going into children’s bedrooms. In the past, we knew they didn’t go into children’s bedrooms, but we thought it was just because they wouldn’t think there was much in there, but nearly every one of them said ‘That’s a child’s room - that’s the no-go area’.
“Burglars don’t go in the bathroom either. You can’t store all your electronic goods in the bathroom cabinet, but we need to think about trying to be less obvious. The burglar will be on this habitual automatic route and if the stuff isn’t there, one of things they really don’t like is spending too long, they’ll just get more and more twitchy.”
This provides householders with an insight into the criminal mind, and clues as to how to protect their homes and belongings. It may be wise to store items of value in children’s rooms while you are on holiday, or even in a box in the bathroom.
5. Use light timers to discourage entry
However, Dr Nee says the best thing homeowners can do to protect their belongings is to discourage entry in the first place: “We don’t want to make life inconvenient for householders because of burglars but at the same time I think there is a leap to be made by householders to reduce risk.”
Making a house appear occupied with light timers, having a neighbour come round and check the property, using motion sensor-activated outdoor lights and other simple deterrents make a property too high a risk for a burglar to try.
Martin Scott, head of Churchill Home Insurance, explains: “Burglary is one of the most prevalent and invasive crimes householders face. While burglars often choose properties at random, there are inexpensive practical steps we can all take to make our homes less of a target.
“One of the most common things people forget is to make their home look occupied while they are away. This may be by asking people to house sit or by setting up timers for lights and sounds to fake occupancy. Another thing to reduce your risk is to appraise your home as if through the eyes of a burglar.
“Check whether you have any easy access points, through the rear or side of the property and if you do, make these secure. If your home provides cover with trees, a high wall or fence for a burglar trying to break in, install security lights as these can be an effective deterrent.
“Finally, keep your valuables out of sight. If you have high value, portable electronics, cash, jewellery or identity documents in clear view of a window a burglar knows exactly where to steal them from. If everything is hidden, a burglar may decide that it isn’t worth the time searching for items and move on.”
My burglary simulation experience
I participated in Dr Nee’s and Churchill’s “burglary simulation” to better understand how burglars operate and gain insights into how households can better protect their possessions.
Using computer simulations, Dr Nee conducted research with 55 convicted burglars serving time in prison, along with 50 offenders who had committed other crimes. She also used a control group of non-offenders to compare the variations in behaviour between normal people and ‘professional’ burglars.
Of the simulation, Dr Nee says: “There’s nothing better than actually redoing it because burglars think of things they haven’t thought of before interviewing them. You have a lot more accurate and rich data about where they go to in the environment and what they consider vulnerable. We’ve known for years that they use cues in the environment automatically.
“We don’t want households to change their behaviour completely. We want to leave our possessions in a convenient place for us, to go about our business, but we are too predictable, we do leave opportunity absolutely everywhere. There are some small things we can do to make our properties look less attractive first of all and then if someone does get inside maybe not find possessions exactly where they are expecting it.”
Of my effort using the burglary simulation, which you can watch below, Dr Nee comments: “You were probably the best person we’ve had this morning, in the sense that you actually went around the back of the property! In most studies we do, people just go in the front door which most burglars never do, they nearly always go in the end of terraces and in the rear of the house, especially if you’ve got a nice lane at the back you can just walk down and scope the environment with.
“You did choose a mid-terrace though. Burglars are much more likely to take the ends of terraces because it is so much quicker to get out of. If they have time they might do the end of terrace and then the second one.
“A burglar would make more checks for occupancy because they’d really prefer that there was no one there. That’s not to say that some burglars wouldn’t go in in the dead of night when someone’s asleep because then they can get quite a few things downstairs.”
Watch the video below to see me participate in the burglary simulation.
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Live in a flat? Check you have the right insurance
If you own a flat in a conversion or in a purpose-built block, you’ll need to find out who is responsible for providing buildings insurance. You may have to take out a specialist policy or work closely with your neighbours to find the best deal.
When it comes to insuring a house, it tends to be simple – you’re usually required by your mortgage provider to have buildings insurance to cover the structure itself, and then you can choose to get contents insurance on top to cover damage to your possessions.
But if you own a flat, the situation becomes slightly murkier as you may not own the structure of the building you live in.
Paul Robertson, managing director and head of property division at broker Midway Insurance Services and 1st Shaw Flat Insurance, explains that when it comes the rules of ‘insurable interests’, you need a financial interest to insure something.
“When you buy a flat, you have no financial interest if the lease says someone else needs to insure it. A common misconception is that you can get buildings insurance in this scenario,” he says.
This is an issue affecting an ever-increasing number of people. Flat and maisonette sales in England and Wales stood at 162,914 in the year to June 2017 – up from 125,538 on the same period five years ago – according to the latest figures available from the Office for National Statistics.
Moneywise investigates how to insure a flat and how property investors who own the freehold on a block of flats – from a two-flat house conversion to a purpose-built block – can insure their building.
Who is responsible for building insurance?
To establish what, if any, insurance is needed, you first need to take it back to basics and to find out if you own your flat on a leasehold, freehold or a share-of-freehold basis. This information will be in your lease agreement.
According to consumer group HomeOwners Alliance, freehold is where you own the building and the land it stands on outright.
With a share of freehold, you own a proportion of the building and the land it stands on. For example, you may own 50% of the freehold of a house that has been converted into two flats. Up to four individual leaseholders can be named on the freehold. The freehold can also be held by a limited company with all or a number of leaseholders being shareholders.
If you’re a freeholder or have a share of the freehold, it’s more than likely you’ll be responsible for insuring the building.
Leasehold, on the other hand, is where you have a lease from the freeholder to use the home for a number of years. In this scenario, it’s likely the freeholder is responsible for the buildings insurance, which you’ll pay for through an annual service charge.
According to Mr Robertson, there are about 2.75 million flats where the freehold is owned privately – whether that’s by a property investor, management company or by private individuals who have bought the freehold.
It’s worth noting that leaseholds are most prevalent in England, Northern Ireland, and Wales. In Scotland, most properties are sold freehold.
What type of insurance do I need?
Once you’ve established whether you’re responsible for insuring the building, you then need to buy buildings insurance. Even if there are several freeholders, it is likely you will need to work together to find one policy covering the entire building.
A spokesperson for insurer Aviva comments: “If your property is a fl at or maisonette, it may be best insured as part of one policy for the whole building. In the event of a claim affecting more than one property, this reduces the likelihood of problems due to some being uninsured or insured on a different basis.”
Moneywise asked the six home insurance providers shortlisted by readers in our Customer Services Awards 2017 whether they provide buildings insurance where there’s a shared freehold, and to freeholders who own a block of flats.
Sadly, NFU Mutual – the winner of the Moneywise home insurance category – failed to provide answers despite repeated requests for confirmation on its policies. But Aviva, Churchill, Direct Line, Legal & General, and LV= outlined their policies.
As you can see from the table above, while all the providers said they will insure buildings where the freehold is shared, typically under their regular buildings insurance policies, it’s more hit and miss when it comes to one freeholder insuring a block of flats. Here, you may have to take out landlord or commercial insurance to cover the building.
Another option is to get a specialist flat insurance policy from a broker.
Martin Bridges, technical services manager at the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA), says: “There are a number of bespoke flat insurance policies on the market, which provide suitable protection for freeholders/ joint freeholders and will automatically extend to indemnify leaseholders.”
You can use BIBA’s tool (Biba.org.uk/find-insurance/) to find a broker in your area.
Specialist brokers in the flat insurance field include 1st Shaw Flat Insurance, Deacon, Midway Insurance Services and Residentsline, while Towergate specialises in flat conversions.
Is there anything else I should watch out for?
Phone a few providers to get different quotes and closely check the level of cover before picking a policy.
LV= recommends checking that buildings insurance policies for flats include the following cover:
- Communal areas, including communal gardens;
- Liability cover for accidents if someone visiting hurts themselves;
- Flats that stay unoccupied for any length of time;
- Additional refurbishment by flat owners; and
- Employer’s liability – if you employ security staff, for example.
Mr Robertson adds that freeholders may also want to consider taking out terrorism insurance and directors’ and officers’ insurance if you are the director of a management company or a limited company, set up by a residents’ association. These policies are typically separate add-ons.
He points out that valuations for re-building costs, which is what buildings insurance is based on, should also be considered every three years to ensure cover reflects the true value of the property.
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How to Get a Spring Break on Caribbean Travel
A Caribbean spring break may get pricey for college kids heading to resorts, but anyone shivering and shoveling their way through winter can get a spring break of their own on the cheap.
The Caribbean was hit hard during last year’s hurricane season, but a big part of the recovery process involves assuring potential visitors that all is well and that there’s a reason to come back. This year, that means there are deals.
“As much of the Caribbean was unaffected by the fall storms, travelers will find most destinations are open for business now and are ready to welcome travelers for their peak travel season,” said Brooke Ferencsik, senior director of communications for TripAdvisor.
That peak season starts in December and January, but can stretch into April. Humid weather typically forces prices down from June through October, as does the start of hurricane season. Ed Perkins, a travel analyst with TripAdvisor-owned SmarterTravel, notes that the biggest lull in the Caribbean travel calendar stretches from September through November as hurricanes blow through, but notes that resourceful travelers can find some deals scattered throughout the spring.
If you’re looking to book a trip during actual spring-break season, you’re likely too late. Maddi Bourgerie, spokeswoman for vacation rental site HomeAway, notes that travelers should book spring-break excursions by the end of January if they want to get the best deals and beat the crowds.
However, TripAdvisor notes that a week in five Caribbean destinations — Curacao, the Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Puerto Rico — costs less than $2,000. All five have hotel deals under $250 per night, while travelers can save 33% on accommodations when they pick the least expensive week to go.
For the Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and hard-hit Puerto Rico, that discount week is April 30 though May 7. Hotel rates range from $175 a night in Martinique to $244 in Puerto Rico.
Round-trip airfare, meanwhile, is as little as $208 to $218 from Atlanta to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, respectively. However, even passengers from Los Angeles and San Francisco can reach those destinations for a round-trip price of $330 to $526.
Amanda Norcross, features editor for travel site Family Vacation Critic, notes that those destinations can be fairly family-friendly as well. “The Dominican Republic offers a wide selection of all-inclusive resorts, including Nickelodeon Hotels and Resorts Punta Cana, which is offering a kids-stay-free promo for spring break,” she says.” There are also some really great adventure activities in the Dominican Republic, both in and out of the water: everything from sailing and surfing to zip-lining and canopy tours.”
In Curacao, April 23 through 30 is the magic week, with the average hotel room going for $189 a night and airfare as low as $323 round-trip from New York’s JFK airport. However, there’s a reason why a week there costs an average of $1,646.
“In general, islands that have frequent and inexpensive air service (such as Nassau and the Dominican Republic) get more visitors, while islands that are more expensive or difficult to fly to (like Curacao or Grenada) will see fewer visitors,” says Sarah Schlichter, senior editor of SmarterTravel. “If you’re willing to pay a little more or take a longer flight, you might have a better chance of avoiding crowds.”
Schlicter notes that quiet, romantic islands like St. Lucia (a traditional honeymoon destination that averages $3,750 from April 30 to May 7), St. Kitts and Nevis (lightly visited and too pricey for spring breakers at $4,831 a week from April 30 to May 7), and the Cayman Islands ($5,155 from April 30 to May 7) tend to draw fewer spring breakers even at their peak. That makes them great for couples, but also for families who aren’t looking to contend with the noise or mayhem.
“Grand Cayman is a fantastic island for family vacations because it offers something for every age,” Norcross says. “World-renowned diving, bioluminescent kayaking, Seven Mile Beach and Stingray City (where you can actually swim with stingrays) are among the highlights.”
But if you want to trim those prices down even further, SmarterTravel’s Schlicter suggests getting creative. Be flexible with dates if possible, but also consider vacation rentals and guest houses when looking for accommodations.
In the Cayman Islands, for example, the average nightly hotel rate during its cheapest spring week is $674. If you can get a group of 10 down there, a five-bedroom, five-bathroom villa on HomeAway with an infinity pool, hot tub and its own boat can be had for $166 per couple per night, or $83 per person. Oh, and the minimum age for rental is 25, which leaves spring breakers out of the equation.
In Barbados, where round-trip airfare is as little as $206 from JFK but average room rates on its cheapest weekend (again, April 30 to May 7) are $436, a vacation rental that sleeps six goes for $454 a night. The three-bedroom, three-bathroom villa with an outdoor living room overlooking the sea is on the Royal Westmoreland Golf Course and has a pool, a private cottage, a tennis court and a lenient policy toward children.
We’ll warn that this won’t work with every destination. When hotel prices average $198 a night in Guadelope and $175 in Martinique, a vacation rental will do little to offset airfares from Dallas that are $1,382 and $1,094, respectively. In that case, SmarterTravel’s Perkins says, your best option may be a hotel, flight, and car-rental package where discounts on the room and vehicle offset the ticket price a bit.
“As always, the only way to be sure is to compare,” Perkins says. “Packagers are often a better last-minute source than airlines and resorts directly; they may have availability when individual airlines and hotels say ‘sold out.’”
Related Articles:
- Six Credit Card Reward Strategies for Family Vacations
- Here’s How We Took a $20,000 European Vacation for $3,500 This Summer
- Three Times Travel ‘Deals’ Are Actually More Expensive
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These 8 Settlements Can Turn Moldy Clothes and Indigestion Into Cash
You could qualify to receive money from the maker of Align and from several other class-action settlements — some of which might be part of your Valentine’s Day celebration.
The following eight class-action settlements have deadlines coming soon. Fortunately, many of them only require you to complete and submit an online form.
While these settlements might not make your heart go aflutter, they could help your wallet get fatter.
Align Probiotic
If you purchased Align probiotic supplements between March 1, 2009 to June 6, 2016, you could receive a refund of up to $49.26.
Procter & Gamble admitted no wrongdoing but agreed to pay a $15 million cash settlement for its claims the supplement had digestive health benefits. Class members include all U.S. consumers who purchased Align for personal or household use during the aforementioned time period and did not experience digestive health benefits.
Procter & Gamble also agreed to stop making certain marketing claims for Align and will contribute financially to irritable bowel syndrome research.
You have until May 16, 2018 to submit a claim.
Roundup Weed & Grass Killer Concentrate
Did you buy Roundup Weed & Grass Killer Concentrate Plus or Roundup Weed & Grass Killer Super Concentrate and find that it didn’t create as much diluted product as promised on the packaging? If so, you could be eligible for a settlement of $11 to $53 per unit for up to 20 items.
Those who purchased these concentrated Roundup products in California on or after Oct. 13, 2012 may be eligible for the settlement. If you purchased the product in another state, so long as it was on or after April 5 of any year within the statute of limitations, you may be eligible for the settlement too.
The Roundup packaging must have a label with “Makes Up To __ Gallons” printed on it. The $21.5 million settlement resolves two class-action lawsuits against Monsanto over the concentrated products.
If you’re impacted by this settlement, act fast because you have until March 6, 2018 to submit a claim.
Sam’s Club Freshness Guarantee Failures
Sam’s Club members filed two class-action lawsuits, one in California and another in South Carolina, that claim the company didn’t honor its own 200% refund guarantee on fresh products.
If you returned certain foods from Sam’s Club’s meat, deli, produce, bakery or seafood departments covered by the 200% guarantee and only received the purchase price as a refund between Sept 11, 1999 and Nov. 9, 2017, you may be eligible for this settlement.
The settlement is expected to provide each affected consumer a $10 gift card that’s good at Walmart or Sam’s Club, but the value may vary depending on how many claims are filed and approved.
You must submit a claim by March 26, 2018.
Lia Sophia Jewelry Shutdown
If you purchased Lia Sophia jewelry or were a sales advisor, you could be eligible for a portion of a $6.7 million settlement.
Lia Sophia, named as Act II Jewelry LLC in the lawsuit, lost its sparkle when it abruptly shut down its direct-sales business in February 2015.
Customers who were promised lifetime replacement guarantees were told it would no longer be honored. Sales advisors who invested in inventory and new-associate starter kits at a cost of $99 to $149 were left with basically worthless investments.
The settlement sets up three plaintiff classes:
- The customer class covers all individuals in the U.S. who purchased jewelry from Act II between June 23, 2011 and Dec. 1, 2014.
- The sales-advisor class covers all individuals in the U.S. who sold at least $250 in jewelry for Act II between Jan. 1, 2014 and Aug. 17, 2014.
- The new-sales-advisor Class covers all individuals in the U.S. who purchased new starter kits from Act II between Aug. 1, 2014 and Dec. 1, 2014.
You’ve got a little time to get your claim forms together, as the deadline isn’t until April 9, 2018.
Lime Crime Data Breach
Online makeup retailer Lime Crime has reached a $110,000 class-action settlement in response to a data breach between Oct. 4, 2014 and Feb. 15, 2015 that may have exposed customer information.
Customers’ names, addresses, debit or credit card numbers, and their Lime Crime usernames and passwords allegedly were exposed.
Class members include those who received an incident notice in February 2015 to alert them of the data breach, and they may qualify for up to a $44 payment. Lime Crime also wants to make good with affected customers with a 15% discount on their next Lime Crime purchase.
The deadline to submit a claim is April 9, 2018.
Electrolux Front Washer Mold Problem
When you wash your clothes, you expect them to smell fresh, not sour with mold and mildew.
Two Electrolux class-action lawsuits claimed the company’s front-loading clothes washers, which were sold under the Electrolux, Frigidaire, Crosley, White-Westinghouse and Kenmore brand names, allowed water to collect in a gasket. Mold took root in this moist area and cause a smell not even the strongest floral fabric softeners could overpower.
Consumers who bought one of these washers from Jan. 1, 2004 to Dec. 31, 2011, and experienced mold- and mildew-smelling clothes can claim a $50 payment, a 5 to 20% rebate for the purchase of a new Electrolux-made appliance or up to a $500 reimbursement for expenses incurred trying to fix the problem.
Want to get in on this class-action settlement? You have to file your claim by the April 19, 2018 deadline.
Wines ‘Til Sold Out Pricing Issue
Wines ‘Til Sold Out has agreed to a $10.8 million settlement benefiting customers who purchased wines online between March 25, 2010 and Nov. 1, 2016.
The company faced allegations that it tricked customers into believing they were buying wine at a discounted price by listing a fake original price. Most of the wines sold on WTSO are exclusive to the company, so no previous or other pricing would exist.
WTSO admits no wrongdoing but will offer credits to customers on future bottles of wine. Credits vary from 20 cents to $20 or more.
Affected consumers must submit a verification form to WTSO by April 19, 2018 to obtain the appropriate credits.
Wish.com False Discounts
Did you purchase an item from Wish.com from June 16, 2013 to Dec. 12, 2017 and wished you hadn’t? If so, you could receive up to $20 from a class-action settlement of more than $100 million.
Wish.com faced allegations it tricked customers into thinking they were buying items at a discounted price on its website. In reality, consumers allege they paid more for the item because Wish.com allegedly referred to false “original” or “regular” prices next to a supposed discount price.
Although the company admitted no wrongdoing, it will pay class members $3 each without a proof of purchase and up to $20 each when a proof of purchase is included.
For information on how to submit a claim by the May 1, 2018 deadline, click 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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