MARSHALLS CREEK — The Smithfields branch of the Eastern Monroe Public Library will soon have a new home. Middle Smithfield Township has allocated part of its Echo Lake Park property for what will be a new library, museum and community center.“We are really pleased to provide a permanent home for our local library,” said Township Supervisor Annette Atkinson of Middle Smithfield. “A library is more than just a repository of books. Over the years, all [...]
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الجمعة، 23 مارس 2018
This is What Expecting Parents Need to Know About Toys R Us Baby Registries
Expectant parents are now realizing their baby registries are kaput.
As Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores around the country prepare to liquidate, people are rushing to adjust their methods of requesting baby registry gifts from family and friends.
Melissa Orseno of St. Petersburg, Florida, suspected something was wrong with her Babies R Us registry several weeks before Toys R Us announced its bankruptcy filing.
She spent three hours in the store scanning items she wanted. But she kept noticing things were being discontinued in the weeks to follow.
Then last weekend, shortly after Toys R Us announced it would close all its stores, Orseno logged back into her registry. Every single clothing item was out of stock. She checked again later; the diapers were out of stock, too.
Current Babies R Us registry holders may access their registries, but a press office email autoresponder noted, “We encourage you to save or write down the products on your registry as soon as possible so you will have a list of those products you wanted before the registry is turned off.”
While the store stated that new registries could not be created, the option to do so is still available on the retailer’s homepage.
Orseno said she hasn’t received any notification from Babies R Us about the status of her registry. In the meantime, she’s transferred everything over to Buybuy Baby and told upcoming baby shower guests — she’s due in June — that she’s moved her wish list.
New Parents Must Seek Registry Rewards Elsewhere
Shopping at Toys R Us and Babies R Us came with perks.
The “R”Us rewards program offered one point for each dollar spent at Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores. After earning 125 points, participants received a $5 reward coupon.
The chain’s press office noted that rewards coupons are no longer valid as of March 22; users may see points accruing in their account, although they’re not valid.
Meanwhile, Babies R Us shoppers could earn 10% back on purchases made through their registries. New parents automatically received an electronic gift card about 12 weeks after their baby’s due date.
Endless Earnings e-gift cards will be accepted through April 21. Orseno suspects she’ll never see the $124 she had already earned. She said the rewards program, along with store availability, had made Babies R Us the best choice for her.
Affected stores are notifying customers who have items on layaway, letting them know they have 21 days to pay the balance or get a refund on their deposits.
“If the customers don’t take any action, the liquidators will have the right to sell the product as part of the liquidation after the 21 day notice period,” the email stated.
Gift cards for both stores will be honored through April 21, but all purchases made during the liquidation process beginning March 23 are final sale.
Parents have several alternatives. Buybuy Baby is offering free pacifiers to those who transfer their registries to the store, which is a part of the Bed Bath & Beyond family. The Washington Post also noted that online registry hub Babylist is offering a $10 credit to those choosing their next best option.
Target, Walmart and Amazon also offer baby registries.
Orseno said that while BuyBuy Baby’s prices are slightly higher than Babies R Us, its registry is “so much easier to use. It’s fast,” she said, “and it provides a list for thank-you notes.” She said deliveries from Babies R Us had taken weeks to arrive.
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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Your Kids — and the Spring Birds — Will Love This Free Home Depot Workshop
Well, The Home Depot has you covered.
The home improvement retailer will host a free kids’ workshop on April 7 where participants can build their own window birdhouses.
These little habitats for the birds in your backyard attach to windows with small suction cups. One side is made of a clear plastic pane so your kiddos can observe their feathered friends inside.
Adult supervision is required for this hands-on craft. Though the directions for construction indicate this project is not suited for children under 4 years old, younger kids may enjoy painting and putting stickers on the completed project at the in-store session.
In addition to getting to bring home their DIY birdhouse, participants can also score a free workshop apron, commemorative pin and certificate of achievement (while supplies last).
Although there is no fee, The Home Depot is asking participants to register online in advance. Sign up at your nearest store here. The workshop will take place from 9 a.m. to noon.
If building birdhouses doesn’t interest your little ones, keep checking The Home Depot’s kids workshops site for future events. They’re held monthly at stores across the country.
The home-improvement store also regularly hosts free workshops for adults to learn skills for future projects. Check your local store for details on upcoming events.
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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Attending a March for Our Lives Event? Lyft Will Take You There for Free
If you’re hoping to get to one of the marches but are having trouble with transportation, there’s no need to worry.
On March 24, in support of March for Our Lives, Lyft is giving free rides to families attending one of the 50 official events across the country.
We already loved Lyft for its sweet driver perks, but now we’re superfans.
While there are more than 800 marches taking place Saturday, to get a free ride you must be attending one of the 50 official events listed on Lyft’s blog.
To get your free ride, visit March for Our Lives’ event page and RSVP for an eligible event. Ride codes will be sent out March 23 to all eligible RSVPs.
If you don’t receive a ride code or are unable to RSVP, ride codes will be available here starting Saturday morning.
To redeem your free Lyft ride, enter the code in the promos tab in the Lyft app. For the code to work, you must set your destination as one of the official March for Our Lives rally points.
Don’t worry — rally point details will be in your app once you enter your ride code.
The fine print: Ride codes cover rides up to $15, and anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
Lyft is only covering up to $1.5 million — or around 100,000 rides — so RSVP to your city’s event to secure yours.
It may be too late to drive for Lyft in this event, but if you want to participate in more efforts like this and potentially make some extra cash, think about signing up to drive for Lyft or Uber.
Jen Smith is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder and gives tips for saving money and paying off debt on Instagram at @savingwithspunk.
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 Carrabba’s Deal Indulges Your Italian Food Cravings Today and Tomorrow
Sometimes you just want a dense, calorie-packed Italian meal.
And bread.
And quite possibly, some calamari. I’m hungry.
When your stomach begs you to indulge a little, you probably head straight to your neighborhood Carrabba’s. Trust me, I know you do — I used to work at one.
If you’re in the mood for some comfort food, get ready for your cravings to be fulfilled through next Monday.
The Carrabba’s buy one, take one deal is back –– this time with free lasagna.
Delizioso!
How to Get Free Food From Carrabba’s This Week
From now through Saturday, March 31, Carrabba’s offers a free to-go order of lasagna when you purchase Chicken Bryan, Chicken Marsala or Pollo Rosa Maria. All you have to do to get this deal is dine in and mention the freebie when you order — sorry, takeout orders are not eligible.
If you’ve never heard of those dishes, here’s a quick rundown: They’re all deliciously decadent, topped with elegant cheeses or a savory sauce and really delicious, I promise.
Plus, each comes with soup or salad and a side. And FREE bread. As many loaves as your carb-loving heart desires. We’ll deal with it tomorrow at the gym, OK?
If you have dinner plans with a friend this week, consider heading to Carrabba’s and grabbing this deal. You’ll thank yourself the day after when you don’t have to make dinner.
Keep in mind this deal is only available at participating Carrabba’s locations, so you may want to call your local restaurant before heading out. It specifically excludes Kirby and Woodway locations in Houston and all airport locations.
Kelly Smith is an email content specialist at The Penny Hoarder. Catch her on Twitter at @keywordkelly.
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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Want to Grow Your Biz? This Casting Call Could Land You on “Shark Tank”
The reality show featuring a regular panel of judges that includes Dallas Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban and real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran is seeking entrepreneurs for its upcoming season.
Contestants pitch their business ideas, asking the “Sharks” to invest a specific amount of money in exchange for a percentage of a stake in their companies.
You’re limited to presenting just one idea at the open call, so make it your best one (like the Squatty Potty).
There’s also the more traditional financing solution for your entrepreneurial dreams, like applying for a small business grant. But if you’re looking to put the “show” in your business, the Tank can provide that media exposure you’re craving.
How to Get on “Shark Tank”
To attend an open call, you’ll need to do the following:
- Complete the application packet, available here.
- Prepare a one-minute pitch for your product or idea, including any demonstration materials. The post notes that you won’t necessarily have access to power or internet, so plan accordingly.
- Arrive during the allotted “Numbered Wristbands Distribution” time. That means no camping outside the venue the night before.
Casting calls so far have been scheduled in Pittsburgh, Oklahoma City and New York City. More cities are scheduled to be announced.
Tiffany Wendeln Connors is a staff writer for The Penny Hoarder. Her greatest ideas are typically limited to what she can eat next.
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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Dollar General Is Staying Fresh By Adding Produce to 450 Stores
You might want to try a dollar store.
Dollar General will add fresh produce to 450 stores in 2018, the company stated in an earnings call last week.
The discount retailer is planning to remodel 1,000 of its stores across the United States, focusing on expanding cooler space in its “traditional plus” format stores. The effort will double the amount of refrigerated items for sale in many locations, Supermarket News reports.
Dollar General began testing fresh produce during a 2017 remodel of about 100 stores.
The chain has more than 14,000 stores in 44 states and opened more than 1,300 locations in 2017 alone.
About 25% of Dollar General’s products cost $1, Bloomberg reports. The chain accepts SNAP benefits via EBT.
While other major retailers are focusing on delivery services, meal kits and online ordering options, Dollar General keeps it simple with limited size and selection.
When The Penny Hoarder put three dollar store chains to the test in 2016, we found Dollar General to be the priciest.
We’ve reached out to Dollar General to learn more about what to expect from its fresh food additions. We’ll update this post if we get a response.
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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Love Language Arts? This Company is Hiring a Remote Content Writer
Give me an hour-long discussion about “To Kill a Mockingbird” over parallelograms any day of the week.
Does this sound like you?
If analyzing classic literature is your thing, you love a good onomatopoeia, and want to work from home, then CHA-CHING — we just might have a job for you.
Amplify is hiring a remote ELA content writer. This is a full-time, contractor position that is expected to last about a year.
Amplify is a digital education company that works with teachers and students to provide an interactive approach to learning. By using multimedia and technology, the company strives to make reading and writing more engaging for young students.
If you land this role, you will be crafting English Language Arts lessons and assessments for students in grades 6-8.
Candidates should not only have teaching experience, but also a passion for literature and grammar. You should be comfortable working with teams and implementing technology in your teaching plan.
If this sounds like a good fit for you, keep reading. And if literature isn’t your thing, no worries. You can check out our Jobs page on Facebook, where we’re always posting work-from-home opportunities.
Remote ELA Content Writer at Amplify
Pay: Not specified
Responsibilities include:
- Helping research and select texts that meet Amplify’s standards
- Providing analysis on selected texts
- Contributing to the overall development of the curriculum
- Creating lessons that engage students at all levels
- Collaborating with designers, developers and other content producers to create lessons that sync with the Amplify platform
Applicants for this position must have:
- A bachelor’s degree in English or humanities
- Background in literary analysis
- At least two years of experience educating at the middle or high school level
- Previous experience writing lessons plans and curriculums
- Demonstrated writing skills
Preferred qualifications:
- A graduate degree
- Experience creating lesson plans/curriculums that integrate technology
- Willingness to think outside the box and collaborate with teachers
- Strong reading and thinking skills
Apply here for the remote English Language Arts Content Writer at Amplify.
Kaitlyn Blount is a junior staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She was the nerd in school who actually enjoyed summer reading assignments.
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 Write a Perfect Email Newsletter That Converts
Email newsletters are a great way to stay in contact with your subscribers. I use this strategy for my businesses as well.
But when I consult different companies and analyze their email newsletters, I come across some common problems. They’re not using these emails as a marketing tool.
Just sending a newsletter for the sake of meeting your weekly or monthly requirement is not effective.
Your newsletter is a valuable marketing resource, and it’s time for you to start writing them as such. If you need to improve your existing newsletters, read this post.
This guide is also great for anyone just starting out with newsletters.
If you follow my tips, tricks, and advice based on my personal experience and research, your next newsletter will be a conversion machine.
Here’s what you need to know to make this happen.
Give people a reason to opt in
Let’s take a step back for a minute. For you to get conversions in the first place, you need to have an active list of email subscribers.
The best way to do this is to give them a great reason to opt in. Just saying “sign up for our newsletter” isn’t appealing.
How can you approach this? Value. Pitch people with value. Give them an incentive to sign up. Check out this example from the Lands’ End website:
Customers who sign up for their newsletter will get 25% off their orders. It’s a no-brainer for customers to opt in.
But the value doesn’t stop there. They continue by saying their newsletter subscribers also get access to exclusive offers. This implies they’ll get other discounts in the future as well.
Besides monetary discounts, think about other ways your company can add value to prospective newsletter subscribers.
It depends on your company and your industry, but try to get creative here. For example, an airline could offer priority boarding to customers who subscribe to their newsletter.
You could provide free online seminars or e-book downloads to anyone who signs up for your newsletter. If your company hosts events, you can offer free parking passes or free entry to subscribers.
Just think outside the box. The more people subscribe, the greater your conversions will be.
Stick to your goal
What do you want your newsletter to accomplish?
This should be the first question you ask yourself before you start writing. If you don’t know the answer to this, how will your subscribers know what to do?
Here are some common goals for email newsletters:
- drive sales
- increase social media presence
- download an e-book
- drive traffic to a landing page
- promote a new product or service
There are tons of other goals your company might have. But if you’re struggling, use these to get started in the right direction.
Pick one and go with it. Trying to jam all these into one message is complicated and will confuse your audience.
Here’s a great example of a newsletter with a simple goal from Litmus:
The goal of this newsletter is clearly to increase clicks to improve their engagement rates. Rather than just writing a lengthy article about the pros and cons of single vs. double opt-in landing pages, they give their subscribers an option.
They’ll get different content based on which CTA button gets clicked.
You can use a similar strategy in your newsletter, even if you don’t want to be as direct.
First, introduce your goal with the headline or opening statements. Then, discuss it in greater detail throughout the message by mentioning it once or twice. Finally, end with a strong call to action like in the example above.
Emphasize it. Don’t make it ambiguous. The customer should have a clear direction of what action to take after reading your newsletter.
Craft an enticing subject line
You can’t get conversions from your email newsletter if nobody opens it. Your subject line can make or break the success of this marketing campaign.
Once you understand how to increase open rates with different subject lines, you’ll have a better chance of getting high conversions from your newsletters.
Take a look at this data about how recipients view the subject lines of a message:
As you can see, the subject line can determine whether or not the message gets opened or reported as spam.
How can you entice people to open your newsletter? For starters, make sure your subject lines are not boring. Subject lines such as “March Newsletter” don’t give anyone a reason to open their emails.
Be personal: 82% of marketers report that personalized subject lines lead to increased open rates. Furthermore, 75% of experts say personalized messages drive higher click-through rates.
One of the most common ways to personalize a subject line is by using the recipient’s name.
Another enticing way to encourage opens for your newsletter is a time-sensitive subject line. Come up with a way to create a sense of urgency.
There’s valuable information in your newsletter that needs to be read right away. Breaking news is something your subscribers would want to hear immediately.
According to studies by MailChimp, time-sensitive words in the subject line with the highest impact on open rates are:
- urgent
- breaking
- important
- alert
Use these terms when you’re coming up with the subject line for your newsletter.
Be consistent without annoying your subscribers
When people subscribe to your newsletter, they expect to hear from you on a regular basis. Make sure you deliver the newsletter to your subscribers as promised.
If they signed up for a weekly newsletter, you’d better send them a newsletter once per week. If they signed up for a monthly newsletter, sending them an email three times per year isn’t delivering on your promise.
Slacking off on your consistency will damage the reputation of your brand. Your subscribers won’t be interested in converting because your credibility is lost.
Conversely, people won’t be happy if they are expecting a monthly newsletter but instead get emails from you three times per week. This is annoying and could cause them to unsubscribe or report you as a spammer.
Take a look at the top reasons why subscribers report spam:
Getting too many emails is at the top of this list.
I see this happen to companies all the time. Just because a person gave you permission to send them emails doesn’t mean you can take advantage of that privilege.
Discuss relevant content
As you just saw from the research above, people also unsubscribe from emails if they think the content is irrelevant. It’s important for you to stay on brand and on topic at all times.
For example, let’s say you’ve got a company that manufactures various home goods like couches, coffee tables, and lamps. You shouldn’t be talking about the local weather, politics, or recent sporting events.
It’s irrelevant to your brand, and it’s not what your subscribers want to hear about.
Also, it’s a pretty good idea, in general, to stay away from controversial topics in your newsletter. I’m referring to things like religion, politics, race, and things of that nature, unless, of course, your business is in one of those spaces.
People have a different perception of industries based on the relevancy of their email content:
As you can see, the retail industry leads the way in this category. So if your company is in the entertainment, travel, media, or non-profit sectors, you may want to reassess the topics of your newsletters.
One way to make sure you deliver the most relevant content is by letting your subscribers choose what they want to hear about. They can also decide how often they want to hear from you.
When subscribers are initially signing up to receive your newsletter, let them customize these options. Here’s an example of what I’m talking about from Envato Tuts+:
By default, new subscribers receive all emails. But if they want to hear from this brand only once a month, they can unselect the Weekly Digests option.
These subscribers can even decide what type of content they want to hear about. People who want to get newsletters about music and audio may not be interested in code or web design topics.
If you employ this strategy, you won’t have to worry about your subscribers thinking your content is irrelevant.
This creates more work for you because you’ll have to write multiple newsletters each week and month. But it’s worth it because your conversion rates will be much higher for each campaign.
Add visuals to enhance your content
If you’ve been reading my blogs for a while, you know how much I love using images and other visuals to explain concepts.
While your newsletter isn’t a blog, you can still use the same strategy. You need to understand not everyone will read every word of your content.
The average subscriber only spends 51 seconds reading a newsletter. Furthermore, people only read about 20% of the text on a page.
If you want your message to resonate with your audience, include visuals. Pictures and infographics make it easy for people to scan through your content.
Even if they aren’t reading every word, they can still get a general sense of your message. This relates back to the notion of sticking with a common goal throughout your newsletter.
Take a look at this information about how visuals can impact a reader:
People are visual learners. Using images and videos can help people process and retain information better. Don’t be afraid to add these elements to your newsletter.
Plus, visuals will make your message look a lot more organized. Nobody wants to read giant blocks of text.
Measure your results
The only way to find out whether your newsletter is converting is to take the time to actually measure that.
Whatever email marketing software you’re using should have these analytics tools built directly into the platform. Take advantage of them to see how you’re doing.
Look at things such as:
- open rates
- bounce rates
- click-through rates
- unsubscribes
- forwards
Identify which types of newsletters had the highest conversions. Continue using the same strategies.
If some of your newsletters had terrible conversion rates, you need to understand what went wrong. Did you not have a clear goal? Was the content irrelevant?
Once you figure out why your newsletters aren’t converting, it will be easier for you to make the necessary changes.
But you can do this only if you’re actively tracking the results of each campaign.
Tell a story
As we discussed earlier, people don’t dedicate lots of time to reading the text and reviewing newsletters. You’ve got to come up with ways to keep your audience engaged.
Stories are interesting.
Once you hook your audience with a captivating story, they’ll continue reading it to find out what happens. What story should you tell?
Get creative.
You can tell your story or a story about your company. Again, just make sure it’s relevant. Don’t be boring.
Research shows storytelling helps boost conversions:
It’s also an effective strategy for B2B marketers.
Not all your newsletters should be a story, but it’s definitely a good idea to throw some into the mix from time to time.
Conclusion
Your email newsletters are an effective way to communicate and market to your subscribers. If you write them correctly, you’ll see higher conversion rates.
But you need to get people to opt in to your newsletter in the first place. Give them a reason to sign up.
Before you start writing, make sure you have a clear goal in mind. End the message with a strong call to action reflecting your goal.
Don’t rush when you’re creating a subject line. Use words and phrases that are personalized and create urgency to increase your open rates.
Be consistent and deliver relevant content. Let your subscribers decide how often they want to hear from you and what topics they want to read about.
Use visuals and storytelling tactics to increase your conversions as well.
Make sure you measure the results of each newsletter to see if it was successful.
If you follow these tips, you’ll notice a drastic difference in your newsletter conversion rates.
What strategies are you using to boost conversions from your email newsletters?
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Personal Finance and the 80/20 Principle
Several years ago, I had a brief period where I looked at my life through the “80/20 principle,” which culminated on The Simple Dollar with this brief article and a review of a still-excellent book on the topic. Eventually, the 80/20 principle became one of many arrows in my quiver of understanding the world and being as successful in it as I could be.
Before we get going, what exactly is the 80/20 principle?
The Pareto principle (also known as the 80/20 rule, the law of the vital few, or the principle of factor sparsity) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.
Here are a few examples of this in everyday life, in things I’ve observed recently in my own life.
80% of the enjoyment I get from reading books comes from about 20% of the books I read. (The problem, of course, is that it’s hard to tell whether a given book is in that 20% of “really good books” or 80% of “mediocre and forgettable books” until I’ve read most of it.)
80% of the value I get out of my smartphone comes from about 20% of the time I spend on it. Much of the time I spend on my phone really isn’t very valuable time.
I wear the same clothes over and over; 80% of the time, I’m wearing clothes that come from only 20% of my wardrobe. I honestly wear the same handful of shirts and pants almost all of the time.
The vast majority of the wear on the carpet in our house is in only a small portion of the area which, according to my calculation, is pretty close to 80% of the wear being on 20% of the carpet.
You’re getting the idea by now, I’m sure. 80% of the effect of something comes from 20% of the cause. 80% of book-reading joy comes from 20% of books. 80% of the value of smartphone use comes from only 20% of total smartphone use. 80% of my time is spent wearing only 20% of my total wardrobe. 80% of the wear on our carpet shows up on only 20% of our total carpet. Over and over again, it shows up.
Here’s a nice little corollary for that 80/20 principle: Quite often, when you realize that you’re getting 80% of the value from 20% of the item, you can figure out ways to get rid of that remaining 80% that doesn’t provide much value. At the very least, you can drastically cut the amount of time or money you invest in that unproductive 80%.
Let’s jump back to the observation I made about books. “80% of the enjoyment I get from reading books comes from about 20% of the books I read.” Given that I observed this, it makes the act of purchasing a book I haven’t read seem like a less than sensible gesture. There’s a 4 in 5 chance that I won’t deeply enjoy it and I’m unlikely to ever read it again. If that’s the case, why am I buying it? The 80/20 principle says, “Borrow books unless you know you love that book, because there’s a very good chance you just read a book once and forget about it.” For a avid book reader, that’s a pretty big money saving principle.
Let’s apply that to eating out. If 80% of my food-eating pleasure comes from just 20% of the meals I eat, it makes sense to eat really minimal most of the time, consuming low cost, simple, and healthy stuff at home – forgettable things, basically – and just enjoy the occasional really good meal without worry. The 80/20 principle says, “Eat simple, healthy meals most of the time and eat a really nice meal that you truly enjoy perhaps once a week or so.” Again, that’s a pretty big money saving principle.
You can apply it to things like ordinary treats. If 80% of the overall pleasure you get from, say, getting coffee at coffee shops comes from just 20% of the visits, what that means is that a lot of the visits to the coffee shop are done on impulse and without strong desire or anticipation. The visits that follow a pattern of, “Oh, I’m right here by that coffee shop, might as well grab a treat” are ones that don’t bring much pleasure for the cost, so they should be dropped. Save your coffee shop visits for your biggest cravings, or for when you’ve planned ahead a little for it. The 80/20 principle says, “Save treats for the moments when your cravings are especially big or when you’ve planned ahead for it, and ignore little cravings.” Once again, it’s a pretty big saver, as you’ve eliminated roughly 80% of your splurges, but you’ve only lost 20% of the pleasure.
If you watch for it, it pops up over and over again.
The 80/20 principle is why I switched to using a soap pump in the shower, since 80% of the cleaning comes from 20% of the soap use. All I really need is a single squirt from a pump to really get myself clean, but if I dump soap everywhere, I end up wasting most of it. A pump container lets me get just the right amount – say, 20% of what I would otherwise use – and it gets me 80% of the cleaning that dumping tons of soap would get me. A second pump, if needed, finishes the job, and I’m still using way less soap than before to get just as clean.
The 80/20 principle is why I’ve cut my hobbies down to basically three things – reading books, hiking/walking/biking, and playing board games. I don’t watch television or movies any more unless it’s part of a “date night” with my wife (i.e., marital bonding) or a “family movie night” (i.e., parental bonding). I still engage in a lot of food preparation tactics, but it’s merely in an effort to simply make nutritious meals efficiently and cheaply (i.e., household tasks, personal health). If I’m lamenting the amount of time I have for a hobby, it means I need to cut out other leisure time uses. Someday, I might change those hobbies, but right now, I finally feel like I have adequate time to devote to those hobbies.
The 80/20 principle is why I’m currently rapidly downsizing my board game collection. 80% of the joy I get from playing games comes from 20% of my collection, which is an indication that I really can downsize my collection. If my collection is sufficiently large and 80% of my joy comes from 20% of my collection, that means there’s a large set of games that produces a relatively small portion of my joy, so I might as well trade off and sell those games, right? That money could be used to eventually buy other games or to invest in other things in life.
In the end, there’s a simple principle underlying all of this: In almost everything in life, 80% of the value comes from 20% of the cost. It is extremely worthwhile to look at every situation in your life where you’re spending time or money or energy to seek out where that 80% of the value is coming from and to see whether it makes sense to figure out how to cut back seriously on the time and energy and money investment without touching that 80%.
So, here’s an obvious question: If you keep repeatedly applying this principle, don’t you eventually end up deleting everything? I mean, if I keep applying it over and over to my board game collection, don’t I eventually end up just having one game – the single game that’s my favorite – and ditching everything else? The same is true for almost every application – if you keep applying it over and over, you eventually cut to virtually nothing.
Here’s the thing: Once you realize that you’re making deep, meaningful, painful cuts, it’s time to let things breathe a little. If I apply the principle to my book collection, for example, the first pass through will be easy. It’s easy to see which books I’ll probably never re-read again and so it’s easy to box them up to put into local Little Libraries or to donate them to the local library for a book sale. It’s when those decisions get seriously hard and painful that indicates that I should stop. Often, if I’m being really honest with myself, that first pass ends up eliminating a healthy majority of that collection – the less-used 80% or so.
Now, even with that remaining 20% of my games, I’m still probably getting most of my joy from a small handful of what remains, but the remaining numbers still bring me enough joy that it hurts to cut them.
In other words, the 80/20 principle is mostly just good for removing “dead weight.” Use it when you perceive that you just have way too much of something or you’re spending way too much money or something. Use it when you see bloat, or when you are struggling to balance things.
When you find that it’s telling you to cut things that are really important to you, it’s time to stop. You’ve cut the bloat, which is really the reason to consider the 80/20 principle. It’s a guideline, really, telling you that most of what you’re considering for the first time is probably bloat that isn’t bringing you much value.
In the end, it’s a really good idea to take the 80/20 principle through the areas in your life that feel bloated, where you have a sense that there’s just “too much,” or where you feel like you’re trying to jam too much into boundaries of time and money. You’ll find, almost every time, that 80% of the value you’re getting from this comes from 20% of the stuff, and that realization makes it much easier to start making big cuts and building a life that makes personal and financial sense.
Good luck.
Related Reading:
- Putting the 10/10/10 Rule to Work in Your Life
- What the Stuff in Your Closet Can Teach You About Personal Finance
- How to Cut Costs With Tiny Living
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Are My Social Security Benefits Taxable? How to Understand Form SSA-1099 and Determine Whether You Owe Taxes
Depending on the amount of alternate income that you have in retirement and your filing status, you could owe taxes on up to 85% of your Social Security benefits.
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Applying for a Mortgage? Here’s Exactly What to Bring With You
I was fortunate to come across an incredibly helpful lending professional about halfway through, after my original lender proved to be a poor communicator and more interested in getting me to sign on to a bad rate than helping me understand the process.
That brings me to my best advice for first-time home buyers: Find a real estate agent and a lending partner with whom you feel comfortable. Having an all-star realtor and switching to an all-star lending professional made the process much more bearable for me.
Applying for the home loan itself can be a daunting process, especially as you gather numerous documents to prove your good standing to an underwriter.
To help potential buyers, I reached out to that all-star lending professional I mentioned — Christina Wheeler-Wellman of Caliber Home Loans — to discuss what buyers need to have ready and how they can expedite the process.
Wheeler-Wellman has spent 23 years in the real estate and financial industry and now works as a sales manager and military lending professional.
Your Mortgage Loan Documents Checklist
Before you can officially receive a loan, your lending professional will send your information to underwriting.
This means you can be pre-approved for a set amount, but until you have satisfied all requirements and send your info to underwriting, nothing is set in stone.
Wheeler-Wellman told me the single most important thing a buyer can do to speed this process is send all the necessary documents to their lending professional after pre-approval, even before they have found a house.
Doing so allows the lending professional to act fast as soon as you make an offer on your dream home.
Lending institutions will require some or all of the following documents to verify income, assets and identity, according to Wheeler-Wellman:
Income
- Last two years of tax returns, W2s and 1099s (if self-employed)
- 30 days of paystubs
- Proof of additional sources of income, such as alimony or Social Security payments
Assets
- Last 60 days of bank statements (all pages)
- Retirement account statements
- Proof of other assets, such as a rental property
Identity
- Copy of driver’s license
- Copy of Social Security card
Other Documents That May Be Required
When applying for my loan, I had to provide some additional documentation since I was moving out of state and because I had been divorced with a legal name change.
I asked Wheeler-Wellman what specific circumstances such as these may require additional documentation.
Relocating for a Job
Wheeler-Wellman explained that lenders will often require a letter from your employer if you are relocating due to your job.
The letter must indicate any salary/title changes. If you are going to work from home, the letter must indicate you are able to work from home in any state (or at least the state to which you are moving).
Divorce
If you have been divorced, you will need to supply a copy of your divorce decree.
Name Change
If you have had a legal name change (through marriage, divorce or other means), you will need to supply the marriage certificate or court documentation of that name change.
Veteran or Active Duty
If you are an active duty member of the U.S. military, you will need to provide a current statement of service signed by your commander, including your name, Social Security number, date of birth, entry date on active duty, duration of lost time and the name of the commander providing the information.
If you have been discharged, you may need to supply Member-4 of DD Form 214.
Bankruptcy or Foreclosure
“You may purchase a home as early as two years out of bankruptcy and three years out of a foreclosure,” Wheeler-Wellman explains. “There are special circumstances that may make someone eligible prior to that (e.g., health or death).”
If either applies to you, you will need to supply additional documentation:
- Bankruptcy: You will need a letter explaining why you had to file and what has changed so it won’t happen again. If Chapter 7, you will need the full bankruptcy schedules and discharge; if Chapter 13 and you are still in repayment, you will need a court printout indicating a 12-month payment history and a letter from the courts stating they permit you to purchase a home.
- Foreclosure: You will need the county record showing when the property was transferred out of your name.
And Don’t Forget the Earnest Money
Earnest money, also referred to as good faith money, may come into play when you make an offer on a house.
A buyer may make a deposit to demonstrate their “good faith” to the seller in a transaction, Wheeler-Wellman explains. For example, as part of my contract with the seller, I offered $1,000 in earnest money.
When your application goes to underwriting, you may need proof that the check for the earnest money has cleared.
“A lender needs to verify where the earnest money came from in order for the buyer to get credited those funds back at closing,” explains Wheeler-Wellman.
To offer this proof, most lenders will require a copy of the check (front and back) and a bank statement that includes the date on which the earnest money cleared.
Tips for Getting Approved
Making sure you have all the right documentation is only half the battle in getting approved for a loan.
The other half is all about ensuring the data within those documents makes you attractive enough to a lender. If you aren’t sure about your credit history and current financial standing, you’ll want to consider if now is the right time to apply for a home loan.
Wheeler-Wellman told me that buyers are most attractive to lenders when they can prove at least two years of continuous employment, have good credit history (especially in the last 12 months) and have enough funds to reasonably afford the down payment.
If you are unable to meet those requirements, spend the next one to two years saving money, maintaining steady employment and using The Penny Hoarder’s extensive advice on improving your credit score and saving money.
Timothy Moore is a brand new homeowner and probably in way over his head as he and his partner tackle renovations. If you see him looking stressed and holding a hammer upside-down, please offer him a beer.
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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Hartzell's to celebrate 75 years
Melvin Hartzell's dream began with a chicken coop and 10-cent bids
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My banking app has locked me out
Moneywise helps a reader who has been blocked from his Revolut account.
I had two fraudulent payments taken from my Revolut account without my knowledge.
Revolut told me my two claims would be escalated, but I heard nothing. Then I discovered my account had been terminated with £1,000 in it.
When I enquired about obtaining my funds, I was shunned. Can you help?
SW, London
Revolut is an alternative to traditional banking. It’s an app you use on your phone that is linked to a pre-paid Mastercard. It allows people to transfer money across the world and get keener rates on currency and no fees.
It was perfect for SW, whose job takes him all over Europe. That was until he disputed some charges on the app. It was used to buy items in England while he was overseas, he said.
Then it happened again. It was after the fourth time he disputed a payment that the account was closed.
When we contacted Revolut, it said: “We’re very sorry to hear that this customer has not had a positive experience while using the Revolut app, and we’re dedicated to making sure their complaint is resolved while also satisfying our internal compliance responsibilities.”
It arranged for SW to get his £1,000 back, but refused to let him reopen his account.
Unhappy with that, he has decided to take his case to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
OUTCOME: Reader refunded £1,000 but takes case to Financial Ombudsman Service
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Tricks to get the most out of your savings
If you’re a saver, you should always be looking at ways to make your cash work harder – whether that’s moving banks or opening new accounts.
Many savers leave their cash in low-paying accounts, something which has prompted the Financial Conduct Authority to launch a fresh probe into the savings market. It says that providers often let customers leave their cash in poor-value accounts and is looking to address the issue. Meanwhile, what actions can you take to earn a better rate?
Beating inflation
With inflation still high, very few savings accounts can maintain the value of your money. Your best bet for a return that beats inflation is a regular saver, though the top-paying accounts require a linked current account to open them, and these products can only be used for a year.
The First Direct Regular Saver is the most generous account. It pays 5% interest on cash deposited, and you can deposit between £25 and £300 each month.
Four other accounts also pay 5% interest, but with more limited monthly deposits permitted: Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver (allows deposits of £1 to £250), HSBC Regular Saver (£25 to £250), M&S Bank Monthly Saver (£25 to £250) and Santander 123 Regular eSaver (£1 to £200).
Current accounts also offer good rates of interest. For example, the Nationwide FlexDirect account pays 5% interest on balances up to £2,500 for the fi rst year, but this drops to 1% thereafter. You must deposit at least £1,000 each month into the account to earn this 5% rate of interest.
Elsewhere, the Tesco Bank Current Account offers 3% interest on balances up to £3,000, while TSB Classic Plus pays 3% interest on balances up to £1,500. However, the Tesco account has a £750 minimum pay-in and requires three direct debits to be set up, while TSB requires a £500 monthly pay-in to receive the headline interest rate.
Lock for longer
Among savings accounts that are not linked to current accounts, you can get higher returns by locking your cash away for a longer period. My Moneywise Best Buy is the Vanquis Bank Five Year Savings Bond, which pays 2.56% on balances of £1,000-plus. However, once you’ve deposited your cash, you will be unable to access it until 2023.
This compares to the top one-year savings bond – the Investec Bank One Year Fixed Term Deposit – which pays 1.85%, but only on balances of £25,000 or over.
The same applies in the Cash Isa market, with the Charter Savings Bank Five Year Fixed Rate Cash Isa paying 2.25% versus the 1.5% offered by the Virgin Money Fixed Rate Cash Isa (Issue 348). The Charter Savings Bank account can be opened with £1,000 or more, while Virgin Money requires just £1.
However, savers should be aware that we are now in a rising interest rate environment. The next Bank of England base rate rise is expected in the early summer, so savings rates are likely to rise. By holding off a few weeks, you may be able to seal a better rate. But if you’re putting aside new money, remember there’s a deadline of 5 April to use your £20,000 Isa allowance for the 2017/18 tax year.
A model idea
Savers who are willing to open multiple accounts can earn even more on their cash. The Moneywise model savings portfolio uses a pair of current accounts, a linked regular saver and a fi xed-rate one-year bond so you can maximise your returns.
A saver with a £10,000 portfolio can earn more than 3% by spreading their cash across multiple high interest accounts. Read our full guide on the Moneywise savings portfolio.
FEATURED PRODUCT
Shawbrook Bank Easy Access Cash Isa (Issue 2) 1.25%
This account pays 1.25% to savers and must be opened online. You must have a balance of £1,000 or more.
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My 20-Year-Old Just Moved Back After Roommate Drama. How Do I Kick Him Out?
My 20-year-old son had been living on his own for about a year when he had some MAJOR roommate drama and had to move back home. Prior to moving home, he had been having money issues, and I had lended him around $2,000, of which none has been repaid.
Since he moved home, we’ve discussed that this is a temporary option and he must focus on getting his money together to move out. He’s been paid twice since being home and blown through all of it!
I am trying to help, but he’s just seeing it as nagging and rolls his eyes, which pisses me off. How can I help him without it being just a big fight? I don’t want to have to kick him out, but he’s been living here with meals for free for a month and hasn’t saved a cent! Any books or online classes or support groups you can suggest?
-Wanting My Guest Room Back
I know, I know: You were really excited to be an empty nester, and now this kid is back already?
Since he’s only 20, he gets a pass on the boomerang act. Rumor has it that adolescence lasts until 24 now anyway. Sorry, sorry, sorry.
The safety net you’ve offered, both financial and physical, may be painful for you both now, but it can help prevent worse financial issues down the line. You’d rather have him at home owing you $2,000 at age 20 than have him show up at age 29 owing you $14,000, right? Right.
How much of your helping has been asking him questions versus lecturing him? He came home as a reprieve from financial stress and roommate stress, and he’s probably still decompressing from both. So it’s time for a softer approach — way softer. Ask him what he’d like to do next or where he sees himself in six months. The answers may surprise you. The answers may surprise him.
But that conversation — let’s be honest, do it over pizza — can help you figure out a plan that works for both of you. If he plans to stay a while, he’ll need to contribute to household expenses and pay back his debts over time. If he wants out, the idea of being ready with a security deposit for a place of his own or anxiety about his existing debt to you may be holding him back from asking you for help or advice.
You’re never going to get your guest room back for real if you don’t plan ahead as a team; you’ll always be nervous that he’ll have another misstep and boomerang right back to your place. Again.
Your struggling offspring may find solace in this list of money to-dos for twentysomethings. For a budgeting plan that won’t make his eyes glaze over, try the 50/20/30 budget that allows for flexibility in three main categories: essentials, money goals and personal spending.
He’s only 20. He needs a plan and someone he trusts to help him make one. Yes, you will want to put your fist through the dining room table if he rolls his eyes one more time. But if you drop your own attitude and preconceptions for a bit, he may drop his attitude as well. And that’s a good step forward.
Have an awkward money dilemma? Send it to dearpenny@thepennyhoarder.com.
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.
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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