Public school teacher Danny Kofke shows people how they can support a family of four on a teacher's salary in a new book, The Wealthy Teacher.
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الجمعة، 20 أبريل 2018
6 Top Ways to Make Money from Home Quickly
By Holly Reisem Hanna Are you a new stay-at-home mom? Is the transition from a dual income couple to a single income family, wreaking havoc on your finances? Do you need to make money from home quickly? I feel you. Even though I had saved up for my transition as a new stay-at-home mom, my […]
The post 6 Top Ways to Make Money from Home Quickly appeared first on The Work at Home Woman.
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Plenti Rewards Program Is Ending July 10 — Here’s How to Use Your Points
Someone should have told Southeastern Grocers that when it ditched Winn-Dixie’s Shell fuelperks! program and adopted the Plenti program last year.
Plenti, a rewards program sponsored by American Express, allowed customers to use points toward purchases at participating retailers including Macy’s, Rite Aid, ExxonMobil, AT&T, Chili’s and Hulu.
Now some of those retailers are backing out, dealing less-than-plentiful options to the once-perky program.
Southeastern Grocers — the parent company of Winn-Dixie, BI-LO, Fresco y Más and Harveys Supermarkets — will discontinue the Plenti program nationwide on July 10.
What Will Happen to Your Plenti Points?
On April 16, the Plenti program stopped accepting new registrants.
Any Plenti cardholders enrolled prior to April 16 can continue to earn and redeem points on eligible purchases at Exxon and Mobil gas stations and BI-LO, Fresco y Más, Harveys and Winn-Dixie supermarkets until July 10.
However, you will not be able to redeem points at Macy’s or Chili’s after May 3.
Disclaimers at plenti.com warn that all unredeemed points will expire July 10, so you better get to it.
If you’re a current Plenti customer, you probably received an email notifying you of the new(ish) Shell fuel rewards program that will be rolled out post-Plenti.
The email said the equivalent value of any unredeemed Plenti points for fully registered Plenti rewards members will get transferred to the new rewards program automatically.
So depending on your status with Plenti, your points may expire July 10 or roll over into the new Southeastern Grocers rewards loyalty program when it launches this summer.
To check the status of your enrollment, visit bi-lo.com, frescoymas.com, harveyssupermarkets.com or winndixie.com and click on the red “Check Status” button.
Stephanie Bolling is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She has 659 Plenti points.
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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Considering the Medical Field? Become a Virtual Medical Scribe for iScribes
While the job of a medical ghostwriter sounds spooky, it’s actually quite the opposite. In fact, a medical ghostwriter — known as a medical scribe — has become an important part of the patient record-keeping process and a great way to gain medical experience for aspiring physicians. Luckily, you can assist these doctors and gain that experience without leaving your home.
iScribes is looking to hire virtual medical scribes, who will be tasked with helping physicians document patient encounters. These are part-time jobs offering flexible hours.
A medical scribe acts as a personal assistant to physicians, documenting electronic medical records. iScribe virtual medical scribes listen to recorded patient visits and are responsible for updating pertinent medical history, assessment and planning, findings and procedures.
Experience as a medical scribe and knowledge of medical vocabulary is strongly preferred.
iScribes does not operate in the following states: Washington, Oregon, California, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, Hawaii, Colorado, Maryland, New York, Arizona, Connecticut. It also does not operate in Chicago, Washington D.C. or New York City. If you live in one of those states or cities and still wish to apply, iScribe will contact you once they begin operating in your area.
If you don’t see yourself as a medical scribe, don’t worry. Check out our Jobs page on Facebook. We post new opportunities there all the time.
Virtual Medical Scribe at iScribes
Pay: $8.50 per hour
Responsibilities:
- Record medical notes for healthcare providers working eight-hour shifts, three times a week
- Turn in charts before the 12 p.m. deadline the following day
- Work a minimum of 24 hours a week, Monday through Friday, assisting two to three doctors
Applicants for this position must:
- Have passing grades on the Candidate Assessment
- Pass a background check
- Be a resident and authorized to work in the United States
- Have a typing speed of 60 words per minute
- Have a fast, reliable internet connection and can work in a private or secure location
- Be available for paid training that takes between 60 and 70 days
- Be comfortable using Google suite products (Google Drive, Google Documents, Google Hangouts)
Apply here for the Virtual Medical Scribe at iScribes.
Matt Reinstetle is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
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Survey Junkie Review
If you've ever Googled “ways to make money online,” you've come across dozens and dozens of different “survey sites” that claim you can make hundreds of dollars in your spare time.
There are countless survey panels out there that you can join, and all of them claim to be the best.
If you're looking for a way to make some money from the comfort of your couch, survey sites can be an excellent way to do that, but not all of them are legit. Some of them are complete scams that are only going to steal your information or waste your time.
Is Survey Junkie Legit?
Before we look at the specifics of Survey Junkie, let's clear the air. With every survey panel, there are a lot of questions about the authenticity of it. This one is no different.
One of the most common questions about the site is, “is Survey Junkie a scam?”
If you're worried about having your information stolen or wasting your time on a site that isn't going to pay you, don't worry. Survey Junkie is a completely legit way to earn money.
Before you run off to create a Survey Junkie account and quit your job to take surveys full-time, there are a couple of things that you should know.
Thanks to the Internet, making money online has never been easier. There are countless ways that you can make money, but not all of them are good uses of your time.
This article is going to help you decide if Survey Junkie is a waste of time or a wise investment of your extra time.
Survey Junkie Background
Survey Junkie is one of the older panels out there. They were created back in 2005, which gives them over ten years experience in the survey game. Being the oldest doesn't make them one of the best.
According to the website, they have over 3,000,000 members. The site doesn't share how many of those are active users.
On their about page, they say that their mission is to “connect your voice to big brand companies – helping shape our world.” In fact, a lot of their page outlines how the surveys can impact the different brands and companies that they work with. Who knows if that's actually true, but it does give a sense of accomplishment.
How Does Survey Junkie Work?
Getting started with Survey Junkie is easy.
All that you have to do to start is create a profile, which will only take a couple of minutes, and then answer some questions about yourself and your household. Survey Junkie is going to use those questions to decide which surveys you qualify for.
After you've created this profile, they will start sending you surveys to take. There are two ways that they will do this. You can sign into your account and see the surveys, or you can click a link that they will email to you.
After you finish a survey, you're going to earn points. It's as simple as that.
How Much Can I Make?
This is the part that everyone cares about. How much are you going to make by joining Survey Junkie? Can you quit your job and sit at home and take surveys all day?
As you probably guessed, Survey Junkie won't make you a fortune. In fact, they even say on the website that “You Will Not Get Rich,” which is much more honest than other survey sites.
The payout for each survey is different. Obviously, the longer the survey is, the more that you'll get paid for completing it. The average survey is going to pay around $1 to $3. It's not a lot, but it's on par with what you'll find at other survey sites.
The amount that you make with Survey Junkie is going to depend on a lot of different factors. The biggest one is how many surveys that you get invited to.
Every user is different, and all of them are going to qualify for different surveys. One of the most common complaints about Survey Junkie is that they don't offer enough surveys. This is a complaint that is very common with survey sites, just about every one of them is going to have the same problem.
If you're lucky, you'll get two or three surveys a week, but that's not common.
More than likely, you'll get one survey a week. If that survey pays $3, and you get one a week, you can pocket a sweet $12 a month. That may not sound like a lot, but you'll only spend a couple of minutes filling out these surveys. It's easy money.
How do I get Paid?
Another way that survey sites differ is how they pay out to the members. Some sites reward cash for every survey that they finish. Other sites, like Survey Junkie, give out points.
For every survey that you complete, you'll get a certain amount of points. With Survey Junkie, those points range anywhere from 20 – 200.
One of the advantages of Survey Junkie is how quickly you'll get the points awarded instantly. As soon as you finish the survey, you should see your points in your account. With some of the other competitive sites, you could wait 24 hours or longer to get the points.
If you want to get your points as quickly as possible, then Survey Junkie is the best place to go. If you do wait more than 24 hours, all that you have to do is contact their customer support, and they are extremely helpful and should get the problem fixed within hours.
With these points, you can redeem them for gift cards or have them translated into cash which can be transferred using your PayPal account. The minimum amount that you have to have to payout your points is 1,000 points, which equals $10.
It's important to note that your points will not expire as long as you stay relatively active on your account.
If you take a survey every 12 months, your points will continue to sit in your account until you accrue enough to cash out. Some survey sites have points that expire after a certain period, which leads to frustration for users. Survey Junkie doesn't do that. They hold your points as long as you finish at least one survey every year.
Want to make money with surveys? Want to be an influencer? Share opinions to help companies improve their products and services, and make money doing it. Take Surveys. Get Paid.
Advantages of Survey Junkie
One benefit of Survey Junkie is that it's extremely easy to use. When you log onto their site, the design is clean and simple. Even if you don't have any experience with survey sites or are not technology savvy, you can create a profile and get started in a matter of minutes.
Another advantage is that you can use PayPal to cash out your points. This is the quickest and easiest ways to get your points translated into cash.
Other survey panel sites only offer gift card options or a physical check. PayPal is the simplest way to get access to your money.
Unlike some other sites on the market, Survey Junkie has a low minimum threshold to cash out. You only have to rack up $10 worth of points, which shouldn't take more than two months. With some customers, this can be done in a month or less.
Other panels require that you have $20 or more to get access to their money. It's your money, you shouldn't have to wait several months to get it.
Disadvantages of Survey Junkie
On the flip side, there are several drawbacks to Survey Junkie.
It's important that you understand the bad as well as the good. Sadly, there is a lot more bad than there is good.
The biggest red flag about Survey Junkie is that there have been plenty of users that have complained that their accounts were randomly closed. They were given no reason or warning about the closure. One day they logged in, and everything was gone.
While it doesn't happen to everyone, it's a problem that you should be aware of when you're looking to join a survey site. In fact, this is a common complaint that several sites share.
On a similar note, there has been a lot of complaints from users that they were not getting the payout that they requested.
The users say that they requested a transfer to their PayPal or a gift card, and they never received it. In some cases, customers were able to contact customer service, and they were able to get their money. In other cases, they never received their money. These were not extremely common, but it has happened.
Like other sites, Survey Junkie has an annoying problem of sending customers invites to surveys that they don't qualify for. After you have entered the survey, you may assume that you qualify for the survey, but that's not true.
Each survey is going to start with some basic questions, and depending on your answer, you might be disqualified from taking the survey and kicked out. If this happens, you won't get credit. It happens with every site, but it's frustrating nonetheless.
If you don't live in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, or New Zealand, then you can't join Survey Junkie. Currently, the site only accepts members from these countries, and if you don't live in one of them, then you're out of luck. Don't worry, there are plenty of other panels that you can choose from.
Survey Junkie Verdict
After all of this, you might be wondering if it's worth your time to join Survey Junkie. Every person is different and is going to get different experiences from the site, but in most cases, Survey Junkie is not worth the time and effort that you put into the site.
There are hundreds of ways that you can make money online, and dozens and dozens of survey sites. If you're looking for an easy way to make money, Survey Junkie is only one of many ways to do that. There are plenty of other ways that you can make money online in your spare time.
If you are set on using survey sites, then it's a better idea to use Survey Junkie as well as other survey sites. By joining several survey sites you can drastically increase the number of surveys you'll be allowed to take, and therefore increase the earning potential of taking surveys online.
There are plenty of legit survey sites out there that you can use.
Who doesn't want to earn extra money while they sit on their couch or while they are waiting at the doctor's office? If you want to cash in some extra spending money, without having to put in hours of work, then survey sites can be a good choice, otherwise, don't waste your time with Survey Junkie.
The post Survey Junkie Review appeared first on Good Financial Cents.
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Whole Foods Is Canceling Rewards Program for ‘Something Great With Amazon’
The grocery chain announced in an April 16 email to customers that their accounts on WholeFoodsMarket.com would be suspended after May 1, and encouraged users to download recipes and shopping lists they have saved there.
The email also warned that digital coupons would be absent from the store’s website and app after May 1.
“Stay tuned — we’re cooking up something great with Amazon and we can’t wait to tell you about it,” the message concluded.
Amazon announced its buyout of Whole Foods Market’s more than 470 locations in summer 2017, and said that Amazon Prime would eventually become its customer reward program.
In the meantime, Whole Foods has announced slightly lower prices on popular products and went on a hiring spree. But the promise of lower prices hasn’t been fully realized: Whole Foods is still tweaking prices to stay competitive with other grocery chains.
Amazon lockers have started appearing in some stores, and displays for Amazon products like Echo devices have popped up throughout the chain. The Amazon Prime Rewards credit card started offering 5% back on Whole Foods purchases in February 2018.
But Whole Foods is keeping mum on how it will reward loyal customers in the future. The company did not respond to a request for more information about upcoming programs.
Customer loyalty programs may be on the brink of disruption altogether: Studies have shown that paid membership programs retain customers better than free loyalty programs.
One example: Plenti offered benefits for shopping at retailers like Macy’s, Rite Aid and Winn-Dixie, but the rewards network announced this week it would end the program in July.
Lisa Rowan is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder who covers the grocery and retail industries.
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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The Top 12 Tips to Running a Successful Video Blog
Blogging is one of my favorite ways to drive traffic to your website and engage with your audience.
But for those of you who have been staying up to date about the newest marketing trends, you know that video content has been on the rise.
In fact, experts predict that 80% of the global Internet traffic will be videos by 2019. More than half of marketing executives say that video content is their most profitable ROI.
Blogs that contain videos have triple the amount of inbound links compared to blog posts without videos.
So it’s understandable why you might be interested in starting a video blog.
Based on all of these numbers, it’s no secret that people love to consume video content. But establishing yourself as a prominent video blogger can be a daunting task, especially if you’ve never done it before.
There are so many factors to take into consideration.
What kind of equipment should you use? How do you behave in front of the camera? How do you promote your new video blog?
You’re not the only one who has recognized these video trends. Research shows that businesses are planning to add more content distribution channels in the next year.
Do you see a common pattern in the top three responses? All of these are platforms for video distribution.
So for those of you that need some pointers for launching a new video blog or improving your existing one, you’ve come to the right place.
These are the top 12 tips to keep in mind if you want to run a successful video blog.
1. Invest in a high quality microphone
Audio is one of the most important aspects of your video blog. People need to be able to hear what you’re saying.
Having a quality microphone can help make sure that you’re not wasting any time recording your blog. Sometimes, you’re going to have poor video quality. It happens.
But even if your video sucks, you can always salvage the audio and use that for something like a podcast. Or you can use the audio to voiceover a presentation or something else that’s not live.
Your computer has a microphone built into it, but you can do better. Even some cheap cameras don’t have the best microphones.
If your video blog is something that you want to take seriously and do often, high quality audio needs to be a priority.
So which type of microphone should you get? I’ll be honest with you, I’m not an expert when it comes to this type of equipment. You’ll need to do some research yourself.
But with that said, you shouldn’t have to spend a fortune on this investment. You should be able to find what you need for roughly $100 or less.
Just make sure that you’re able to balance your audio levels with the microphone. Test it out each time before you start broadcasting so you don’t waste time recording audio that’s unusable.
Know your environment. Where do you plan on recording the most?
There are certain microphones that are meant for different things, such as being in a large room with echoes, outdoors with high winds, or in areas with crowds and lots of background noise.
So find a microphone that’s suitable for your broadcasts. It’s worth the investment.
2. Make sure you have proper lighting
We’ve all seen videos that look unprofessional. Everything from those low-budget local commercials to your family home videos.
It’s unacceptable for your video blog to look like this. So it’s important for you to understand the concept of a basic three point lighting setup.
Sure, sometimes you’re going to be filming on the go. So it’s not always reasonable for you to be carrying around an entire studio worth of lights with you.
But if lots of your video blog content is going to be filmed in your home or apartment, you should definitely have these lights set up like the example above.
Lighting can do so much for the quality of your video. These are the three terms that you need to get familiar with.
- key light
- fill light
- back light
Your key light will serve as your primary light. For the most part, it’s placed on the right side of the camera and should be roughly three feet higher than your eye level.
The key light will be the brightest of these three lights. Angle it at a downward angle so it replicates the sun and has a natural lighting effect.
Due to the angle of your key light, there will be a shadow. So you’ll need to a fill light on the opposite side of the camera to eliminate that darkness.
With two lights placed in front of you, you’ll need a back light behind you so that it looks natural. Otherwise, you may have some dark shadows on your shoulders.
The back light should be diffused so it’s the least bright of the trio.
You don’t need to spend a fortune on your lights, but you should keep in mind that inexpensive lights won’t last forever. So if you’re in this for the long haul, it may be worth it to invest now and save yourself some money down the road.
Whenever you’re shooting outside of your home or office, you need to position yourself properly with natural lighting resources.
Use the sun to your advantage when you’re filming outdoors. Try to position your camera so the sun would be at the same angle as your key light.
3. Add captions to your videos
Not everyone will be watching your video with volume. So you’ll need to add captions to your content.
You’ll have much higher engagement rates if your video blog has captions. Videos with captions have 40% more views. Furthermore, the chances of a viewer watching your entire video increases by 80% if you make closed captions available.
Are you planning to share your video blog on Facebook? Take a look at these numbers.
85% of videos on Facebook are watched on mute. So it makes sense that captions can increase the view time by 12%.
Think about all of the different scenarios when someone will be watching your video blog. They might be at work, at school, or in a room full of people that they don’t want to disturb.
Do you watch all videos with the sound on? Probably not. So make sure that you add captions to all of your video blogs.
4. Get yourself a decent camera
Let’s get back to talking about your equipment. In addition to a microphone and lights, you’ll also need to have a reliable camera.
Again, I’m not saying you need to go spend thousands of dollars on this. Just make sure that you take certain factors into consideration before you make a purchase.
Depending on where you are going to be filming, you won’t always have access to a power outlet. So battery life is really important if you’re filming on the go.
You should also consider the size of your storage cards. You’d hate to be in the middle of filming great content and run out of space on the camera.
The physical size of your camera should also be at the top of your priority list. Make sure that it’s small, easy to hold, and convenient to transport.
If you don’t have your camera with you at all times, it’s not the end of the world. You can definitely use your computer or smartphone for some videos.
But if you are really serious about becoming a successful video blogger, carrying a high quality camera with you everywhere you go will give you the opportunity to film great content any time you have some inspiration or see something that’s cool and worth filming.
You should also know the video format that your camera records.
Popular formats include .mov, .avi, .mp4. This is important to know depending on how you plan to edit, export, and share your videos. You want to make sure that the format can easily be converted.
5. Find the right screen capture software
Sometimes you won’t even need a camera to video blog. Well, at least not for all of your posts.
If you want to show your audience how to do things on your computer, you’ll need to be able to record your actions with software like ScreenFlow.
You’ll have to pay for the software, but it’s worth it if you plan to do any screen recordings on your Mac.
For those of you who are PC users, you can use something like Camtasia instead.
There are other options out there too. But these are my top choices for Mac and PC. So you can use them as a reference point in terms of price and features if you’re shopping around.
6. Be personal and engaging
Part of being a successful video blogger means that you need to have a great personality. So don’t be shy, timid, or boring.
If you’ve got a sense of humor, let it shine.
Remember, this is your video blog. So there aren’t any rules when it comes to the type of content that you’re sharing.
Just be aware that anything you say or do could affect your personal and professional brand. So I’d recommend staying away from controversial topics. But go for it if that’s a risk you’re willing to take.
Mix up your content so it’s engaging. Nobody wants to watch the same thing every day, week, or however often you plan to upload a new video.
7. Give your audience a reason to watch
This relates back to our last tip about engaging with your audience. There are some questions that you need to answer about the direction of your video blog.
What is the point of your video? Are you teaching your audience how to do something? What are your qualifications?
Sure, video blogs can be entertaining, informative, or both. But you need to make sure that your audience has an incentive to watch.
Unless you’ve got one of the best personalities in the world, nobody is going to want to just listen to you talk about your day.
Understand what your audience wants and give it to them.
8. Learn how to edit effectively
You’ll need to know how to edit your videos before you publish and upload them. Just make sure you don’t go crazy with this.
Lots of cuts and edits don’t look professional. If you’ve got a Mac, you can use basic software like iMovie to get the job done.
It’s great if you’ve got multiple iOS devices that you’ll be recording on.
For windows users, Movie Maker is the equivalent free software.
These tools are necessary because they can help you accomplish basic needs like trimming clips and piecing videos together.
You can adjust the audio and things like that as well. Just don’t go overboard with too many effects or it will look unprofessional.
9. Encourage users to comment
Another way to keep users engaged is by enticing them to comment on your video blogs. This can be easy if you position your videos accordingly.
Ask for their opinions. Try to spark a discussion or a debate.
If you take a stance on a particular subject, say something like, “Well let me know what you guys think in the comments section.”
Respond to comments as well. This is a great way to keep people coming back to your content even when you haven’t uploaded a new video.
If you’re handling this effectively, you could be getting new comments on videos that you uploaded months or even years ago.
10. Host an interview
If you think your content is getting stale or you need to spice it up with something new, bring guests onto your video blog.
Sure, people may love you. But seeing the same face over and over again could get old and boring.
So bring in an expert on a particular subject. Do you have any connections to an athlete, movie star, or some other celebrity? Even if they are a D-list actor, a fresh face can help you build hype for your video blog.
If you don’t have those kinds of connections, just ask your friends. I’m sure you’ve got someone in your circle or in your family who is funny and has a great personality.
It’s all about keeping your content fresh. So don’t think that your video blog needs to be about just you every time.
11. Distribute your content
Once you’ve recorded a video blog, you’ve got to get it into the hands of as many people as possible. YouTube is the best platform for video distribution.
All of my video content starts on my YouTube channel.
The great thing about YouTube is that you can always repurpose your videos after you add them to your channel.
Post these videos to social media. Add video blog links to your website. Send video content out to your email subscribers.
If you’ve got a written blog as well, you should be writing about your video blogs and embedding links in your content to drive more traffic to your videos.
Again, I’d start with YouTube first. But some video bloggers like to use other distribution channels as well, like blip.tv or Vimeo.
12. Keep recording
You won’t use every piece of film that you record. So don’t be afraid to tape as much content as you can.
That’s why it’s important to have a camera with you as often as possible.
You can always filter through the content later and discard it if it’s not that great. Or save it to your archives and maybe find a way to use a clip for a later broadcast.
But regardless, it’s important that you’re always recording so that you don’t miss out on any opportunities.
Telling your audience about an experience is one thing, but being able to show them the video to back it up will make your video blog that much better.
Conclusion
With video trends on the rise, it’s a great idea to start a video blog. But with so many other people out there doing the same thing, it can be difficult to separate yourself from the crowd.
Take the tips that I’ve outlined above and apply them to your video blog if you want to be successful.
You need to start off by doing simple things like getting the right equipment and editing software.
After that, it comes down to your personality and marketing ability to get your video content out there for people to see.
Follow these basic concepts and your video blog will rapidly grow in terms of traffic, view time, and engagement.
Which tools, software, and principles have you used to drive more traffic to your video blogs?
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A Deeper Look at Savings Rate
One of the financial numbers I’ve come to value a lot lately is savings rate; in fact, savings rate was at the center of my recent post on the “spectrum” of personal finance.
Let’s step back a bit and look at what exactly a savings rate is, and why it’s so important. Let’s start with a good definition, like this one from Investopedia:
A savings rate is the amount of money, expressed as a percentage or ratio, that a person deducts from his disposable personal income to set aside as a nest egg or for retirement.
In other words, your savings rate is the amount of money you’re saving each year for very long term goals for yourself (usually retirement) divided by your total disposable income for the year.
The first thing to notice is that savings rate really only cares about long term savings. It doesn’t care about short term savings that you’re likely going to spend in the next several years, like your emergency fund or your cash savings for a car or a down payment on a house. Instead, it’s concerned with retirement savings and other long-term savings that you may be doing. Money that goes into your 401(k) counts, as does money that goes into your Roth IRA. Taxable investments count if the purpose is very long term.
The other part is a bit tricky. This definition points to a person’s disposable personal income as the baseline, but what defines disposable income? Many people think of disposable income as being the money left over after you pay your bills, but what bills are fundamentally essential? For this calculation, the best answer is none of them, except for taxes. Take your annual salary, subtract the amount of taxes you paid, and you’re left with your disposable income, at lest for the purposes of this calculation. I don’t include sales tax in this, only income and property taxes. That’s why I usually use our net income on our income taxes as a good number to use for savings rate.
So, let’s say you make $60,000 a year and pay a total of $10,000 a year in state and federal income taxes and property taxes. Your baseline income for figuring your savings rate is $60,000 minus $10,000, or $50,000.
Now, let’s say, for example, that you socked away $5,000 in a Roth IRA and $5,000 into your 401(k). Your total long term savings is $5,000 plus $5,000, or $10,000.
To figure out your savings rate, you take your total long term savings, divide it by your total disposable income, and multiply it by 100 to convert it to a percentage. So, in this case, it’s $10,000 divided by $50,000, giving 0.2, and multiplying that by 100 gives a 20% savings rate. Easy enough, right?
What value does this rate really have, though?
First of all, it provides a nice financial benchmark to measure your financial progress with. If you calculate your savings rate for last year and calculate your rate for this year, you can assess pretty easily whether you’re improving your financial decision making or, at the very least, keeping pace. It boils down your efforts toward retirement (or other very long term goals) to a single easy-to-understand number.
Second, improving your savings rate becomes a nice goal that directly links to personal action. A higher savings rate means a more comfortable retirement or a shorter road to retirement, so simply raising your savings rate can be a worthwhile financial goal. Let’s say your savings rate was only 5% last year. Striving to raise it to 15% or 10% or even just 6% will have a profound impact on your savings for retirement. Nothing more clearly indicates a stronger commitment to planning for your future than raising your savings rate.
Third, a higher savings rate means a lower cost-of-living rate when you approach retirement. Let’s back up to that previous example. In that example, the person in question had a disposable income of $50,000, but managed to save $10,000 of it, which is a 20% savings rate. That person is living happily on $40,000 a year.
What happens, though, if that person’s savings rate bumps up to 25% due to their effort? 25% of $50,000 is $12,500. $50,000 minus $12,500 equals $37,500.
What does that mean? It means that the person in question here is now living happily on only $37,500 a year instead of $40,000, while actually saving more. That means that the total amount needed to retire has gone down at the same time as that person’s annual savings rate has gone up.
If you need $40,000 to live on and you’re saving $10,000 a year in a typical 7% annual return retirement investment and you’re planning on a fairly safe 4% withdrawal rate, you’d need $1 million in the bank and have to save for 31 years to make it there. (This isn’t accounting for Social Security nor inflation, just a simple illustration.)
If you need $40,00 to live on and you’re saving $12,500 a year in that same account at that same withdrawal rate, you need only 28 years to make it. This is the benefit of saving more.
If you only need $37,500 to live on and you’re saving $12,500 a year in that same situation, you need only 26 years to make it. That’s the benefit of spending less.
Bumping up your savings rate benefits in both ways – it’s about saving more, but it’s also about spending less. If you bump up your savings rate, you absolutely will be in better shape for retirement.
Calculating your own savings rate is easy. Just pull out your taxes that you likely just filed and see what your adjusted gross income is. Then, take a look at any and all retirement and investment accounts you have and total up all of your contributions to those accounts that you made last year. Divide your total contributions by your income and multiply that result by 100 and you have your savings rate, expressed as a percentage. It’s just that simple!
Now, what can you do to raise that savings rate this year?
The easiest step is to just nudge up your contributions to your retirement accounts. If you have a 401(k) or a similar account (403(b) or TSP, for example) at work, bump up your contribution a little. If you don’t contribute, start doing so. Try to aim to contribute enough to get every single dime of matching funds from your employer (I count those as “contributions” for this calculation). If you don’t have a retirement plan at work, open a Roth IRA somewhere (I use Vanguard, for a number of reasons, but there are reasons to go elsewhere) and start automatically contributing a little each week or each month, straight out of your checking account.
If that seems like a financial impossibility, consider making a few little lifestyle tweaks so that it’s not impossible. After all, on a $50,000 salary, just contributing $40 a month is a 1% bump in your savings rate. Can you find a way to spend $40 less per month? I bet you can, using any of the tons of ways to save money I’ve shared over the years. One great one that will easily save $40 a month for most families is simply switching to store brands for most household supplies and staple foods (try switching for everything, then only switch back to the name brand if there’s a specific problem with that product).
So, the core of what you need to know is that savings rate refers to how much money you’re saving compared to how much after-tax money you’re making and that improving your savings rate makes retirement come faster and more robust. The actual steps for making that happen aren’t hard, either.
What about me? As alluded to in the earlier spectrum post, our family’s savings rate (everything we save for the long term future) usually clocks in at around 30%. If we were childless, that rate would quickly shoot above 50% and possibly even higher than that – it turns out that children are quite expensive!
Good luck to you on your financial journey, and may your savings rates be high!
The post A Deeper Look at Savings Rate appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
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These Centers Strive to Make Playtime More Fun for Kids With Autism
Dropping dough on amusement-park admission or movie ticket, only to have your child insist on leaving 10 minutes into it, is rough.
Children who have autism or sensory processing disorder may find many popular entertainment options too much to handle. April is National Autism Awareness Month, and fortunately, amusement spots for kids are becoming more inclusive of children with special needs, offering opportunities for play that are sensory-friendly.
“Having these opportunities where the environment is regulated… that’s going to be optimal for a child who is overresponsive to sensory stimuli,” said Mary Kate Yaukey, a first- and second-grade teacher in Palo Alto, California, who works with children on the autism spectrum and those who have sensory-processing difficulties.
“If a child is experiencing sensory overload, that could look different in many children, but a lot of the time, it will manifest in tantrums or explosive outbursts,” she said.
The following is a list of places that provide playtime or entertainment specifically for children with sensory issues. This is not an all-inclusive list. For other options, the organization Autism Speaks manages a calendar of autism-friendly events.
Amusement Parks
Sesame Place, a Sesame Street-themed amusement park in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, recently became designated as a Certified Autism Center, reportedly the first theme park to receive that designation.
Staff at the park, which opens for the season on April 28, have received specialized training on how to assist children with special needs. Sesame Place provides guests with noise-canceling headphones and quiet rooms in addition to other resources for those with sensory-processing problems.
Other amusement parks also provide sensory-friendly opportunities for play.
Splash Lagoon — an indoor water park in Erie, Pennsylvania, — will offer a Sensory Day on May 25. Visitors will experience less noise that day, and a quiet room will be available if families need a break. A limited number of tickets will be sold to control crowd size, and more staff will be on hand for extra assistance.
Arcades
Chuck E. Cheese’s offers Sensory Sensitive Sundays. Participating locations open two hours early on the first Sunday of every month so children with autism and special needs can enjoy the arcade with dimmed lighting, reduced noise, less crowding and limited appearances from the Chuck E. Cheese mascot.
Dave and Buster’s doesn’t appear to have an organized sensory-friendly program, but some locations block off time for low-sensory play. CBS-46 in Atlanta affiliate reported that Dave and Buster’s Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, location hosted 30 families with autistic children for three hours on April 4. Staff turned off the overhead music and provided private rooms for those who needed a break from the stimulation.
Children’s Museums
Many children’s museums set aside time for kids with sensory-processing issues.
The Children’s Museum of Atlanta hosts Sensory Friendly Saturdays on the first Saturday of the month — and every Saturday during the month of April. The museum opens an hour earlier, there are lighting and sound modifications and the number of guests is limited.
Great Explorations Children’s Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, has a program called Great Connections. On the second Sunday of each month between 10 a.m. and noon, the museum is open to children with special needs. Staff adjusts the lighting and sounds and provides a break room for them and their families.
WOW! Children’s Museum in Lafayette, Colorado, offers low-sensory playtime for autistic children and kids with sensory-processing disorders. Upcoming dates and times are May 6 from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and July 15 from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Movies
Various movie-theater chains offer sensory-friendly environments for patrons with special needs. Employees turn the lights up and the volume down during these showings, and patrons are welcome to get up and make noise throughout the movie.
AMC Theatres shows sensory-friendly movies every second and fourth Saturday for children and on Tuesday evenings for more mature audiences.
Regal Cinemas’ sensory-friendly movie showings are called “My Way Matinees.” See this list of participating theaters for dates and showtimes.
NCG Cinema’s upcoming sensory-friendly showtimes are May 5 (“Avengers: Infinity War”) and June 22 (“Incredibles 2”).
Playgrounds and Play Centers
Magical Bridge Playgrounds in northern California are free sources of outdoor entertainment that accommodate all children, including those with special needs and disabilities.
Not all children with sensory processing disorder require low-sensory environments. Yaukey said Magical Bridge Playgrounds are a good option for children who need more stimulation.
Other neighborhood playgrounds may also meet the needs of children with autism. Jennifer McCarthy, The Penny Hoarder’s video director, takes her 5-year-old autistic son, Raef, to Heritage Harbour Playground in Bradenton, Florida. She said her son enjoys turning a toy steering wheel and playing with tic-tac-toe blocks there. When they need a break, they can take a walk around the lake.
Some indoor play centers also accommodate children with special sensory needs.
Roo’s World of Discovery in Kirkland, Washington, regularly offers low-sensory hours when parents can reserve time for their children to play in a calmer environment with smaller crowds and less stress. The time slots currently are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from noon to 2 p.m.
Other centers don’t limit their inclusivity to specific hours. McCarthy said she loves taking her son to Morgan’s Place, a multisensory center in Melbourne, Florida, that’s targeted to special-needs children during all hours of operation.
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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PayPal Is Getting Into the Banking Biz. Here’s Why You May Want to Pass
Surveys show that people don’t use banks because they don’t have enough money to keep in an account, don’t want to deal with all the fees, or they just plain ol’ don’t trust banks.
Fintech companies like PayPal are looking to tap into this population.
PayPal has been quietly offering basic banking services to a handful of its customers over the past several months, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
Other companies like Square and SoFi are also working on offering banking services. Amazon wants to offer checking accounts.
Nobody’s complaining. With traditional banks like Bank of America eliminating flexible free checking accounts, the need for banking products with a low barrier to entry is only increasing.
PayPal’s new banking services include a debit card to withdraw cash at ATMs, the ability to direct deposit their paychecks via mobile devices and FDIC insurance for their balances.
There is no monthly fee or minimum balance requirement for a PayPal bank account, but users will end up paying more over time.
Users pay a fee to withdraw cash at out-of-network ATMs — which currently seems to be most ATMs — and a 1% fee on any check deposited via a mobile device.
PayPal also doesn’t have a U.S. banking license, which means it’s classified as a nonbank.
To get around potential roadblocks, PayPal is piecemealing services from anonymous small banks. For example:
- A bank in Delaware issues its debit cards.
- A bank in Georgia provides its mobile check deposit service.
- Banks in Utah are giving its loans to consumers and small businesses.
It will all look seamlessly integrated behind a pretty user interface — which still has yet to be revealed.
The thing is, you can use the same internet access and mobile phone to open a free checking account with an online bank.
Alternatives to New PayPal Banking Services
Banks like Chime can give you early access to your paycheck, no overdraft fees, a free savings account and the ability to make cash deposits at Green Dot locations around the country.
Like the new PayPal service, Chime doesn’t have a minimum balance or monthly maintenance fees. You must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident to apply.
It’s 2018, and you can get 100% online access, a free checking account, savings account, debit card and withdrawals from tens of thousands of ATMs without the hoops and gimmicks big banks and companies try to pull you through.
Jen Smith is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder and gives tips on 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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I Want to Use Inheritance to Pay My Student Loans. My Family Hates the Idea
I am trying to decide what to do about my student loan. I have an inheritance trust from my father that is set up as a retirement that I can’t access until I’m 65. (I’m 53 now.)
There is a provision that I may use the funds for tuition, however. I currently owe $33,804 on my student loan. It is on an income-based repayment plan and I pay $240 per month, but it will go up every year. (Last year it was only $79). I’m paying 5.75% interest. For the last two years, none of the payments have gone toward the principal.
The money in my trust is only earning about 3% in a very conservative mutual fund. If I withdraw the money, I won’t have to pay a penalty, but it will be taxable income. So, withdrawing the $33,000 would put me in the 24% tax bracket next year. I would need to take out an additional $8,000 to cover the tax liability, making my total withdrawal $41,000.
My family says that I am making “emotional decisions” about money because I just want to pay off the loan and be done with it. I hate the monthly reminder of the amount I spent on an education that hasn’t advanced my career financially, and I hate the idea of giving the government $13,000 in interest.
My thought was I could take the $250 to $300 per month and put it in a Roth IRA or some other savings interest that is a little more liquid since both my employer-based retirement plan and my inheritance trust can’t be withdrawn or even borrowed against. I could certainly earn more than 3%, right?
Are there other options I’m not seeing?
-J
First, please trust me that you’re not the only person in their 50s trying to figure out the best way to pay off student loans.
A Pew Research Center analysis of Federal Reserve data shows that 7% of adults ages 45-59 have student loan debt from their own education. But the debt surely hurts worse when you can’t see the tangible career growth you anticipated when you signed up for those loans.
If you were making an emotional decision, you would have drained that trust and paid off your loans already. By weighing your options and asking if there are others you haven’t considered, it’s clear to me you’re thinking this through very carefully.
By my count, you’ll be paying these loans for another 11 years before you have a clean slate. That would take you up to age 64 — just one year before you’d be able to access those inheritance funds otherwise.
How to Pay Off Student Loans With Inheritance
I wanted to be sure I was considering all the options, so I reached out to certified financial planner Mike Chadwick.
Based on the information you provided, Chadwick said to consider the opportunity cost.
Chadwick explained that the amount of money in the trust will grow more quickly before you retire than if you started a new retirement savings account. “She could save the $240 per month into a Roth and that’s great, but it wouldn’t come close to doing what the lump sum would do in terms of accumulation over time,” he said.
“An alternate strategy would be to simply take out the monthly payment from the trust to pay the student loan, essentially washing the two away,” Chadwick said.
You wouldn’t get the satisfaction of paying off your student loans with a lump sum, but you would minimize your tax consequences and avoid having to take the monthly loan payment from your income. That allows you to still invest that $250 or so into a liquid investment fund.
Chadwick also suggested reallocating the trust if it’s only earning 3%. “There are a plethora of options for that depending on the rules of the document,” he said.
In short: Take a look at the terms of the trust and consider contacting a financial adviser for an in-depth examination of your options. Depending on how it was set up, you may need to take required distributions anyway, which Chadwick said would reduce some of the blowback from your family.
Whatever you decide, I can assure you that you’ll still have to talk about this and other money issues with your family.
I would remind you that your father left the trust to you and you alone. You might be thinking about what your father would want you to do, if you were close. That’s fine.
But you can’t make this decision based on what your (living) family members think. If you’re the only beneficiary on that trust, it’s no one’s decision but your own, and you should take your (well thought-out, financial adviser-approved) next step with confidence.
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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Mutual attraction: How small building societies beat the banks
Everyone likes to get the best rate for their mortgage or savings, but sometimes you want a lender that offers flexibility and a more community-led approach, and this is where building societies – and especially the smaller ones – can excel.
Building societies have been part of the fabric of British society for hundreds of years. The first building society is thought to have been the Golden Cross, which was founded at the Golden Cross Inn at Snow Hill, Birmingham, in 1775.
The idea behind these early building societies, which were located in the Midlands and the North of England, was for people to save collectively towards the cost of building a house. It was fuelled by the need for more housing in the wake of the Industrial Revolution and by the fact that, before 1918, men needed to own a property if they wanted to vote.
Members of these ‘terminating’ societies, which means they were wound up when all their members had been housed, saved into a common fund each week until they had enough money to build their first house. The owner of each house was decided by ballot, with everyone paying into the society until all members had been accommodated.
People soon recognised that permanent building societies could be used to build up their savings, while providing loans to potential homeowners. This led to the formation in 1845 of the first permanent building society – the Metropolitan Equitable.
Today’s oldest societies are the Scottish, which dates back to 1848, and the Ipswich, Saffron and West Brom, all founded in 1849. But there is still room for newcomers – the Ecology Building Society is just 37 years old.
While a bank is owned by shareholders, such as institutional investors, a building society is owned by its savers and borrowers, who are its members. Confusingly, building societies are also known as ‘mutuals’, but this simply means they are owned and run for the benefit of their members.
As a member, you will have the chance to vote at the society’s annual general meeting (AGM) on issues including directors’ pay (see below). In contrast, only the shareholders of banks will have voting rights.
But nostalgia about their humble beginnings doesn’t mean you should join your nearest building society unless it offers the best products for your needs. As with any financial service, you need to research what’s right for you.
MORTGAGES
Smaller building societies tend to offer borrowers niche products – and a more personalised decision-making process – that can suit home buyers who don’t fit the mould. They can, for example, be more flexible about helping borrowers with a checkered credit score history.
Ray Boulger senior technical director at broker John Charcol, explains: “Where building societies come into their own is with people who are good quality but, for whatever reason, may not have a good credit score. Smaller building societies employ human underwriters who will look at the case on its merits. They will be able to pick up on that case whereas the bigger lenders may simply reject it.
“[Computer] algorithms are fine for straightforward, black-and-white cases; it’s the grey cases where they don’t work so well. We might have a client with no adverse credit history who should qualify for a mortgage, but perhaps they’ve moved home four times in the past three years; they’ve changed jobs recently; and they have no credit cards or loans. These are people a smaller building society would be happy to lend to, while bigger lenders might not.
“There are a number of small lenders, such as Bath, Harpenden, Market Harborough, and Penrith building societies, which are particularly good at looking at cases outside the box. These are the lenders we tend to talk to when we have a good-quality client whom we know won’t tick all the boxes.”
Gev Lynott, chief executive of Mansfield Building Society, says. “Building societies are more prepared to say: ‘OK, you used a lot of payday loans – why was that?’ If you’ve had a diffi cult time in the past, so long as it was some time ago, we will consider you.”
However, David Hollingworth, associate director, communications, at broker London & Country (L&C) Mortgages, points out that larger lenders will still suit borrowers who are after a best buy.
“I’m a fan of what the smaller building societies bring to the table and their ability to offer something a bit different.
“However, we can’t ignore the fact that the big banks – and building societies – do make up a large proportion of lending and most borrowers are simply after the best deal for them, irrespective of the type of institution.”
Smaller building societies also often lack the resources to build a good online presence, so if you’re in a hurry to apply for a loan you could be better off picking a major lender.
“If you're switching products and not looking to increase your loan or term, it could all go through extremely quickly [via an automated system]. This is an area where the big boys will score in terms of spending less time on administration,” says Mr Boulger.
Mortgages for retirees
If you are an older borrower, smaller societies can be your only option. Currently, 34 out of the 44 building societies will lend to older borrowers (aged up to 80 or 85), with 16 imposing no age limit at all.
Mr Hollingworth adds: “Taking a more flexible approach to older borrowers is a good example of where smaller societies have tended to lead. Most lenders will lend into retirement where it will be affordable, but many lenders will still cap their maximum age at 75 or even below.
“Smaller societies may offer a maximum age of 80 or 85 and although some of the bigger lenders have started to extend their upper limit (Halifax to 80 and Nationwide to 85 for retired borrowers), there are a number of smaller societies with more forgiving criteria or specific products.”
Niche products
Meanwhile, there are two special interest societies: the Ecology Building Society – which specialises in lending for ecological new-builds, renovation of derelict buildings and energy-saving improvements to existing buildings, as well as focusing on affordable and community-led housing – and the Teachers Building Society, which focuses on helping education professionals.
Building societies also have a good track record in offering first-time buyer mortgages that incorporate parental help – for example, Bath and Loughborough building societies’ Buy for Uni mortgages.
Dick Jenkins, chief executive of Bath Building Society, says: “We have developed products to help people who wouldn’t otherwise get on to the housing market. We will lend 100% loans to students to buy a house while at university. We take a second charge over Mum and Dad’s house, so they don’t have to fork out a lot of cash and can use the equity, which is effectively sitting there doing nothing,” he says.
While building societies generally offer mortgages to anyone in England and Wales, some make a point of offering more favourable terms to locals. For example, the Cumberland will offer some products only to customers in its local area.
Mr Lynott of the Mansfield adds: “We are keen to help people get off the rent treadmill. We will offer products that are low deposit, with help from the Bank of Mum & Dad. But what we fi nd is that, even with this, some people are really tight for money.
“To help support them, we will typically waive the valuation fee and a local-customer-only product also offers cashback. What we’re saying is: ‘If you’re local and support the Mansfield, then we’ll support you on to the housing ladder.’’’
SAVINGS
Figures produced at the end of 2017 by comparison website Savings Champion reveal that cash saved with building societies earned an average interest of 0.95% compared to 0.69% in banks. For customers opening up a new savings account, the difference was even more marked: building societies offered an average return of 1.04%, compared with 0.7% at banks.
In addition, researchers found that 71% of building societies paid above the Bank of England base rate of 0.5% on £10,000 worth of savings, compared with 47% of banks.
However, Savings Champion adds that smaller so-called challenger banks can also come up with competitive deals. Always compare products before signing up – for Moneywise’s best buys, visit Moneywise.co.uk/best-buys.
But Tom Adams, head of research at Savings Champion, points out that some savers are as concerned about how their savings are used as they are about receiving top returns.
“In today’s climate, where there is a lot of talk about what banks do with your money, for some people an ethical or local concern can be important,” he says. “While there might be a compromise on rates, some savers want to look more deeply at where their money is deposited.”
Another way that smaller building societies differ from larger lenders is that when a savings product becomes very popular, they may start restricting it to local and existing customers.
Mr Adams adds: “It harps back to the original purpose of building societies – looking after their core customers. But it can be a source of frustration for other savers – particularly if the deal was available to all up until recently.”
COMMUNITY AND CHARITABLE WORK
When it comes to community-led activities, smaller building societies tend to focus on local charities that can struggle with funding. For example, Cambridge Building Society supports Wintercomfort, a daycentre for the homeless in Cambridge.
Others may want their savings to be used on projects that have a positive impact on the environment – as is the case with the Ecology Building Society.
Mr Adams adds: “Not many banks have such a strong ethical stance, except for, perhaps, Triodos Bank. Building societies are arguably the most outwardly ethical – but that’s not to say that others don’t do good work.”
‘We had to be willing to compromise’
Four families have recently moved into a contemporary block of flats in Bath Street, in Edinburgh’s Portobello district, having been involved in the design and build of their own low-energy flats in a tenement-style block.
Registering themselves as the Bath Street Collective Custom Build, the families approached Ecology Building Society for a community-led housing mortgage to finance the building works. The funds were released to the group in stages as the build progressed.
“At various stages of the development, financially whoever was able to put something in the pot would do so,” explains Lindsay Perth, 48, and an artist, who has moved in to the block, with her partner, Ian Dewsbery, 49, a cartographer and designer (pictured outside the block).
“The bathroom, kitchen and bedroom layouts were ours to create, which enabled us to use lots of natural materials. This has resulted in a comfortable, open-plan living space, quite unlike that in most tenements, which reflects how we want to share space as a family.
“Being in a collective of four families did have its drawbacks as we had to agree on issues before we could engage with builders and planners. A willingness to compromise was critical.”
The building is highly energy-efficient and fossil-fuel free. There is no central heating system and all electricity is generated via on-site photovoltaic panels or procured from 100% renewable energy.
‘Without a lodger, I would have had to sell up’
Claire Woodhouse, 37, lives in a three-bedroom terraced house in Bath, after taking out a Rent a Room mortgage with Bath Building Society.
Claire, who works in property management, says: “I originally bought the property with my ex in 2009 and then I bought him out when we split up in 2016. I approached normal mortgage companies, but they wouldn’t lend me enough money. Then I stumbled across Bath’s Rent a Room product, which would take one lodger’s income into consideration. Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to buy my ex out.
“I get about 80% of the cost of my mortgage through the rental income, so it pays quite a chunk of the repayments and the income is tax-free as it’s under the government threshold of £7,500 a year.
“I advertised for a lodger on Spare Room while I was applying for the mortgage. Before the mortgage was signed off, I’d found someone and drawn up a lodger’s agreement with her.
“Without Bath’s scheme, I would have had to sell up and that would have been quite traumatic when you’re also going through a break-up,” she adds.
‘Lenders said I was too old for a mortgage’
Peter Capstick, 70, who is retired, was turned down by two lenders when he applied to switch mortgages on his home in Lancaster.
“I had been with my original lender for a long time and had transferred my mortgage three or four times. Previously, my lender had suggested it would extend my mortgage beyond age 70 or 75,” Peter explains.
“But when I tried to do this, it said: ‘No, we know how much savings you have; you can afford to pay it off’.
“As I had a few health issues, I wanted the flexibility of having savings in the bank – I’d already had to convert my bathroom into a shower room. But it just wasn’t interested,” he adds.
A second bank gave Peter a mortgage, but it was unhelpful when he later asked to switch to a cheaper deal.
“It said because of my age and because it doesn’t like interest-only mortgages I would have to pay the higher rate,” he says.
Peter then approached Cumberland Building Society, which has no upper age limit for borrowers and operates in Cumbria, west Northumberland, south-west Scotland and north Lancashire.
“At the Cumberland, it was a case of: ‘The screen says this, but I will get in touch with the underwriting team to see what we can do,’” he adds.
YOUR VOTE COUNTS
As the 2018 round of building society AGMs kicks off in April, it’s worth looking out for voting forms if you want a say over issues that could directly affect you.
At a time when savings rates have been minuscule, it is your chance to speak out against the ‘fat cat’ remuneration packages secured by some building society bosses.
It’s also worth noting that many building societies offer a charitable donation – generally between 20p and 50p – for each vote cast. Last year, building societies raised over £100,000 through AGM-related voting donations, according to industry trade body, the Building Societies Association.
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