Waiting for your refund check? Learn how to find out the status of your tax refund.
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الأربعاء، 25 أبريل 2018
Why We Haveta NAFTA
Finally some good news for the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement. CNBC is reporting and my White House sources confirm that a deal for a new and improved NAFTA may be coming in the weeks ahead.
Source CBNNews.com https://ift.tt/2Fhqtlj
Source CBNNews.com https://ift.tt/2Fhqtlj
Whistle While You Work: Disney World Is Filling 3,500 Jobs (With Bonuses)
As part of a spring hiring event, Disney World is filling 3,500 jobs, some of which include new hire bonuses of up to $3,000, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Bonuses will be given out after training and after 30 days on the job.
If you’re hired for one of the full-time jobs, you’ll also be eligible for the company’s benefits package, which includes health insurance, vacation and sick leave, a retirement plan and an employee stock purchase program.
Here are the departments promoting their new hire bonuses:
Housekeeping Jobs at Disney
Channel your inner Snow White as you tidy up after tiny guests at one of the many Disney hotels.
Housekeeping has scheduled its job fair for May 9 at the Walt Disney World Casting Center.
Starting pay is $10.50 per hour with hiring bonuses up to $1,250. There’s no indication whether you are required to whistle while you work.
Lifeguard Jobs at Disney
Get ready to hear “Just keep swimming!” A lot.
Snag a job at one of Walt Disney World Resort’s five beaches, 10 marinas, 50-plus pools or two water parks during a job fair being held at Typhoon Lagoon Water Park on May 2.
Deep-water lifeguards can earn $11.25 per hour, while those staying in the shallow end can get $10.25 an hour. Hiring bonuses range from $500 for seasonal jobs to $1,000 for full- and part-time swimmers.
Culinary Jobs at Disney
Try the gray stuff, it’s delicious! Don’t believe me? Ask the culinary chef assistant.
So the name wouldn’t exactly roll off Lumière’s tongue, but among the many job openings in Disney’s culinary world, it’s the cooks who earn the hiring bonuses.
They’re also the jobs that require a minimum of three years of line cook experience.
The culinary chef assistant can earn a bonus of $3,000 on top of the $13.95 to $14.73 per hour pay rate, while a culinary cook 1 can cook up a $1,000 bonus in addition to the $12.95 to $13.21 per hour pay rate.
Bus Driver Jobs at Disney
I have run out of Disney references — apparently, not a lot of princesses arrive at the ball on a bus.
But driving an air-conditioned bus would definitely be a plus, considering the Florida heat.
You do not need a commercial driver license, but you do need a valid Florida driver license.
The post lists full- and part-time job openings to be filled through April 30. Starting pay is $12.65 an hour, with a hiring bonus up to $500.
But you say you’re not a Disney fan? No worries: Competitor Universal Studios is also making a hiring push — including lifeguard career fairs scheduled for May 4, 11 and 18.
Tiffany Wendeln Connors is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She’ll C-ya real soon.
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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Are You a TaskRabbit Tasker? Your Account May Have Been Compromised
The service, which was acquired by IKEA last year, pairs Taskers with busy customers who need assistance with errands, cleaning or projects around the house.
Taskers are paid for their services, which means TaskRabbit houses all sorts of sensitive information from home addresses to bank account and routing numbers.
According to an email sent by CEO Stacy Brown-Philpot this week, an authorized user gained access to TaskRabbit systems, but the extent of the breach remains unknown. The hacker could have accessed sensitive information or nothing at all.
The investigation is ongoing.
How TaskRabbit Is Handling the Breach
As a precaution, TaskRabbit took its website and app offline to investigate the breach briefly last week.
The company will continue to update users on what it’s dubbing a “cybersecurity incident.” It has also promised to notify any affected users directly if the investigation reveals they were vulnerable to the attack.
Additionally, the company automatically reset all TaskRabbit account passwords, so users will have to update those on their next login.
TaskRabbit also warned that if you used the same password on any other apps or websites, you should probably change it.
TaskRabbit remains pretty mum about the extent of the breach but said it’s reevaluating security procedures including login processes, data retention and cyber threat detection technology.
How to Protect Your Data
This is a good reminder that your basic user account information is valuable to cyber criminals. It can be used for identity theft or to pursue all kinds of fraudulent activity in your name.
Since we don’t know the extent of the breach, some precautionary measures should be taken if you have — or ever had — a TaskRabbit account.
Changing your passwords should be your number one priority in this situation, especially if you used your TaskRabbit password on other accounts.
Monitor your bank and credit card activity and consider setting up a credit monitoring service.
It’s a lot easier to be safe than sorry.
Stephanie Bolling is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She’d rather go to the dentist than have her account information stolen again.
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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Apply for These Sweet $10K Scholarships From Dunkin’ Donuts by May 7
How about a $10,000 college scholarship to go along with them?
Dunkin’ Donuts is awarding $10,000 scholarships to each of six lucky college-bound students who live in in certain parts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
The awards will go to students who demonstrate academic excellence, leadership qualities and community involvement.
Be sure to read the application rules and guidelines carefully because the judges will scrutinize every detail, right down to the way you capitalize the name of your hometown.
The Dunkin’ Donuts Scholarship Contest
Here’s how to enter to win a $10,000 scholarship from Dunkin’ Donuts.
Number of scholarships awarded: Six.
Scholarship amount: $10,000 each.
To qualify for this scholarship, an applicant must be:
- A high school senior or graduate, or current postsecondary undergraduate planning to enroll in full-time undergraduate study at an accredited two- or four-year college or university or vocational-technical school for the entire upcoming academic year.
- A resident of Kent, Bristol, Newport, Providence or Washington Counties in Rhode Island or Bristol County in Massachusetts.
Also encouraged to apply:
- Full-time or part-time Dunkin’ Donuts employees who meet the above requirements.
- Homeschooled students who have reached the equivalent status of a high school senior.
- December 2017 high school graduates.
To apply, applicants must:
- Complete the online application.
- Have a valid, active email account.
- Use proper punctuation and standard capitalization on the application.
- Submit a current and complete transcript of grades.
Scholarship deadline: May 7, 2018 by 11:59 p.m. (Central Daylight Time)
You can read the rest of the official rules and guidelines here.
If you’re looking for even more scholarships to apply for, be sure to check out our list of 100 scholarships that will help you pay for college.
Lisa McGreevy 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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Need to Pay Down Credit Card Debt? Digit Has a New Feature Just for That
Now, it wants to use its money-saving powers to help you pay down your mountain of credit card debt faster than you thought you could with a new feature called Digit Pay.
If you’re already using Digit, you may not see Digit Pay right away; the company launched the addition Tuesday and will slowly roll it out to all of its users over the next few months.
According to a blog post announcing the new feature, people often use their Digit savings to pay down debt, so it only makes sense to allow us all to pay debt within the app.
If you enable Digit Pay, it will set aside a bit of cash to put toward your credit card debt. You should still make your normal monthly credit card payment. This feature just helps you pay down debt faster and saves you interest at the same time.
Once the feature is available in your app, Digit will still analyze your spending like it always has to help you save without feeling like you’re sacrificing.
If you’ve never used Digit, you can download it now. The app is free for the first 100 days. If you love it, you can keep it for $2.99 a month after that.
Desiree Stennett 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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How to Get Your $20 Live Nation Concert Tickets Before They Run Out
Live Nation will offer $20 tickets to hundreds of shows this summer in honor of National Concert Week from April 30 to May 8.
You heard that right — $20. All in.
One low price to see Alan Jackson, Beck, Bon Jovi, Halsey, Imagine Dragons, Lauryn Hill, Luis Miguel, Paramore, Shakira, The Smashing Pumpkins, Backstreet Boys and dozens more.
Time to put your wallets up in the air and wave ‘em like you just don’t care.
How to Get Your $20 Live Nation Concert Tickets
Don’t start rocking out just yet.
While Live Nation has said it will offer $20 all-in tickets on loads of shows, there will be a limited number of tickets, and not all artist concert dates will have the $20 special pricing.
QUIT PLAYING GAMES WITH MY HEART, LIVE NATION.
Looks like you won’t know if you’ll be able to see your celebrity crush in the flesh for the low price of $20 — I’m looking at you, Joe Biden and Janet Jackson — until the tickets become available at 8 a.m. local time on April 30.
If your tour stop makes the list, all you have to do is select the date and choose the $20 ticket option. Here’s to hoping!
However, the fine print says that ticket delivery and print-at-home fees are not included in the $20. Eye roll.
On top of that, the even finer print states that all tickets are subject to Live Nation’s purchase policy, which means they can totally add in processing fees if they want, despite the “$20 All-in” marketing campaign. Double eye roll.
As annoying as these gotchas might be, I’m super stoked that those on a budget will get an opportunity to see some big-name acts that would have been too expensive otherwise.
With this deal, you might be able to see three shows for the normal price of one. I’ll mosh to that.
And if you’re not a big music buff, the offer extends to other special shows like magician David Blaine, comedian Kevin Hart and did I mention former Vice President Joe Biden?
The weeklong concert promotion ends at 11:59 p.m. local time May 8.
I already put in a calendar reminder for Monday morning, ‘cause I can’t keep Joe and Janet waiting any longer.
Stephanie Bolling is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She’s not the president of Joe Biden’s fan club.
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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National Pretzel Day Is a Thing. Here Are 4 Places to Get Free Pretzels
You can get free stuff on your birthday, free stuff with your email address, even $900 worth of free coupons. And today, we’re here to tell you: The freebies continue!
Thursday, April 26, is National Pretzel Day. And in the grand tradition of National Fill-in-the-Food Days, some companies have decided to help you celebrate by giving away free samples of the day’s food honoree.
So toss aside your carb concerns and join us in enjoying this doughy, delicious creation by hitting up the following pretzel promotions.
Auntie Anne’s Pretzels
Sign up for Auntie Anne’s My Pretzel Perks app between April 26 and April 29 and get a buy one, get one free pretzel offer.
Find the BOGO coupon in the rewards section of the mobile app.
The app can help you get freebies year-round, too. For every $1 you spend, you’ll earn 10 points and get closer to redeeming a free pretzel.
Pretzelmaker
Pretzelmaker wants everyone to stay in touch on National Pretzel Day. It’s encouraging customers to follow them on Facebook or Instagram.
Just show a participating store proof that you’re following them on your mobile device when you get to the counter and score your free pretzel.
There’s a limit of one free pretzel per person.
Wetzel’s Pretzels
Wetzel’s Pretzels is giving away free pretzels as well, but for the fourth year, it’s kicking things up a notch.
If you follow them on Instagram and post a picture of your free pretzel with the #nationalwetzelday hashtag, you’ll get a redeemable code good for another free pretzel before May 31.
Philly Pretzel Factory
You don’t need to do a thing to get a free pretzel at Philly Pretzel Factory on Thursday. Just show up and they’ll hand you your free pretzel.
Plus, the first 100 guests at each store will also receive a coupon for a free pretzel every day for the month of May.
Kelly Gurnett is a freelance blogger, writer and editor who runs the blog Cordelia Calls It Quits, where she documents her attempts to rid her life of the things that don’t matter and focus more on the things that do. Follow her on Twitter @CordeliaCallsIt. Staff writer Stephanie Bolling updated this post.
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 Create a Killer Video Promotion to Increase Engagement
People love watching videos. That’s why 87% of marketers use video content to engage with their audiences on the Internet.
More than half of marketing experts across the globe say they get the highest ROI from their video promotions.
When it comes to social media, videos generate 1,200% more shares than both text and pictures combined.
Another reason why videos are great is because it’s easier for viewers to comprehend your message while watching videos. In fact, your audience will retain 95% of information they consumed through a video as opposed to just 10% of information they consumed through reading text.
It’s no secret that video content has been dominating the latest trends.
But with so many videos out there flooding the market, you need to make sure your video promotions can stand out from the crowd.
The majority of consumers prefer watching video content on YouTube and television:
These are the platforms you should prioritize when creating a new video promotion.
Don’t get me wrong, just because videos are a great way to market your brand doesn’t mean you should completely abandon your other marketing strategies.
You should still continue blogging, sending emails to your subscribers, and staying active on social media. Another reason why video promotions are so awesome is because you can incorporate them into all these other distribution channels as well.
It’s easy to add videos to your blog, embed them into your emails, and share them on social media.
Here’s something else to keep in mind. Yes, consumers love videos. But that doesn’t mean that everything you publish will automatically be a huge success.
You’ve got to learn how to engage with your audience through promotional videos, which is why I created this guide. Keep these tips in mind if you want to continue running successful video promos.
Identify your audience
Your video promotion won’t appeal to everyone.
That’s okay. You shouldn’t try to reach every person on the planet with your marketing campaigns.
The first step in creating a killer video promo is to identify your target market. For starters, I’m assuming your brand has already done this.
But not everything you offer is necessarily intended for all your customers. You may sell products for men and women of all ages. Don’t try to appeal to these different audiences with the same video.
Instead, segment your target audience based on the goal of your campaign, which we’ll discuss in greater detail shortly.
Here’s an example of how Lululemon used this strategy in this ad:
Lululemon sells yoga clothing, gear, and accessories. This brand primarily sells to women. But recently, they launched a men’s line as well.
This video promotion is aimed specifically at male audiences.
Don’t worry. By doing this, you won’t be abandoning the rest of your customers. You’ll just need to come up with additional promos to target them as well.
Next, you’ll use different distribution strategies appropriate to the market segment you’re targeting.
Stick to a reasonable budget
You don’t need to spend a ton of money on your video promotions. The cost will largely depend on what you’re trying to accomplish.
What do you need in your video?
For example, you may need to rent a facility, hire actors, or work with a celebrity, which may cost you a lot of money, but you may not need any of that.
Keep in mind, to be successful, you’ll need to make lots of promos. You don’t want to dump a ton of money into each one.
For the most part, you can make a great video without breaking the bank. Use your employees and friends as actors and look for locations that are free to shoot.
You also need to keep in mind how much it’s going to cost you to distribute your promotions. If you’re planning to just upload them to your YouTube channel and share them on your website, social media pages, and email lists, there won’t be any cost.
But if you’re filming an ad for television or paid promotions on social media, the costs will vary.
Marketing experts cited the cost and budget as the number one reason preventing them from spending more money on video advertising:
But if you can find ways to keep your costs low, this won’t be an issue for you.
That’s why it’s important to come up with a budget before you get started. Then you won’t have any surprises or money problems once you start filming.
Focus on one goal
What’s the point of your video?
Are you trying to promote an event? Advertise a sale? Build hype for a new product or service? Or maybe you’re trying to get downloads, add subscribers, or drive traffic to a landing page?
Video promotions are great for building brand awareness as well. The possibilities are endless.
Regardless of your reason, it’s important that you create one video promo for one goal. As I said earlier, this goal is also related to your target audience, which you’ve previously identified.
Do not go overboard here.
If you try to accomplish too many goals in one promotion, it’ll confuse your audience, and the engagement will suffer. Later, we’ll talk more about your ending call to action, but it should reinforce the goal of your promo.
Make sure you’ve got the right equipment
You don’t need to hire a professional director and camera person to film your video promotions. It’ll help you keep your budget within your means, as discussed above.
If you’re planning on making lots of promotional videos in the future, which you should be, it’ll be worth it for you to invest in the right equipment now.
Here are some things you’ll need to get:
- quality camera
- microphone
- lighting equipment
- editing software
These are necessary if you want to make sure your promotion looks professional.
Publishing a poor quality video can create the opposite effect of what you’re trying to accomplish:
Research shows that unprofessional videos cause consumers to have a negative association with the brand that published them.
Don’t underestimate the importance of getting the proper equipment.
Write a script
No matter how creative you are, don’t try to wing it when you’re filming a video promo.
Even if you have a general idea of the content of your promo, write out each line ahead of time. Write the lines for all the actors as well as any narration lines.
You should also consider dead air time when nobody is speaking. Include pauses and breaks in your script as well. All of this needs to be accounted for before filming starts.
Having a script will keep things organized. That way, you’ll use your time efficiently whenever you’re filming.
Trying to figure out the best way to word a scene on the filming day is an ineffective allocation of your time. Instead, your efforts should be focused on getting quality shots.
Having a script that’s ready to go will also help eliminate any friction or confrontations with your staff.
Depending on the managerial structure of your brand, there may be several people who have an input and strong opinions about your marketing campaign.
The last thing you want is for people to argue about the direction of your video while you’re trying to film it. Working out the details ahead of time will make sure everyone involved sticks to the script, pun intended.
Time is of the essence
How long is your video promotion? 10 seconds? 30 seconds? a minute?
You need to plan that before you get started. The most important part of your video promotion is capturing the viewers’ attention at the very beginning.
Research shows that as time increases, engagement decreases. Don’t ease into your videos.
Chances are your audience may not get through the entire thing. But a strong introduction in the first ten seconds can keep them hooked and engaged throughout the duration of the promo.
The length of your video will also vary depending on your distribution method.
HubSpot studied the ideal length of a promotional video based on the distribution channel. These were their findings.
Instagram promos should be 30 seconds long. That’s because the average length of videos on this platform with the most comments was 26 seconds long.
Plus, Instagram’s platform encourages users to keep scrolling. Shorter videos make the most sense here.
Twitter videos should be short as well. People are used to reading short updates on this platform since they have a 140-character text limit. Plus, the average length of Twitter’s videos of the day was 43 seconds long.
Video promotions on Facebook that were one minute long had high engagement rates.
YouTube videos can be a bit longer. The optimal length of a YouTube video is roughly two minutes because users tend to spend more time watching videos on this platform.
Make sure your timing is sorted out before you start filming. Otherwise, the promotion could feel dragged out if you don’t get right to the point.
Choose a theme
What’s the mood of your video? This may seem like a strange question, but you need to answer it.
Figure out what kind of emotions you want your audience to feel when they’re watching your promotion. These are the top positive emotions felt by viewers watching viral video content:
Having a clear theme will keep everyone working on this project on the same page.
If you don’t know where to start, here are some theme recommendations to give you some inspiration:
- humorous content
- serious and informative
- sad
- romantic
- dramatic
- inspirational
- confrontational
- corny and quirky
- music video
- entertainment
- sense of luxury
The list goes on and on, but these are reasonable places to start your brainstorming.
Here’s something else you need to consider. Music. Will there be any music playing in your promotion, or will it be only people talking?
The type of music included in your video promo will give your audience a good sense of your theme.
Make sure you stick with just one or two themes at the most. Don’t throw a joke into a promo that has a serious and informative theme because it will confuse your audience.
Pick a style
In addition to your theme, you also need to determine a style of your promo.
Are you using actors to replicate a real life scenario? Or maybe you’re using live footage.
If you’re not using actors, you may want to use an animated style or b-roll video. You could have a screencast with a narrator speaking or use a whiteboard demonstration.
Here’s a quick video promo on the Dollar Shave Club website:
It’s promoting their shave butter. This video has a lot going on, but it’s used effectively.
It uses a combination of actors and animations to create a fantasy scene that’s humorous. The actor puts on the shaving butter and then feels as if he’s swimming in it.
As you can see, you’re allowed to combine styles. You can always use a voiceover to enhance the style and prove a point.
Film multiple versions of your promo
You’ve got all your equipment set up, so you might as well take advantage of it.
If your end goal is a 30-second video promotion, don’t film just 30 seconds and call it a day. Mix things up.
Film longer versions of your promo as well. You can always edit it down later based on your distribution channel.
For example, you can create a two-minute-long video intended for YouTube and then release a 30-second clip of it on Instagram and a minute-long version on Facebook, according to the optimal length of videos for different channels I discussed earlier.
You could also consider filming a long version and release part of it at a time. Create a series out of your promotion so viewers anxiously anticipate the sequel to find out what happens next.
End with a strong call to action
Your CTA will be the extension of your goals I discussed above.
The call to action should be at the end of your video and reinforce whatever you’re trying to accomplish.
If the video is being distributed online, it could end with a website for people to visit or a download link to click on.
Include a phone number if you want your audience to make a call.
Use phrases such as buy now, save today, or sign up for free.
Again, this will all vary based on the goal of your campaign.
Here’s an example of the last clip of a Little Caesars video promotion:
The message is clear. Pay $5 for a pizza.
This entire promo talks about how you can just walk into one of their locations and leave with a hot pizza that’s ready to eat. It differs from most pizza restaurants where you’d have to order your pizza and wait for it.
The CTA at the end of the video reinforces this message.
It should be very obvious to anyone who watches your video what type of action you’re trying to get your viewers to do based on your call to action. Don’t be ambiguous. Get straight to the point.
Conclusion
Consumers love videos. Your brand needs to learn how to master video marketing campaigns.
The first thing you need to do is identify the audience your video will target.
Set a budget, and stick to one goal per promotion. Get yourself proper filming equipment, and write a script to stay organized.
Decide on the length of your promotion. This will vary based on your distribution methods.
Choose a theme and style of your promo based on what type of emotions you want the viewers to feel while they’re watching it.
Film multiple versions of the video promotion. You can always cut it to an appropriate length later.
All great video promos end with a strong call to action.
If you follow these tips, your video promotions will have high engagement rates and ultimately lead to more conversions.
How is your brand using video promotions to engage with your target audience?
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“Financial Success Only Works for Other People”
One of the most interesting things that occurs with The Simple Dollar is the sharing that goes on with the site and with the email newsletter (some readers receive the articles from the site in email form). People share articles to others on social media or by forwarding an email, and sometimes those people will share it, and so on, and eventually an article makes it into the hands of someone who feels the need to tell me how wrong I am about the relatively simple math of frugality and financial success.
Usually, the response I’ll get (via email or social media) boils down to one core idea: “Sure, what you talk about might work for someone who is rich, but it doesn’t work for most Americans.” I hear that again and again and again and again.
So, let’s start with some reality from my own financial journey.
When Sarah and I started our financial turnaround, we lived in a tiny two bedroom apartment that was about 600 square feet. Our combined salary was about the average American household income, but we held somewhere in the high five figures in student loan debt, over $10,000 in credit card debt, and two car loans. We also had a baby that we were raising in that tiny little apartment.
I don’t think you could make a good case that we were in the top half of Americans in terms of our financial state. We were about average in terms of salary, but boy did we have a lot of debt.
Over the next year and a half, we paid off all of that debt. I wrote about that journey in the early days of The Simple Dollar; I started the site well into that debt repayment process and I started the site to share the things we were learning along the way.
We then bought a house and had two more children and I had a career change. Within four more years, we paid off that house, too. We were completely debt free and owning our own home within five and a half years of starting our financial journey.
We didn’t do this with exorbitant wealth. We had exactly two years where our combined income bubbled over $100,000 a year during that entire process, and during both of those years I practically killed myself with work to get there.
So, how did we do it, then?
We did it with self-control and frugality. We recognized that every dollar we were spending needed to be bringing some real lasting value into our life. A lot of the things that we were spending money on – and that most Americans spend money on – bring short bursts of joy and then fade quickly into being forgotten entirely. They might be really tempting short-term pleasures, but they’re just short-term pleasures.
This is still mostly true for us: unless we’re pretty sure that something is going to be providing a ton of positive value for us for the dollar and it won’t be something we forget in a day or two, we’re going to try as hard as we can to spend minimal money on it – ideally, none. Yes, we have to buy food, but most meals are just forgettable fuel for the body, so we go for cheap healthy meals – think rice and beans and eggs and simple stir frys and oatmeal and lots of vegetables and things like that – that are nothing more than healthy fuel for the body. Yes, we buy things for entertainment, but we’re extremely careful about getting the most bang for our dollar in terms of long-term value and we often borrow things from the library, go to community events, go on hikes, and do other such things that have zero or very minimal cost. Yes, we buy household supplies, but when we do, we buy store brand and usually in bulk.
The hard truth is this: spending money does not lead to more happiness. I’ll repeat that: spending money does not lead to more happiness. Yes, you have to cover some basic expenses, but those expenses, once you peel back the unnecessary layers, are pretty cheap. The rest? It’s unnecessary, and spending that money does not lead to more happiness.
But what about splurges? What about fun? If you’re thinking like that, you’re not getting the message. Spending money does not lead to more happiness. Happiness comes from the things that you’re doing, and that rarely requires you to spend money. There are tons and tons of fun things to do that don’t involve shelling out money. Spending money might give you access to more, but it comes with a cost that we no longer wanted to pay.
Yes, we do spend money freely on entertainment and hobbies, and we do plan a nice family vacation each summer. We budget and plan for those things, though. There’s a reasonable cap on that spending and when we hit that cap, that’s the end of it until the next month.
We did it by keeping our eyes on our goals. So, we started living well beneath our income level. Why? We had other goals.
The biggest one was that we wanted to be completely, 100% free of debt. We did not want big monthly debt payments to be steering our lives for the next thirty years. We didn’t want to be making big monthly rent payments, either. We didn’t want the stress of it. We didn’t want our choices to be restricted by it. We didn’t want our children’s choices to be restricted by it, either. So, our goal was to be debt free and to own our home free and clear.
After that, we had a number of dreams – a home in the country, financial independence, international travel – but those were secondary to our big goal of complete debt freedom. Almost everything we did had that central goal in mind. (Now, our main goal is financial independence – a state where we can live off of our savings without having to work.)
Achieving this goal became the center of our focus in many areas of our life. It was certainly our financial center, and our professional goals often lined up with this as well. To a somewhat lesser extent, it shaped our social, spiritual, and intellectual lives, too.
We achieved that first big goal in about five and a half years, all told. We’re now working on the independence goal.
We did it with a plan built around consistent and logical financial choices. Our plan for being free from debt was very logical and clear and it told us what we should be doing at every step.
First, we built up a cash emergency fund equal to about a month’s worth of living expenses. This was to help us ensure that emergencies that life sometimes deals out didn’t interfere with our plans. If our emergency fund was low, refilling it was always the number one priority.
Second, we started paying off our debts, starting with the one with the highest interest rate. We made minimum payments on all of our debts, then we made the biggest extra payment we could on our highest interest debt. Rinse and repeat, month after month. We had a lot of fun tracking that progress and watching our debts melt away.
When we bought a home, that mortgage went into the debt pile at the bottom of the list because the interest rate was pretty low. We rather quickly reached a point where we were making triple (or even bigger) house payments. Within four and a half years of getting that mortgage, it was fully paid off.
Now, we’re saving for financial independence. We’re fully funding our Roth IRAs each year. Sarah is stocking up in her work 403(b) plan. We have a healthy amount of money in a taxable investment account because we usually save more than we can stow away in retirement accounts. We also have well-funded 529 plans for our children.
It all comes back to the plan. We’re never unclear on what our immediate financial tasks are. It’s never in doubt what we should be doing with our money and, in fact, we automate a lot of it, with contributions going automatically into the accounts where we want them.
We did it together. All along the way, Sarah and I did it together. We have been on the same page with every one of our financial goals. We’ve been on the same page with every step on the path. If anything, Sarah is more frugal than I am and more adamant about our goals than I am and more celebratory and joyful about our efforts than I am, believe it or not.
Our accounts have both of our names on them. Our possessions have both of our names on them. We’ve both made tons of choices over the last several years to help bring us to this point. Our choices aren’t just about what would make us happy right at this moment, but what would bring the most lasting joy and pleasure to our family over time, while avoiding any addition of stress.
The thing is, we do all of this without being “rich.” We’re not rich in the least. We earn a little bit more than the average American household, but not astoundingly so, and we’re still well within being able to contribute to Roth IRAs and the like. We have three children at home with all of the expenses that entails. We’re not high income couple with no children – we’re about as “normal” as an American family gets.
You don’t have to be “rich” to find financial success, period. You just have to have priorities in your choices. If you prioritize spending your money on name brands without having even considered the store brands, if you prioritize constant “treats” for yourself that are forgotten within a day, if you prioritize eating out regularly (yep, even if it’s fast food), if you engage in regular “retail therapy,” then it is your choices that are keeping you from financial success, period.
Financial success doesn’t just work for “other people.” Financial success works for most Americans (not all, but most) provided they make the choice to try to make it work.
Good luck.
The post “Financial Success Only Works for Other People” appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
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Why Restaurants Love Buffets Even More Than You Do
Think "all you can eat" means you get more than you paid for? As one restaurant expert put it, "The house always wins."
Source Business & Money | HowStuffWorks https://ift.tt/2qUPRZY
Source Business & Money | HowStuffWorks https://ift.tt/2qUPRZY
Why Restaurants Love Buffets Even More Than You Do
Think "all you can eat" means you get more than you paid for? As one restaurant expert put it, "The house always wins."
Source Business & Money | HowStuffWorks https://ift.tt/2qUPRZY
Source Business & Money | HowStuffWorks https://ift.tt/2qUPRZY
Pocono jazz great Bob Dorough dies at 94
Jazz great Bob Dorough, who had a professional career that spanned nearly 70 years but was best known for his “Schoolhouse Rock” compositions that taught children math and grammar on Saturday morning television, has died.He was 94.Dorough reportedly died at his home in Mount Bethel on Monday. Though born in Arkansas and reared in Texas, he lived more than half his life in the Poconos area, though he still spoke with a heavy Texas twang.Dorough was renowned [...]
Source Business - poconorecord.com https://ift.tt/2Ff6zHB
Source Business - poconorecord.com https://ift.tt/2Ff6zHB
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