Sit. Stay. Sleep. It’s a Dog’s Life for These Pooches Who Go to Work

Get Paid $12.50/Hr With This Remote Pier 1 Customer Service Gig in Texas

Listen up, Texans: Here’s your chance to work for Pier 1 Imports without ever leaving the comfort of your chaise.

The home decor retailer is hiring work-from-home customer relations associates who know their papasans from their swingasans to assure call-in customers they’re in good hands.

Both full-time and part-time positions are available.

The caveat is location. The gig requires that applicants reside in Tarrant, Parker, Wise, Ellis, Denton, Johnson, Hood or Dallas counties for the occasional work day at the Pier 1 HQ in Fort Worth. The first 90 days of work will also be on site at either HQ or the call center.

Mandatory training will be held from August 6 through 24. It will take place Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

If the home furnishings industry isn’t for you, we’re always decorating our Jobs page on Facebook with new opportunities.

Work-From-Home Customer Relations Associate at Pier 1 Imports

Pay: $12.50

Responsibilities include:

• Handling customers’ needs with high-quality service over the phone
• Savvy upselling and cross-selling when appropriate
• Staying on top of the latest Pier 1 product, website and delivery trends to ensure the best customer experience

Applicants for this position must have:

• Customer service and/or sales experience
• Experience with word processing programs and PCs
• Flexible availability with the ability to work nights and weekends as needed (schedules may change week to week)
• Hard-wired, high-speed internet connection (company will provide computer equipment and headset)
• Distraction-free work space
• Ability to work at the Fort Worth corporate office HQ occasionally

Apply here to be a Work-from-Home Customer Relations Associate at Pier 1 Imports.

Adam Hardy is an Editorial Assistant 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.

source The Penny Hoarder https://ift.tt/2tgXRFI

Help Gamers Keep Gaming as a Remote Customer Support Rep (Part-Time)

If you alt-tab out of Overwatch to read The Penny Hoarder, then this might be your dream gig.

Sutherland is hiring part-time, work-from-home gamers to join its customer support team. The gaming support/customer service representative will help gamers troubleshoot issues to get them back in the action — from router problems to console issues. You’ll field calls for payment hiccups as well.

Hours are flexible, around 20 to 29 a week, with opportunities during peak traffic for additional hours (usually during holiday season). Candidates should have a year or more of customer service experience.

The position is 100% remote and limited to residents of the contiguous United States. (Sorry Alaska and Hawaii).

While the salary information isn’t listed on the job post, Glassdoor clocks the pay between $8 and $9 an hour.

Mandatory training will take place from July 18 to August 26. It will be on Tuesdays through Saturdays, from 3 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. EST. Sutherland offers bonuses for perfect attendance in training and the first 30 days of work.

Maybe you’re not a gamer. That’s OK. Check out our Jobs page on Facebook. We post new opportunities there all the time.

Gaming Support/Customer Service and Technical Support at Sutherland

Pay: Not specified

Responsibilities include:

• Flexing your gaming and tech knowledge to troubleshoot customer issues over the phone
• Handling multiple types of calls (billing, internet, gaming console and hardware issues)
• Keeping up with the latest gaming platforms and trends

Applicants for this position must have:

• One or more years of customer service (in a contact center is a plus)
• High school diploma or GED
• Excellent communication and troubleshooting skills
• High-speed, hard-wired internet connection
• Typing speed of at least 30 words per minute
• Proper headset, keyboard and mouse (PC supplied by Sutherland)
• A secure place to work that’s free of distractions
• Flexibility to work extra hours if needed

Apply here for the gaming support — customer service and technical support position at Sutherland.

Adam Hardy is an Editorial Assistant 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.

source The Penny Hoarder https://ift.tt/2teDyZC

100 Free Summer Activities for Kids, Adults and Everyone In Between

Are you still looking for that great summer experience? We’ve got 100 ideas to help you make the most of your summer – and best of all, they’re all free.

Yes, this means 100 free summer activities for kids, parents, friends and more. From camping to coding, use our list to make this summer the best – and most affordable – summer ever.

The Great Outdoors

There are a wealth of free things to do outdoors – as long as the weather cooperates!

1. Parks: Whether you live in a small town or a big city, chances are there’s a free park nearby ready for you to stop by and enjoy the afternoon.
2. Playgrounds: Swingsets and slides are great places for kids to run and play, but they’re fun for adults too!

Take the kids to the playground, or go after sunset with someone special and swing side-by-side.

3. Picnics: Make a couple of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, or spend a morning deviling up some eggs. Then pack your picnic basket, grab a blanket and enjoy dining al fresco.
4. Hiking: Parks, lakes and other nature areas often have marked hiking trails. They also usually designate the trail’s skill level, and provide options for novice hikers as well as people with experience. Make sure to wear comfortable, sturdy shoes!
5. Swimming: There are two ways to swim for free in the summer. See if local pools offer free swim days, or check out the beaches, lakes and swimming holes in your area.
6. Kite-flying: As Mary Poppins put it: Let’s go fly a kite! If you don’t already have a kite, it’s pretty easy to make your own.
7. Stargazing: Looking at the stars is always free, so find a cloudless night and download a free astronomy app to help you identify what you’re seeing.
8. Camping: Some campsites charge money, but others let campers stay for free. Look for free campsites in your area and then pack up the car, the tents and the marshmallows!
9. Backyard Camping: Where better to pitch your tent than in your own backyard? I went backyard camping as a kid, and it was a fun way to experience the thrill of sleeping outdoors. Plus, it’s one campsite you don’t have to pay for!

Arts and Entertainment

From live theater performances to open mic night at your local watering hole, check out these free arts and entertainment ideas to keep busy during the summer.

10. Outdoor Movies: Many towns and cities have free outdoor movies in the summer. Bring a blanket and get there early to claim your spot!
11. Free Movies: Outdoor movies aren’t the only way to see free flicks this summer. Did you know you can get free movies from your local library?
12. Outdoor Theater: Whether you’re watching Shakespeare in the Park or a summer musical, plenty of cities offer free outdoor theater in the summer.
13. Usher at Theaters: Can’t find free live theater opportunities in your area? Volunteer to become an usher and you’ll get to see the shows for free.
14. Summer Concerts: Free outdoor summer concerts, from show choirs to rock shows, are as much a part of summer as ice cream and flip-flops. Check out the schedule in your area.
15. Social Dancing: If your area has a large social dance scene, look for free social dance nights or outdoor dance festivals. Then get ready to swing and tango!
16. Free Museum Tickets: Nearly all museums offer free admission days, so figure out when you can go for free and enjoy an afternoon spent in air-conditioned comfort. Most local libraries also offer free passes to museums and other attractions.
17. Open Mic Night: Are you a singer, a storyteller or a poet? Look for open mic nights and use them to share your best work. Some open mic nights come with an admission cost, but many are free.
18. Bookstore Author Nights: Bookstores regularly invite authors to give readings from their newest books, and you rarely have to buy the book to attend.
19. Public Lectures: Many communities have free public lecture series, so see what’s being presented in your area. You could learn about anything from aardvarks to zydeco.

In the Community

Be a tourist in your own backyard, or give back to the community by volunteering your time over the summer.

20. Community Events: Check your local newspaper or community calendar for free community events like ice cream socials or 5K runs.
21. Volunteering: When you’re checking your community calendar for free events, look for volunteer opportunities as well. You can also look up your favorite local organizations to see if they need volunteers.

Volunteering is a great way to give back — and yes, it’s free!

22. Hometown Tourism: If a friend or relative visited your town or city, what special sights would you show that person? Why not explore those places yourself?
23. Next-Town-Over Tourism: Are you a little bored with your hometown? Try being a tourist in the next town over. See what free sights, parks and other experiences it has to offer!
24. Window Shopping: Just because you don’t want to spend money doesn’t men you can’t have the fun of shopping.

Window-shopping is a great way to explore a new neighborhood or check out a store you’ve never visited before. You have to have really good self-control, though — no impulse buys!

25. Farmers Markets: Here’s another free activity that requires just a little self-control: visiting a farmers market and enjoying the free samples. You’ll get to taste freshly made cheese, just-picked strawberries and other delights.
26. Adopt a Grandparent: Does your community have a senior center or nursing home? Ask about opportunities to volunteer with residents, or see if your area has an Adopt a Grandparent program to connect families and kids with older citizens.
27. Meetup Group: Meetup.com gives you the opportunity to connect with other community members who share similar interests, from orienteering to knitting.

Some groups might meet in places that cost money, such as coffee shops, so look for groups that meet in free spaces like the public library.

28. Public Library: How could we get this far without mentioning the library? Your public library has a wealth of free books, movies, music and games for you and your family to enjoy.

Many public libraries also host free events, lectures, movie nights and even special programs like speed dating for book lovers!

Self-improvement

You’re great just the way you are, but if you want to level up your life, these free ideas can help.

29. Morning Pages: Fans of Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way are already familiar with the idea of waking up every morning and writing three pages on whatever’s on your mind.

It’s a great way to process emotions, explore ideas or even write short fiction. It’s also absolutely free.

30. Gratitude Journal: Write your Morning Pages as soon as you get up. Then, at the end of the day, write down three things in your gratitude journal. These can be three things you’re grateful for, or just three happy memories from the day.
31. Walk 10,000 Steps: If you’re looking to improve your general health, start by walking. Aim for a 10,000-step-per-day goal, which is about five miles.

If you don’t already have a pedometer, use a free pedometer app to track your steps — or just walk around a park or a track for about an hour.

32. Couch to 5K: Ready for something a little more intense? Try spending your summer going from couch to 5K — that’s a 5K run, of course.

The Couch to 5K program helps beginner runners slowly work their way up to a 5K run by steadily increasing the distance run every day.

33. 7-Minute Workout: The New York Times’ 7-Minute Workout is another great — and free — way to stay fit.

All the exercises are designed to be performed at home with no special equipment. Push up and crunch your way to physical fitness, in just seven minutes per day.

34. Declutter Your Home: Whether you use the KonMari method or make it up as you go along, taking the time to declutter will leave your home feeling refreshed and re-energized for fall.

Trust us — you’ll be glad you took the time to clear out those old papers and get rid of those old clothes.

35. Read All the Books on Your Nightstand: If you’re anything like me, your nightstand has at least five half-finished books stacked on it. Finish them, and then put them away!

For the Family

Round up the kids, grandkids, aunts, uncles and cousins for these free summer activity ideas.

36. Family Dinner: How often does the entire family sit down to eat dinner together — and how often does that dinner last for more than 10 minutes?

Use summer’s more relaxed schedule to plan regular family meals where you not only eat together, but also share conversation and enjoy each other’s company.

37. Tell Your Day: How can you make these family dinners memorable? Try the “tell your day” technique, where each family member goes around and shares the story of his or her day.

If you need additional inspiration, ask everyone to share one good thing and one challenge from their day.

38. Family Cooking Projects: Make these family meals even more special by inviting kids to help cook.

Whether you’re making cool, sweet treats like popsicles or passing down your secret spaghetti sauce recipe, you’ll be making both food and memories in the kitchen.

39. Chronicle Family History: Do you have a record of your family’s history? How far back can you track grandparents, great-grandparents and extended relatives?

Write down family stories and interview relatives to learn more about your family and its many generations.

40. Make a Time Capsule: Look to the future by making a time capsule. Let kids choose what they want to include, from school photos to a list of favorite toys.

Then bury the time capsule in the backyard or put it away somewhere safe so it can be found by future generations — or so you can dig it up when your kids become adults!

41. Family Book Club: Choose a family-friendly book for everyone to read and discuss together.
42. Family Movie Club: Have a weekly family movie night and let everyone take turns picking a free movie from the library or on your streaming service.
43. Family Game Night: Was it Mr. Green in the library with the revolver? Who can build the Longest Road? Family game nights are great ways to spend time together without spending money.
44. The Longest Picture in the World: In Beverly Cleary’s Ramona and her Father, the Quimby father and daughter work together to draw The Longest Picture in the World.

Replicate Ramona’s adventure with your kids, using crayons or markers to create your own Longest Picture as a family.

45. Family Slumber Party: Grab your jammies and your sleeping bags and have a family slumber party in the living room.
46. Yes Day: Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s Yes Day is about how parents can create magic for their children by simply agreeing to say yes to every request for one full day. Yes, you can eat ice cream for breakfast. Yes, you can have another hour of screen time.

Have a Yes Day in your house for anything that doesn’t cost money, and see if it isn’t the most memorable day of the year!

47. Family Band: Whether your kids have a year or two of piano lessons under their belt or they’re still learning how to play the recorder, have fun spending an afternoon together singing and recording your family’s favorite songs.

Don’t forget to send the recording to Grandma — she’s going to love it.

48. Shakespeare in the Backyard: Work with your kids to stage a play or put on a talent show in the backyard. Use toys and dress-up clothes as props and costumes, and invite friends to come over and see the show!
49. Family Sports Day: Play parents-vs-kids basketball, show your kids how to play HORSE, mark off a baseball diamond in the backyard or teach your kids the many “rules” of Calvinball.
50. Craft Time: Turn cardboard, milk cartons, K-cups and other recyclable goods into fun family craft projects.

If you need inspiration, here’s a list of 1,000 recycled craft ideas, from placemats to space ships.

51. Parent Date Night: Leave the kids with grandparents or arrange a free babysitting swap. Then go out for a much-needed date night, doing free activities like stargazing, going to an outdoor concert or having a picnic.
52. One-on-one Kid Dates: Take each of your kids out for a special one-on-one kid date. Do free, fun activities like hanging out at the playground or visiting a museum.

Programs for Kids

These free kids’ programs are perfect for encouraging them to read or to get them out of the house when cabin fever strikes.

53. Chuck E.’s Rewards Calendars: Print free calendars to help kids learn good habits. Mark the calendar with a sticker when your child accomplishes a goal, then take the calendar to Chuck E. Cheese to collect a reward.  
54. Apple Camp: Apple offers free three-day camps to teach kids how to use iMovie and iBooks to create their own films and stories. Sign up well in advance because these camps fill up fast.
55. Barnes and Noble Summer Reading: If your kids love reading, they can earn a free book by signing up for the Barnes and Noble Summer Reading program and reading eight books of their choice.
56. Pottery Barn Weekly Story Time: Pottery Barn offers a weekly Story Time for kids and families. If you become a Pottery Barn book club member, kids receive a special gift after attending five Story Time sessions.
57. TD Bank Summer Reading Program: TD Bank is ready to reward readers in its summer reading program. If your child reads 10 books, TD Bank will deposit $10 into a Young Saver account.
58. Half Price Books Summer Reading Program: Half Price Books rewards young readers with Bookworm Bucks. Elementary and middle school kids track reading minutes in a log to earn their Bookworm Bucks, and high school students write short book reports to earn their Bucks.
59. Pizza Hut BookIt! Summer Reading Challenge: A lot of us remember participating in BookIt! as children. It’s still around, and Pizza Hut is offering a summer reading challenge — and the opportunity to win prizes — to young readers.
60. Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge: Wow, there are a lot of free reading programs out there! The Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge invites kids to read books and win virtual prizes.
61. Kids Bowl Free: Use the Kids Bowl Free website to find free bowling opportunities in your area.
62. Kids Skate Free: Use the Kids Skate Free website to find free skating opportunities in your area.
63. Six Flags Bring a Friend Free: Six Flags offers Bring a Friend Free days throughout the summer.

These free days are only good for Season Pass holders, so you can either use your Season Pass to invite one of your child’s friends to come along for free, or your child could be the free friend brought along on someone else’s Season Pass.

For You and Your Friends

Be the hero of your social circle when you suggest these free activities to do with your friends.

64. Progressive Dinner: With a progressive dinner, you and your friends each take on one part of the dinner experience (appetizers, salad course, main course, dessert, etc.) and then you travel from one home to another until dinner is complete.
65. Babysitting Swap: Exchange free babysitting with a friend. You’ll watch their kids one night, and they’ll watch yours another night.
66. Housesitting Swap: Have a long-distance bestie who also wants a low-cost summer vacation?

Arrange a housesitting swap: you’ll stay in your friend’s house, and your friend will stay in yours. Free lodging, and you get to explore a new city!

67. Clothing Swap: Have your friends bring their gently worn clothes and enjoy swapping your way into new favorite outfits.
68. Toy Swap: Have your friends bring their gently worn toys and swap them for the toys your kids no longer use.
69. Jam Session: Invite your musically inclined friends over for an evening jam session.
70. Baseball Game: Invite your athletically inclined friends over to play baseball in the park or in a backyard.
71. Tabletop Night: Invite your friends over to play the board games you loved as a kid.
72. Hang Out: You don’t always have to plan an event for your friends. Just invite them to come over and hang out! It’s easy and free!

Go Online

Fire up the computer to check out these online freebies.

73. Khan Academy: Whether you want to learn about JavaScript or Javanese shadow plays, Khan Academy offers free educational content, including practice exercises, to help teach you nearly anything you want to know.
74. Project Gutenberg: Get free access to nearly every public domain book through Project Gutenberg.

You can even read Project Gutenberg books on your Kindle or ebook reader, or the free Kindle app.

75. Free Audiobooks: Prefer your books in audio form? LibriVox offers free audio versions of public domain books, read by volunteers. (Yes, you can volunteer to record LibriVox books too! It’s one more free, fun summer activity.) Or use one of these free apps to download free audiobooks, movies, TV shows and more from your library.
76. JayIsGames: Like games? JayIsGames features the best browser and computer games out there, from RPGs to locked room games to interactive novels. A few games are pay-to-play, but the majority are free.
77. Free Streaming Video: Watch hours of TV shows and movies with free video streaming apps that let you check out your favorite shows for free.
78. Kindle Owners’ Lending Library: If you have a Kindle, are you taking advantage of the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library?

Kindle owners who are also Amazon Prime users have access to more than 800,000 books in this library, all for free.

79. Skype With Relatives: Set up free Skype sessions with relatives you don’t see very often, or introduce your kids to their second cousins!

For grandparents who live far away, consider setting up a weekly or twice-monthly Skype session to keep in touch and get to know each other a little better.

80. Learn a New Language: Summer is a great time to begin learning a new language. We’ve got eight free language-learning tools to help you get started.
81. Learn to Code: Would you rather learn a computer language?

Summer is a great time to practice your coding skills with Khan Academy.

83. Make Movies: Have you always wanted to make a short film or start a vlog? You probably have all of the tools you need already on your laptop.

If you’d like to put your vlogs or cat videos online, we’ve got advice on how to make money with YouTube.

84. Record Music: Your laptop also probably has most of what you need to record music – all you have to do is come up with the hit song!

Record your songs and sell them through Bandcamp, or check out our other ideas for making money with music.

85. Start a Blog: Everyone has a story to tell, why not share yours with the world. Set up a free blog and start writing.
86. Get Into Periscope: Periscope is a must-have social media app; it allows you to livestream your favorite moments and share them with your friends. Get the free app and start telling your own story.
87. Laugh at YouTube’s Best Webseries: YouTube has plenty of great original webseries, from the teen-friendly Lizzie Bennet Diaries to the classic geek comedy The Guild. If you’re looking for something fun and free to watch, try a webseries.
88. Binge-watch Your Favorite TV Show: Whether you’re a Gilmore Girls fan or you’re more into The X-Files, summer is the time for binge-watching your old favorite TV shows or introducing your kids to Mulder and Scully.
89. Empty Your DVR Queue: Remember how we told you to read every book collecting dust on your nightstand? Same goes for your DVR queue. Watch it or delete it, but set it free.
90. Apple Workshops: If you considered skipping this section because you don’t consider yourself “a computer person,” head over to the nearest Apple store and take one of their free workshops. You can learn how to edit video on a Mac, make music with Garageband and more.

Saving and Earning Money

If you have some spare time, check out these ways to save and earn money over the summer.

91. Resell Clothes Online: You can swap your old clothes, or you can sell them online using sites like Tradesy and Poshmark. Use our clothing resale guide to get started.
92. Resell Books Online: After you’ve sold your old clothes, it’s time to make money by selling your old books. We’ve got a guide for that, too.
93. Have a Yard Sale: A classic summer activity that combines decluttering with earning cash. What could be better?

We’ve got 11 tips to make your yard sale a huge success.

94. Start a Coin Jar: Get the whole family involved in saving by setting up a coin jar and encouraging everyone to drop in their change.

Add extra motivation by creating a family goal, such as a day at the water park, and taping the goal to the jar.

95. Update Your Resume: When’s the last time you updated your resume? For better or worse, it’s something you can do for free on a summer day when you’ve got time on your hands.
96. Update Your LinkedIn Profile: While you’re updating your resume, you might as well update your LinkedIn profile. When’s the last time you added new skills or asked for a recommendation?
97. Make a Five-Year Plan: Where do you want to be in five years? Take a summer afternoon to sit down and think about your goals and dreams — as well as what you need to do to get there.
98. Get Out of Debt: If one of your goals is to get out of debt, you can start working on that right now.

Take a look at this step-by-step debt repayment plan and see how much money you can put aside every month.

99. Sign Up for Money-Making Sites: Want to earn a little extra money to pay down debt or plan for next year’s summer vacation?

Sign up for a money-making site like SBK Center, which literally pays you for your junk mail.

100. Start Planning for Fall Expenses: The last free thing you want to do this summer? Start planning for fall.

Whether you’re budgeting for back-to-school or thinking about college and retirement costs, taking time to plan now will mean saving money in the long run — and thinking ahead is always free.

Nicole Dieker is a freelance writer focusing on personal finance and personal stories. Her work has appeared in The Billfold, The Toast, Yearbook Office, The Write Life and Boing Boing.

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.

source The Penny Hoarder https://ift.tt/2lmVBYY

Road Trip! How We Traveled 720 Miles in a Weekend for Less Than $300

I turned 30 this month.

Over the past six months, I’ve become a grown-up really fast. I have a full-time job, a salary, a 401(k) and an apartment in a Florida community full of retirees.

I used to be cool.

For the past four years, my boyfriend Stefan and I lived in college towns and hipster cities. We were broke and chasing unlikely dreams. We made the kinds of bad decisions that lead to good stories.

We lived without money, without a car for a while, even without a home for eight months. We couchsurfed around the U.S., savoring the struggle of being starving artists.

This week, my biggest struggle was digging through the Tupperware cabinet to find the lid that matched the container I was packing my lunch in.

We have a Tupperware cabinet.

Thirty never really scared me. Age is just a number, and all that jazz.

But then I found myself digging through various sizes of matching green plastic lids thinking, “We need a system for this,” and 30 suddenly hit me pretty hard.

I backed my torso out of the cabinet, snapped the lid on my lunch and said to Stefan, “We need a vacation.”

A Penny Hoarder’s Road Trip

I didn’t want just any vacation. Flights and nice dinners and mid-grade hotel rooms —  those are things adults with jobs can afford.

But I wanted to do it the way we used to: broke and without a plan.

So I drew a six-hour radius around our Tampa-area home and picked a destination. I pulled $300 out of the bank and told Stefan to clear his weekend.

We were heading to Savannah, Georgia.

How We Took a 720-Mile Road Trip for Less Than $300

I picked Savannah almost at random, mostly because we’d never been there.

I also knew we could drive there in about six hours for less than $30.

Thankfully, it turns out Savannah is also a gorgeous historic city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.

It was a lovely early-spring weekend in the Southern state, about 70 degrees and partly sunny. So we could do our favorite things: walking and people-watching.

But I knew we had to do more than that. “We took a walk” doesn’t make for a very good story even if it was cheap.

So I pulled out a few simple Penny Hoarder tricks to make the trip memorable without letting it break our budget.

• Use rewards to save money on gas.
• Find a good hotel at a cheap rate.
• Use coupon sites to save on entertainment and food.
• Pack smart so we don’t buy things we don’t need on the road.
• Find free entertainment.

We took this weekend road trip 360 miles from home for a grand total of $278.64.

Here’s how.

Save Money on Gas

What we spent on gas: $44.56

A key factor in the cost of a road trip is the price of gas.

We used these tricks to keep our gas spending down:

Cash in Rewards Points

We used a rewards card at Winn-Dixie to knock pennies off a gallon of gas at Shell and other gas stations every time we bought groceries.

The Winn-Dixie program has since been replaced, but most grocery cards offer similar rewards even if your store doesn’t have a proprietary gas station.

Our Winn-Dixie fuel rewards knocked 15 cents off each gallon when we filled up before leaving town.

Buy Gas in Small Towns

Avoid gas stations just off the freeway if you can.

Wait until you get to a small town, off the main route. Gas prices will probably be cheaper there due to lower demand.

Avoid gas stations in busy parts of the city, too. Real estate is more expensive there and gas stations are less common, so increased demand drives prices up.

Save Money on a Hotel

What we spent for two nights in a hotel: $131.02

We book all our hotels through the Hotels.com app. Like any aggregator, it offers reduced room rates. It also offers a free room credit for every 10 rooms we book.

We booked two nights, Friday through Sunday, at a Motel 6 in Pooler, just south of Savannah proper.

The rate was $60 per night, plus a total of $25 in taxes. We paid $145 out of pocket, but if we subtract about 10% to account for the free room rewards we earned, our total cost was just $131.02.

We stayed outside the city because even the discounted rooms downtown were at least double that nightly rate.

Unless we find a killer deal, we never book within city limits. It’s a road trip. What’s an extra 15 minutes to get downtown for the day?

We booked through a discount hotel aggregator because it’s cheap. Note this can inhibit your ability to make changes or receive a refund if anything goes wrong.

If you can save money with travel rewards or a member discount, I recommend booking directly.

Finally, I’ll always take a chance on Motel 6. The low-cost motor inn is shy with amenities but has renovated most locations over the past few years.

If you’re picky, budget for a mid-grade hotel or collect travel rewards to save money on a higher-quality brand.

Save Money Eating Out

What we spent on food and drinks: $81.06

While many tourists are savvy enough to avoid expensive entertainment and souvenirs, it’s still easy to blow your budget on food and drinks — without even realizing it.

Either that or you feel like you have to stick to the Dollar Menu for your whole trip.

You don’t have to do either.

Here’s how we saved money on food.

Don’t Buy Snacks at a Gas Station, Ever

They may only be a few dollars at a time, but convenience-store snacks will eat away at your budget.

We packed bottled water, chips, crackers, nuts and granola bars we already had in the house and skipped the convenience-store goodies.

Snacks are part of our normal grocery budget, and the grocery-store price is a fraction of the convenience-store price on the road.

We buy bottled water by the case at home. Cost: about $3 for 24 bottles. You’ll pay more than $1 per bottle at the gas station, so it’s worth loading the car before a trip.

Take Advantage of Hotel Breakfasts

Note whether your hotel offers a continental breakfast. For two people and two mornings, that could save $10 to $20. The savings might even justify a slightly higher room rate.

Our Motel 6 didn’t offer breakfast, but it did have free coffee. That saved me about $2 each day.

Find Healthy Options at Fast-Food Restaurants

We did make one stop at Chick-fil-A Friday night, because… road trip through the South.

Known for its delicious fried chicken, the restaurant also offers lighter fare at comparable prices. You can get fruit cups, parfaits, wraps and salads on the go.

Outside the South, Subway is our go-to fast-food restaurant where we can find healthier options and get enough food for two meals each for about $10.

Before you stop for fast food, search for coupons and download the restaurant’s app. Many companies offer a freebie just for downloading the app or joining their email lists.

Find Affordable Local Restaurants

For lunch and dinner on Saturday, we used Yelp and Groupon to discover local businesses and save money.

In any town, I always scour Yelp in the “diner” category to find cheap food off the beaten path. Local diners usually offer something for everyone, with most items costing less than $10. You can also use this search technique to find cheap restaurants when you travel.

We ate lunch at Henry’s Restaurant in Savannah’s historic district for $23, including tip.

For dinner, we picked Aroy Jung, an Asian fusion place downtown that has since closed. It offered a Groupon at $14 for $22 worth of food, which was enough for two people.

Our order was just $1.54 extra, so we had a date-night-worthy dinner for a total of $20.54, including tip.

(P.S. Enjoy your Groupon savings, but remember to tip on the full amount!)

Skip Alcohol or Bring Your Own

A huge point of savings for us was not drinking. We didn’t forgo it to save money; we just rarely drink.

If you do and you’re going on vacation, suggesting you skip it is probably not realistic advice.

But you don’t have to blow your budget on booze.

Take a tip from your college days and drink at home before you go out. Stock up at a grocery store or even a convenience store when you get to town instead of at the bar.

If alcohol is cheaper in your state than at your destination, take it with you. Just be conscious of laws about transporting alcohol over state lines.

Also, order smart at the bar. For example, my favorite drink used to be “gin on the rocks with a splash of olive juice.” It’s a dirty martini over ice, but it usually cost about 30% less when I ordered it this way.

Saying “martini” costs money — and you’re stuck with that goofy glass.

All told, these were our food costs:

• $13.31 for dinner on Friday at Chick-fil-A
• $23 for brunch on Saturday at Henry’s
• $20.54 for dinner on Saturday at Aroy Jung with a Groupon
• $20.80 for breakfast/lunch on Sunday at Waffle House (because… road trip in the South)
• $3.41 for coffee and beverages on the road Sunday afternoon

Find Free Entertainment

What we spent on entertainment: $14

What we spent on parking: $8

We found mostly free entertainment.

We paid only $7 each to get into national monument Fort Pulaski, plus $8 total for parking at the beach and downtown.

Even with the low cost of this trip, I’m cringing at what we paid for parking. We’d have saved $5 if we weren’t running late for our dinner reservation — so plan ahead!

Here’s what we did for free in Savannah:

• Toured the Historic District
• Walked and window-shopped on River Street
• Saw the Atlantic Ocean on the beach at Tybee Island
• Visited the historic Bonaventure Cemetery

We found tons of free stuff recommended by many tourist sites. But we couldn’t pack it all into one day.

Wherever you’re headed, start by searching “free things to do in [that city],” and you’ll find tons of interesting stuff you might not have imagined.

Also go offline and just ask the locals. They’ll have insight into the places and events that aren’t packed with tourists —- which will be cheaper.

Pick up a local newspaper. Weeklies are often free in boxes around the city or at your hotel. Browse them for local trivia nights, open mics and other free events travel sites might ignore.

Dana Sitar (@danasitar) is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She’s written for Huffington Post, Entrepreneur.com, Writer’s Digest and more.

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.

source The Penny Hoarder https://ift.tt/2pO9UX9

The Wisdom of Frugality: What Is Simplicity?

This is the first entry in an eight-part weekly series that provides a detailed look at the book The Wisdom of Frugality by Emrys Westacott.

When I first read The Wisdom of Frugality two years ago, shortly after its publication, I was struck more than anything about the depth of the connection between philosophy and frugality. That’s really the book’s central idea: frugality is fundamentally about lifestyle choices and values undergirded by philosophical traditions. Westacott digs deeply into those traditions throughout the book by asking a series of questions that are rather strongly relevant to people struggling with their finances today and digging into what kinds of answers come from different philosophical traditions.

The book starts off by pointing out that there are really two competing visions of what “the good life” actually means. One idea is that of the “thrifty” person who is careful with their money, while the other idea is hedonism and consumerism. We often think of the frugal person as being the right and virtuous one, but if that’s true, why exactly does most of modern society follow a rather consumerist and non-frugal track?

Westacott turns that question around and asks whether or not frugality is a moral value, something we perceive to be somehow an inherently “right” thing to do? Why is simple living associated with wisdom, and why do so many people throughout history associate living well with living simply? Is being extravagant and materialistic a moral failure, and why? Those are the kinds of questions that this book tries to hit on.

I find these discussions valuable because I want to understand the why behind the things that I’m doing, and this book is one of the most direct answers I’ve ever read in terms of addressing the why of frugality.

What Is Simplicity?

The first question that Westacott digs into in the book is simply figuring out what people mean when they say “simplicity” or “frugality” or “simple living.” It’s a concept that’s inherently familiar to many of us, but what does it actually mean?

It turns out that it means something a little different to different people. Westacott finds that there are actually eight elements that come into play in terms of how different people define “simplicity” and “frugality,” and different people hang their hat on different elements of that meaning and different combinations of those elements.

Economic Prudence

This is the type of simplicity that’s often associated with Benjamin Franklin and traditional words of wisdom like “waste not, want not.” Franklin absolutely viewed frugality as a virtue, but he reveals throughout his writings that he primarily centers his idea around the idea of being careful with one’s money. He holds such care with money as a very central virtue in his life, actually practicing it as one of his thirteen virtues.

This is the most obvious and straightforward meaning of simplicity and the one that most people agree on. It tends to center on careful spending practices, avoidance of debt, and avoidance of wasteful spending habits – basically, the core principles of The Simple Dollar. When most people talk about the simple life, this is part of their definition of it. This is the one definition of simplicity that I think most readers of The Simple Dollar follow.

Of course, I find this to be the least interesting meaning, so let’s move on to some of the others.

Living Cheaply

I’ve often tried to carefully spell out the difference between “frugal” and “cheapskate,” usually concluding, as I did here, that a frugal person is trying to seek out the best value for all of life’s resources (money, time, energy, relationships, etc.), whereas a cheap person is primarily concerned with the best value for his or her money above all other aspects.

A cheap person definitely lives in a simple fashion, but they’re driven primarily by a desire to spend as little money as possible. They hate to waste even a single cent.

To put this in a philosophical context, Westacott describes the life of Diogenes of Sinope, the most well-known practitioner of cynicism in its ancient meaning. Diogenes strove to have no possessions beyond the clothes on his back and no wants. He was viewed as being rather eccentric, but respected for his willingness to actually live out his philosophical view of the world.

Much modern frugal advice actually goes pretty far down this path. It focuses strongly on using things up and wearing them out and has a strong self-sufficiency bent. However, the modern world pretty much ensures that none of us are really self-sufficient. In almost everything we do, we’re paying someone else to provide a service for us. We pay the electric company to provide energy for us. Even when we make things from scratch, we’re usually paying others to do some of the foundational work for us, like milling wheat into flour for our “from scratch” bread.

What this means is that the idea of self-sufficiency today is a matter of degree. Sure, it’s more self sufficient and cheaper to make your own loaf of good bread rather than buying it from a baker, but at home you’re still relying on the energy company for energy for your oven and you’re still relying on a miller to mill your wheat for your flour and you’re still relying on some source for your yeast and your water and so on. Sure, you could grow your own wheat and mill it yourself and you could go down to the stream to gather water in a wooden bucket you carved yourself and so on, but even the most ardent “simple living” person still relies to some extent on the efforts of others. This is a big part of the thinking behind Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay Self Reliance, which I’ve written about in three parts.

The idea of self-sufficiency is highly linked to the ideas of frugality and simplicity, but they’re simply not true for most of us. Besides, modern life actually provides a lot of simplicity for us. What is simpler when you want to contact a friend who lives in the next town over? Sending that person a text, or putting on your walking shoes, walking several miles, knocking on their door, and hoping they’re home? It is certainly “cheaper” to walk to the next town and knock on that person’s door, but it’s not simpler.

The point here is that “living cheaply,” when taken to extremes, becomes ludicrous. When you value saving a dime so much that you’re willing to throw away many hours of effort to save that dime, you’re probably making a questionable decision. A cheap person might put more emphasis on saving a buck than others, but there’s still a reasonable limit to that cheapness. Thus, being cheap is just a degree or two of difference from more reasonable levels of frugality.

Do you consider yourself to be frugal or cheap? In other words, do you try to get value out of things based on lots of factors like money and time and energy, or are you mostly concerned about the financial bottom line?

Being Close to Nature

This is an aspect of frugality and simple living that I hold near and dear to my heart. I deeply love spending time in natural settings – going on hikes and nature walks. I am a huge believer in the idea of “forest bathing” because I’ve felt how time in a natural setting calms me and leaves me feeling better.

This links to a certain degree with the idea of “back to nature” as discussed in the previous section. People gravitate toward things that are perceived to be more “natural,” to the point that it’s often used as a marketing hook. There are lots of magazines and products and websites marketed to appeal to the inner desire of getting back to and being close to nature.

Many, many different schools of philosophical thought over the centuries have put strong value in the “back to nature” aspect of simple living. There’s often an underlying thread that “what is natural cannot be bad” running through their ideas, and it’s something that’s baked into our culture in a fundamental way.

My favorite example of this idea is Henry David Thoreau’s book Walden, of which I’ve written before. In that book, Thoreau discusses his experience in spending two years essentially living as close to nature as he could on the shores of Walden Pond in Massachusetts. He lives in a simple cabin in the woods, provides his own food, and lives as simply as he can in that context. His main discovery was that there is a deep connection between nature and personal happiness, a connection that serves as a major part of his book.

Do you get value out of being closer to nature? What exactly do you do to get closer to nature? Hikes? Camping?

Being Content with Simple Pleasures

This is the meaning of simple living most favored by Epicurus, another fellow whose ideas I’ve written about in the past. As I wrote then, Epicureanism centers around the idea of pleasure as the greatest good. One should seek a life of pleasure, but what exactly constitutes that pleasure is a bit different:

“Epicurus argued that pleasure is found by living modestly, curbing one’s desires, enjoying simple pleasures in the moment without gluttony, and reflecting on and understanding the world. Doing this leads to tranquility and freedom from fear (and, to some extent, less physical pain) and that those factors together are a huge source for personal happiness. Epicurus considered this state to be the highest and best form of happiness and pleasure.”

At the core of this argument is the idea that the best pleasures in life are those that are simply and easily obtained – in other words, you don’t have to spend a lot of your life’s resources (time, money, and energy) to obtain it. Short term pleasures that lead to long term pain are bad – I don’t think Epicurus would be impressed by junk food. He also believed that virtuous behavior made people deeply happy and was thus another thing to strive for.

So, what simple pleasures really stack up here? Food that’s simple and healthy and good. Satisfying work. Good friendships. Time to contemplate ideas and learn new things. Those are among the core pleasures of an Epicurean life.

At the core of all of it? Gratitude. The modern concept of gratitude journaling is all about reminding ourselves of the simple pleasures in life and bring appreciation of them to the forefront, and that concept comes straight from Epicurus.

What simple pleasures do you enjoy in your life? Do you practice gratitude for those simple pleasures? Do you try to make them a key part of your life?

Asceticism

This includes simple living for moral or religious reasons. For a modern American example of this, consider Amish or Mennonite communities or the idea of a monastery.

The core idea here is that denial of comfort or of physical pleasure is a tool to push people to focus on their morality or their faith. Intentionally living a simple life often frees time to think and reflect in a way that isn’t available in the modern world.

People who are driven to any form of deep work often use asceticism as a tool. They’ll retreat to a very closed off and rather spartan setting in order to get complex work done, and those settings often produce great results because they’re free of distractions. I do this to a small extent – I do my best writing when I close myself off from most of the distractions of my life and just bear down on the words.

This is also where the idea that some food and other modern pleasures are “sinful” peeks in. When you see that pop up in marketing or advertising, it’s coming from the idea of asceticism, where simple living is moral and intense pleasure is immoral.

Have you ever used asceticism as a way to keep things simple in your life when you’re trying to really hammer down on an important project?

Physical or Spiritual Purity

This happens when people begin to reject or accept things due to some standard of spiritual or physical purity. For example, some people refuse to eat non-kosher foods, others choose to be vegan and eat no animal products, and so on.

This can spread over into other types of behaviors. The “straight edge” movement, for example, which urges the avoidance of alcohol, tobacco, non-prescription drugs, and in some flavors also includes the avoidance of animal products and sex.

While this tends to fall in the idea of “simple living” simply because these often offer simple rules to live by, the end result of these types of purity practices is that they wind up at least being partially in opposition to other ideas of simplicity. For example, eating a highly restrictive diet that follows a few simple rules can be “simple” in one sense, it’s very likely that such a diet will be more financially costly than other dietary practices.

Have you ever chosen to reject certain things for the purposes of physical or spiritual purity, such as giving up meat during Lent?

Living According to a Fixed Routine

Some people view a simple life as one that heavily follows a fixed routine. If you go through very similar steps and actions each day, your life does become simpler. You can save your mental energy for other things, such as producing great work, because you don’t spend your energy or time on making constant decisions throughout your day.

This is definitely an approach that I like to use in my own life to make my life simpler. I have a lot of responsibilities that I have to balance – being a father to young children, being a good husband, being a child of parents who are growing old, being a writer, being a friend, being an active member of my community, as well as having time for hobbies and other aspects of life – and the best strategy I’ve found for this is to make much of my life as fixed in routine as possible. I wall off blocks of time that I intentionally use for each of those areas, giving important things like my family plenty of time but also ensuring I have time for other things.

This enables me to avoid constantly spending my focus and energy making decisions about what to do throughout the day. Instead, I just follow my calendar without really thinking about it so that I can save my mental energy for being a good father, a good husband, a good writer, and so on, and have energy for enjoying my hobbies and interests, too.

Do you practice a simplicity of routine in your life? Do you have consistent routines for the things that you do? If you do, do you find that they help you have time for certain things or help you maintain focus where it’s more useful?

Aesthetic Simplicity

Think of how fashionable people practice minimalism – the all white apartment with very few possessions, the tiny homes, and so on. This is an example of simple living used for aesthetic purposes – to make a public statement about your values to the world and convey ideas of purity, honesty, essentialism, and so on.

This is a very externally focused look at simple living and frugality, as an approach to mark yourself to the world. It’s usually mixed with other values such as being unpretentious or being more dedicated to doing than to having things.

What do you show to the world by how you choose to live? Is your frugality part of how you display yourself to the world?

Final Thoughts

The thing is, each of us live by a particular and likely unique definition of what simplicity is. Most of us strive for simplicity in some aspect of our lives, but what areas we choose to apply it and what methods we use to achieve it vary greatly.

What’s particularly powerful about Westacott’s treatment of the ideas is that, in almost every case, he points to philosophical traditions related to that particular flavor of simplicity, which thus points to further reading if you’re interested in that particular aspect. A bookshelf filled with works by people such as Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, Lucretius, Epicurus, Franklin, Emerson, and Thoreau will give you quite a lot to think about as you figure out what simple living and frugality really mean to you and how you can best practice those values in the world.

Next time, I’ll delve into the next section of the book and take a look at the question of why simple living is supposed to make us better.

Related Articles: 

• 10 Things That Shaped My Frugality and Financial Outlook
• The Power of Long-Term Thinking, and Some Strategies to Encourage It
• Some Thoughts on the Battle Between Minimalism and Preparedness

The post The Wisdom of Frugality: What Is Simplicity? appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

Source The Simple Dollar https://ift.tt/2lq2o4l

Twins Don’t Have to Cost Twice as Much. Here’s How to Keep Costs Down

When Veterans Should (and Shouldn’t) Use a VA Loan

If you’re a veteran who’s thinking of purchasing a home or refinancing the home you have, you may want to consider a VA loan instead of conventional financing. This government loan program was created to help members of the armed forces, veterans, and eligible surviving spouses become homeowners.

VA loans come with plenty of perks. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA loans used to purchase a property come with competitive interest rates and don’t require a down payment or private mortgage insurance (PMI). Cash-out refinance loans come with equally generous terms, except they let you take out cash to pay down debt or fund other financial goals.

Another popular VA loan program, the Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan (or IRRRL, also called the Streamline Refinance Loan), lets you refinance your current VA loan to a new loan with a lower interest rate with no appraisal or credit underwriting. There are also special VA loans for Native American veterans and disabled vets.

At the end of the day, all VA loans offer special terms to veterans, and may be more affordable than other options.

When You Should (and Shouldn’t) Use a VA Loan

To qualify for a VA loan, your length of service or service commitment, duty status, and character of service are considered. Once you determine that you’re eligible, it’s up to you to decide whether to work with the VA or pursue traditional financing for your home or refinance.

Unfortunately, this is where things get tricky, since not all realtors or even mortgage brokers work with VA loans enough to understand them. Kathy Partak, a realtor and former mortgage broker from California, says that she has seen real estate agents talk eligible buyers out of using a VA loan when doing so would have been in their best interest.

“They tell veterans that sellers will not accept their offer because the seller is expected to pay everything,” she said. “There are a couple of things that veterans can’t pay for, and there are so many ways to write an offer to take care of a seller and make the transaction fair and more than equitable.”

While real estate agents may be unnecessarily wary of working with buyers using this option, some loan originators may have their own reasons for steering consumers away from VA loans as well. We reached out to experts to find out when a veteran should — and shouldn’t — consider a VA loan. Here’s what they said:

When a Veteran Should Use a VA Loan

Before we dive in, let’s go back over the benefits of VA loans. One of the biggest is the fact that borrowers don’t have to have a down payment, nor do they have to pay private mortgage insurance (PMI). Since PMI can cost around 1% of the mortgage amount every year, not paying for this coverage can easily save you hundreds of dollars per month.

“VA loans are also more forgiving for people who have had some credit missteps in the past,” says Patton Gade, Phoenix branch manager at BBMC Mortgage. “The waiting period for a previous bankruptcy or foreclosure is much shorter for a VA loan.”

With these benefits in mind, here are some of the instances where an eligible consumer should absolutely consider a VA loan:

• You don’t have a down payment: “If a veteran is purchasing a home and doesn’t have the traditional down payment available to them, the VA loan will allow you to purchase with no down payment,” says Gade. This could help a buyer get into a home they couldn’t buy otherwise, which can help them start building equity faster.
• You don’t want to pay PMI: The single most important benefit to a VA loan is that a veteran can purchase the home at 100% financing with no private mortgage insurance, said Partak. “Not only is private mortgage insurance incredibly expensive to set up, it also adds hundreds of dollars to the monthly payment.” Keep in mind, however, that VA loans usually come with an upfront funding fee between 1.25% and 3.3% of the loan amount based on your loan details and level of service.
• You have credit issues. According to Andy Elder of First Securities Mortgage in Michigan, VA loans are more forgiving if you’ve made some credit mistakes in the past. Generally speaking, you need a credit score of around 620 to qualify.
• You want low closing costs. Corey Vandenberg, a mortgage banker from Platinum Home Mortgage in Lafayette, Ind., says that closing costs on VA loans tend to be lower than those on conventional financing, partly because some of them are regulated. Also, the seller can credit back up to 4% of your loan back to you to cover closing costs.
• You want to refinance to secure a lower interest rate. If you have a VA loan already but could qualify for a lower interest rate, it almost always makes sense to use an Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan (IRRRL). These loans don’t require an appraisal or credit underwriting, and the closing costs can be wrapped into the loan.
• You’re a disabled veteran. Disabled veterans receiving compensation for a service-connected disability are often much better off with a VA loan compared to traditional financing, because they’re exempt from having to pay the upfront funding fee.

In short, a VA loan is good for most eligible borrowers since costs are low, PMI is not required, and credit score requirements may be more manageable for borrowers who’ve had credit mishaps in the past. For that reason, almost any veteran who can qualify would be better off with a VA loan provided the property they want to buy is eligible.

When It Doesn’t Make Sense to Use a VA Loan

Still, the experts we spoke to said there are some scenarios where a VA loan would be less advantageous than traditional financing. You may want to pursue a conventional mortgage if:

• You’re using a VA loan for the second time: Because the VA funding fee is based on several factors, including whether you’ve had a VA home loan in the past, it can make sense to go with traditional financing for a second property purchase. Gade says that, if the veteran does not have a VA disability and has used a VA loan in the past, there will be a 3.3 percent funding fee from the VA. “This may offset any of the benefits of using a VA loan and may make a conventional loan more attractive.”
• You’re buying an investment property. Gade notes that VA loans cannot be used for investment properties or second homes.
• You’re buying a property that isn’t eligible for a VA loan. Not all properties are eligible for VA loans, although all single-family homes are or should be eligible, notes Elder. “Some condos will not allow them because they are similar to FHA loans in that they need a special VA approval,” he said. “If they aren’t on VA approval list, a lender can request or get them to be, but this is a challenging process and one that takes a lot of time.”
• You have a 20% down payment. If your down payment is big enough to avoid paying PMI already, you should definitely compare rates and terms on both VA loans and conventional home loans. That’s because the upfront funding fee for VA loans could make the loan more expensive overall.
• The home you want to buy is too expensive. VA loans come with limits that can make it difficult for veterans to buy in expensive real estate markets. These limits are determined by the county you live in and vary widely. The loan limit for a single-family home in all counties of Alabama, for example, is $453,100, while the limit for single families in every county of Alaska is $679,650.

The Bottom Line

At the end of the day, most borrowers eligible for a VA loan would be smart to consider it. With more lenient credit requirements, low interest rates, and no down payment requirement or PMI, what’s not to like?

But as you move through the mortgage process and start comparing your options, experts say you should make sure you’re speaking to someone who has a wide breadth of experience with VA loans. This is important because not all loan officers have experience with all types of funding.

Gade, who is a military veteran himself, says that both his loan originator and realtor advised him not to use a VA loan when he purchased a home as a young Army officer.

“In retrospect, I know that was bad advice,” he said. “VA loans have gotten a bad rap over the years, mainly because people don’t understand the process.  In reality, it’s no more difficult than a conventional or FHA loan, and often times it can be easier.”

Consider all the costs, interest rates, and the monthly payment for all your loan options, says Gade. “You should also take into consideration your short- and long-term plans,” he says.

By crunching the numbers and working with professionals who are knowledgeable about VA loans, you can figure out which path to choose.

Holly Johnson is an award-winning personal finance writer and the author of Zero Down Your Debt. Johnson shares her obsession with frugality, budgeting, and travel at ClubThrifty.com.

Related Stories:

• Veteran’s Guide to Getting the Right Home Loan
• How to Choose the Best Mortgage
• Best Car Insurance for Military Members and Veterans
• Ultimate Guide to Military Travel Discounts

The post When Veterans Should (and Shouldn’t) Use a VA Loan appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

Source The Simple Dollar https://ift.tt/2ts6jB4