These Games for Change Award-winners were honored for their social impact and teaching.
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الثلاثاء، 28 أغسطس 2018
Looking for the ultimate find
When people go antiquing, they're not looking for the latest gadget, but instead something that connects them to the past.Joseph and Carmen Mocarksi, owners of Backroads Antiques, know this well."I think people are interested in antiques mostly because it reminds them of their past, their childhood," Joseph said from inside the couple's quaint antique shop.The couple opened the store — on the corner of routes 715 and 314 in Henryville — six years [...]
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US Consumer Confidence Rises to 18-Year High
Americans’ consumer confidence rose in August to the highest level in nearly 18 years as their assessment of current conditions improved further and their expectations about the future rebounded.
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Lessons of Profitable Farming: How One 'Farm School' Hopes to Attract Young Millennials to the Land
The institution of the American farmer isn't doing well. Across the country, the population is aging and not enough young people are stepping up to fill the gap. But beacons of hope like Polyface Farm in Swoope, Virginia are attracting the next generation with a new vision for how farmers can succeed.
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Phone Scammers Are Targeting College Students. Here’s What You Need to Know
Students at Ferris State University in Michigan began receiving calls in August from a self-professed college official who threatened to drop them from their classes unless they immediately — by phone — paid off their student loans, tuition or other debts to the school, USA Today reports.
The con has popped up periodically at colleges and universities in states from Montana to Georgia. Sometimes, the caller pretends to be from the FBI, spoofing an agency telephone number on the target’s caller ID. The swindler may threaten to arrest an intended victim who refuses to fork over payment through MoneyGram, Green Dot or another third-party payment system. The imposter often has just enough personal information about the people being called to sound convincing, the FBI cautions.
The agency says it never contacts consumers to demand money.
But this scam is far from the only one targeted at colleges. A student in Michigan received a text message promising to cut her student debt, so she provided her personal information and soon found unauthorized withdrawals being made from her bank account, according to the USA Today report.
Other techniques to target students include threatening to prevent them from graduating unless they pay off anything from overdue parking tickets to supposedly delinquent taxes, and callers posing as employees of the College Board selling test-prep programs or materials and asking for information such as credit or debit card numbers, dates of birth or Social Security numbers. The College Board doesn’t make unsolicited calls requesting personal information, it says.
Beware, too, of anyone who calls purporting to be from the Internal Revenue Service or offering a too-good-to-be-true scholarship, student loan, back-to-school coupon, apartment, textbook deal or job.
The FBI and the Federal Trade Commission offer these tips to protect your money and information:
- Be wary of unsolicited calls, texts and email.
- Never give out your banking, credit card or Social Security numbers, passwords or other personal information to anyone you did not initiate contact with.
- Be careful how much information you put online.
- Remember that if a deal seems too sweet to be true, it probably is.
- Report any suspected fraudulent communications to the Federal Trade Commission or the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
Susan Jacobson is an editor 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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Disney World Reaches Agreement With Unions to Hike Minimum Wage to $15/Hour
The resort giant reached a tentative agreement with its unions to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour for non-tipped employees by 2021 — a 50% increase from the current $10 per hour — in addition to the $1,000 bonuses the company promised to workers back in January.
Service Trades Council Union, a coalition of six unions representing 38,000 Disney World workers in Florida, announced in a press release that the agreement will go to a vote by its workers on Sept. 5 and 6.
Disney boasted in a statement that it was offering employees “one of the highest entry-level service wages in the country.”
The state of Florida’s minimum wage is $8.25 per hour, which exceeds the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
The new contract will raise the minimum pay incrementally until it reaches $15 in October 2021. The offer also includes a retroactive pay increase of 50 cents per hour — or 3%, whichever is greater — for hours worked since Sept. 24, 2017.
The Service Trades Council Union stated that it made no major concessions to Disney in its negotiations.
The agreement is further evidence that companies are having to up the ante to retain talent in a tight labor market — the pay hike announcement comes less than a week after Disney announced it will pay full tuition upfront for hourly workers.
In July, Disneyland announced it was raising its minimum wage to $15 per hour for its more than 9,700 employees. That raise will go into effect in 2019, three years before California increases its minimum wage to the same amount.
TIffany Wendeln Connors is a staff writer for The Penny Hoarder, covering interesting jobs and benefits.
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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6 Simple Ways to Get Your Pumpkin Spice Latte Without Blowing Your Budget
While “skipping the Starbucks” is often touted as a way to save money, you can still enjoy this fall flavor without blowing your budget. Here’s how to save money on pumpkin spice lattes all autumn long.
1. Join Starbucks Rewards
Join Starbucks Rewards to start getting free drinks — including PSLs.
Starting out at the green level, you'll earn two stars for every $1 spent and automatically receive free in-store refills on brewed coffee and tea.
If you earn 300 stars in 12 months, you'll reach gold level, which will earn you additional benefits — including monthly double-star days on purchases and a free beverage or food item for every 125 stars you earn. That means you’ll earn one free item after every $62.50 you spend — or about 26 venti coffees.
While that may seem like a good chunk of change to spend to get a reward, remember that it’s pretty easy to rack up a bill at Starbucks without even realizing it. That extra shot of espresso, added flavor and morning bagel all come at a cost.
Thankfully, the rewards program provides a bit of relief — the more stars you earn, the more perks you get.
And if you just can’t quit Starbucks, these Starbucks hacks can save you money on your habit.
2. Buy Discounted Starbucks Gift Cards
Use Raise, Gift Card Granny and other discounted gift card sites to stretch your coffee dollars further. Just buy a gift card for less than its face value, and you'll get more for your money at Starbucks.
As of this writing, you can save as much as 13% by buying a gift card on one of these sites, but keep an eye out for bigger discounts.
3. Join My Panera
Starbucks isn't the only chain offering up a pumpkin spice latte. Panera Bread stores offer a similar concoction each fall.
To save on its version of the PSL, join the My Panera program for discounts and freebies.
4. Celebrate Your Fall Birthday
If you're a member of Starbucks Rewards, you'll enjoy a free drink on your birthday. Why not make it a pumpkin spice latte?
Dunkin Donuts also offers free birthday drinks through its DD Perks Rewards program and has an extensive pumpkin spice menu.
Many other cafes also offer free birthday drinks, so if you find yourself at a coffee shop with pumpkiny concoctions on your birthday, be sure to ask!
5. Make a DIY Pumpkin Spice Latte
Indulge in a pumpkin spice latte any time you like with this great do-it-yourself recipe from Farmgirl Gourmet. This recipe makes two 10-ounce lattes, so you can even share one with a friend.
You'll need:
- 2 cups milk
- 4 tablespoons canned (or homemade) pumpkin puree
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 cup strong coffee or espresso
- whipped cream
Directions:
Stir the milk, pumpkin puree, sugar, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice together in a pan over medium-high heat. Bring it almost to a boil, but avoid boiling (that will make it too thick). Stir constantly, and it should start to froth in about a minute.
Pour the concoction into two mugs, then slowly add the strong coffee or espresso, pouring it in by the edge of the cup so that the milk stays frothy. Add whipped cream and a dash of pumpkin pie spice on top, and indulge in your homemade creation.
6. Make DIY Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer
This simple recipe from Delish requires just five ingredients and produces 1 3/4 cups of pumpkin spice creamer to add to your coffee.
You'll Need:
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream or half-and-half
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 or 2 cinnamon sticks
Directions:
Whisk together the heavy cream or half-and-half, pumpkin puree, maple syrup and pumpkin pie spice in a small pan over medium heat. Add a cinnamon stick or two and turn the heat up a bit until it boils, whisking occasionally.
After a minute, take it off the heat and let it cool for about five minutes before you add it to your coffee.
According to Delish, the leftover creamer will keep in your refrigerator for a week, but be sure to give it a good shake before using.
And if you’re standing in line for your first PSL right now, take a few minutes to check out the drink’s Twitter account.
Kristen Pope is a freelance writer and editor in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
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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Ten Financial Lessons This Summer Taught Me
The past few months have been extremely topsy turvy in terms of finances for us. We replaced one of our vehicles. We went on a long-planned and fairly expensive family vacation. We did a bunch of smaller home repairs and did all of the planning for some home improvement projects (which are ongoing as I type this). We’re in the process of rearranging and repurposing several rooms in our home.
All of those things have been planned for a while, many of them planned for years, and they’ve all come to a head all at once. It has made this summer long and stressful and full of little financial lessons for us.
Here are ten key things I learned from this summer.
A Vacation Doesn’t Have To Be Expensive To Be Meaningful, Enjoyable, and Fun
Last year, our family vacation was a camping trip. We used our daughter’s free Every Kid in a Park National Parks pass to visit a few national parks in the Great Plains and into the Rocky Mountains (Badlands and Yellowstone) and camped there. We brought almost all of our food with us. It turned out to be an incredibly inexpensive family vacation. Our biggest expense in our final tally was gas – not food, not lodging, not entertainment, not tickets.
This year, our family vacation was a long-planned trip throughout several southern states with my wife’s parents, culminating in a few days at Disney World. We ate almost entirely at restaurants and stayed at hotels. Our expense was almost ten times what we spent on our camping vacation.
Guess what? I actually enjoyed the camping vacation more. I felt more at peace on that vacation, simply because of the relaxing nature of camping and time spent in nature. I felt less compressed for time. I felt a tighter bond with my wife and kids throughout that whole trip. I’d choose it in a heartbeat. I didn’t hate or even dislike the Disney trip, I just felt … overstimulated and not very relaxed on the whole trip. I felt like I was constantly spending a lot of time running errands or trying to figure out how to jam fifteen things into the next three hours.
What’s the lesson here? A memorable vacation doesn’t have to be an expensive one (and vice versa). A great vacation is one that leaves you feeling relaxed while also experiencing something outside of the relative norm of your life, and you honestly don’t have to spend a lot doing that.
Schedule Travel with Breathing Room for Serendipity… and It’s Cheaper, Too
As I hinted above, one of my biggest frustrations with our summer vacation this year was how tightly scheduled it felt. It seemed as if every day had a tight itinerary that kept us moving from one thing to the next to the next to the next, day in and day out.
This wasn’t relaxing. This was actually pretty taxing. I came home from “vacation” much more tired than when I left. I didn’t feel recharged in any way.
Compare that to our national park vacation the year before, where we went on hikes almost every single day. I monitor my step count each day and my average daily step count on the national park trip was substantially higher than our vacation this year, yet I felt relaxed and calm most of the time and it was far less expensive.
Why? A big part of it was simply serendipity. We didn’t overly schedule our vacation the previous summer. The only planning we really did in advance was to figure out what nights we were staying where – that’s it. Our driving legs weren’t particularly long, either. On a given day, we’d discover at least two or three things that were worth doing purely by serendipity, and it was wonderful. Most of those things were free – quirky roadside things, nice parks to explore, and so on.
Let your summer vacation have a lot of breathing room. Don’t over schedule it. What you’ll find is that the gaps fill in naturally with unexpected little things, plus the whole trip ends up feeling much more relaxing.
When You Need a Home Repair, Start By Talking To Your Social Network
In May, we experienced a nasty hail storm with softball sized hail. Unsurprisingly, this damaged our roof – after the storm, you could easily see that some shingles were damaged. I climbed up there to take a look and there was damage easily visible to even my untrained eye.
A friend of mine who knows a fair amount about home repair projects stopped by the next day and took a quick look. He said it was fine for the time being but that the roof would need to go in the next year or so in order to avoid permanent damage to the layers under the roof and then, shortly thereafter, possible leaks.
At that point, Sarah and I decided to just get it replaced now, so we contacted our insurance and went through all of the steps to get it replaced properly (as it was something beyond the scope of what we wanted to handle ourselves).
During that process, we needed to gather some quotes for roof repair. Rather than simply calling the first name we could find, we instead asked our social network for help. Sarah and I both reached out to a bunch of our trusted friends and asked them if they had roof repairs done recently and, if so, who did they use and how was the experience.
We got a lot of feedback, both good and bad, on various home repair businesses in the area. That feedback pushed us to three different options, each of which gave us a quote in very short order. We went with one and the job was done beautifully within a week at a very reasonable cost, and they handled interactions with the insurance company with no problems at all. Our roof looks great and our cost out of pocket was minimal.
The lesson here? When you need a repair, talk to your social network and see who they’ve used for similar repairs in the past and how that experience was. Did they do a good job? Was the price reasonable? The more data you gather, the easier the choice actually becomes.
If You’re Considering a Home Improvement, Try Doing It Yourself
Along with the major roof repair, there were several smaller issues that cropped up around our house in the last several months. A couple of old light fixtures failed, for starters. A cabinet door broke. A significant hole was poked in the drywall while moving some things around. A faucet started leaking constantly and the handle broke off. A toilet started running constantly. A doorbell stopped working.
None of these things were disasters and none of them were major multi-day projects, but they were still issues that had to be dealt with.
Several years ago, we would have just called a repairman to handle these things. It would have cost us a significant amount of money.
Instead, we handled each of these things ourselves. Sarah and I each handled a few of these on our own; for the rest, we worked as a team to get them done. All it took for each one was a trip to the hardware store, a viewing of a Youtube video, a walkthrough document, some spare time, some tools from our garage, and a couple of quick Google searches for little things that weren’t going right.
Most minor home repairs are things you can do yourself. You don’t need to call a plumber to fix a toilet that keeps running or a faucet that drips. You don’t need to call an electrician to replace a light fixture or install a ceiling fan. You can do these things yourself, and you’ll likely save hundreds in doing so.
Everything That Isn’t Urgent Should Get Several Quotes
If you have an issue that isn’t an immediate crisis (meaning you have power and running water and your house isn’t flooding or literally falling apart), take your time with whatever project you have in mind. If it’s above your ability to handle it, get recommendations from your friends and put together several quotes.
Sarah and I have been planning a small home addition for a few years now and we decided a while ago that this summer was when we were going to move forward with it. Part of that process has involved gathering recommendations from friends and gathering a lot of quotes along the way.
By gathering a lot of quotes and cross-checking those quotes with the businesses that our social network trusted and the ones that they didn’t, we were able to quickly reduce our choices down to two businesses and then select our preferred choice, who has been incredibly professional throughout the process.
Whenever you’re not in a crisis mode, gather lots of quotes for any project you’re doing unless you already have someone you highly trust.
Time Invested in Preventive Maintenance More Than Pays for Itself
Over the past few months, several of our friends have experienced unexpected breakdowns. One person’s air conditioning system failed. Another friend had a tire blow out on a country road. Yet another had a refrigerator fail while they were traveling.
None of those things happened to us, or have happened to us in many years. While part of that is luck, another key part of it has been preventive maintenance.
I keep a pretty lengthy preventive maintenance schedule for our home and cars and do my best to stick to it. I’m always doing little things like putting air in tires and replacing filters and brushing off coils. The goal with all of those things is the same: I’m trying to extend the life of our costly possessions so that they don’t break down unexpectedly and cause us a bunch of additional expense.
Because of those steps, we’ve been able to avoid a lot of unexpected failures over the years. We’ve actually had a lot of “luck” in this regard, but part of that “luck” is simply keeping up with preventive maintenance.
A Trusted Mechanic Is Invaluable
When we made the decision to replace our old Honda Pilot with a newer family vehicle, that decision was encouraged by a mechanic we’ve used for many years. He was very open and clear with us about the reality of our old Pilot – it had an immediate repair that needed to be done very quickly and some other repairs that were coming down the road.
He told us that if he were in our shoes, he’d trade off that vehicle now rather than putting another dime in it. He said that he could do all of those repairs for us, but the total cost would be much of the cost of simply replacing it and we’d get a lot more features and a lot more life out of a replacement. Furthermore, he did a “quick fix” that enabled us to safely drive the Pilot for a few hundred miles while figuring out what to do.
We knew a replacement was coming, but thanks to our trusted mechanic, we were able to move on at just the right moment.
How do you find a trusted mechanic? Again, start with your social network. Start using a mechanic that’s recommended by friends and see how it goes. Get quotes on some repairs from multiple mechanics and then start relying on one that seems to consistently have good prices and service. As you build a relationship, a good mechanic will give you invaluable advice like this and help you know when to move on from your current car, which will save you a mint.
Let Your Neighbors Harvest Your Garden While You Travel and They’ll Probably Return the Favor
During the summer, we went on vacation as well as on a few weekend camping trips and a family reunion. During those trips, various vegetables were producing in our garden and we knew that we couldn’t harvest them.
Rather than just letting it rot, we told our neighbors that they could just walk in and pick whatever they like while we were gone. Three different families took advantage of this and when we returned home, nothing had gone to waste.
This essentially cost us nothing. We’re getting lots of vegetables and herbs now from our garden, which is great.
The real perk, though, is that those neighbors have returned the favor to us. Each one of them has reciprocated that offer to us while they were traveling. The result has been that we’ve, at times, had an abundance of vegetables available to us in wide variety.
Having a good reciprocal relationship with several neighbors around you pays off over and over again. For now, it’s been the vegetables that have had a nice payoff for us; at other times, it’s been other things, like pet care or lawn care or child care or borrowing tools. They’re valuable relationships.
Don’t Make Financial or Personal Decisions Without Knowing What’s Really Going On
This incident isn’t really related to us, but to several people close to us. Two good friends of mine decided to get a divorce earlier this year. They’re both moving to separate cities in the fall. There were no kids involved, thankfully – just two people who realized that their relationship wasn’t working any more.
I’m not going to say who is to “blame” in the divorce. I don’t think a relationship breakdown happens very often where only one person is to “blame” – it’s usually a result of multiple failures on both parts.
Another person that I know in large part because of that couple broke off a business relationship as a result of that divorce. He was closer to one of the people in that couple than the other and seemed to make that decision based on that closeness.
However, from my angle, that decision was made based on really questionable information. There were stories shared on social media about the relationship that weren’t 100% true – I witnessed some of the things discussed with my own eyes, so I know they’re not true. Yet, people were making big business decisions and personal choices based on that partial information.
That’s a mistake. Regardless of whether your first instinct is right or not, take some time and make sure that you actually have facts and not secondhand gossip before making major business or life decisions. Things aren’t always what they appear, especially through the lens of secondhand gossip. Sure, you might end up making a big decision, but at least give it some time and gather the facts first. Unless urgency is required, don’t make a fast major decision.
Don’t Become Too Attached to Things
Part of the rearrangement of rooms in our home involves me moving my office into another part of the house where I probably won’t have quite as much space as I once did. My board game collection fits on the current shelving space allotted to it, as does my book collection, but both are going to shrink significantly in the coming months.
This means that both collections are going through a purge. I’m having to make a lot of decisions about which books and games I’m going to keep and which ones I’m going to give away or trade away or sell.
As I move through this process, I’m beginning to realize that a lot of the motivation I had for keeping books and games is emotional attachment. Usually, it’s because I remember a great experience reading a book in the past or a great experience playing a game in the past, but I’m not really thinking about whether I’ll read the book again going forward or play the game again going forward.
Once I start looking at things in terms of going forward, some cuts begin to make obvious sense to me. I’ve been steadily trimming both collections over the last several months in anticipation of the move and the choices have been easier because of this realization.
Final Thoughts
Life is a giant experiment. New situations are constantly being thrown at you. You’re going to make mistakes. The key to a great life, I think, is to constantly learn. Figure out new approaches to the new problems before you, watch some of them succeed and some of them fail, see what you can learn from that, and use those lessons for new approaches.
Good luck.
The post Ten Financial Lessons This Summer Taught Me appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
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This Is When the Balance Transfer Dance Is a Super Smart Move
It sounds about as exciting as that pile of dirty clothes on the floor you’ve strategically been avoiding.
You’d free up so much extra space and stop tripping over them if you’d just move the clothes to the hamper.
The same logic applies to transferring your credit card debt.
Each pile of dirty clothes represents a credit card with a balance. By moving those clothes — aka debt — to new locations, you clear out dangerous piles and lower your chances of a risky situation.
While shifting debt isn’t as easy as moving a pile of clothes, it can save you money, help you get out of debt faster and simplify your financial life if you do it right.
But not all balance transfer credit cards are created equal, so there’s a lot to consider before making any moves.
What Is a Balance Transfer Credit Card?
They’re normal credit cards with a balance transfer perk.
A card with a balance transfer option allows you to move a balance — or multiple balances — from one credit card to another.
It doesn’t matter if you move balances from Visa to Discover or from a store credit card to a new Mastercard, but you usually can’t transfer balances between two cards issued by the same company, e.g., from a Chase Freedom card to a Chase Sapphire Preferred card.
Balance transfer credit cards generally come with lower introductory interest rates for a set amount of time and then rise to a higher annual percentage rate, or APR, after the promotional period ends.
That’s when things can get tricky if you’re not prepared.
What to Consider Before Transferring a Balance
Fine print matters. Explore all of the fees, the duration of the offer and interest options before making the jump.
What to Look for in a Balance Transfer Card
| Fees | Minimum $5 to $10 or 3% to 5% of balance, whichever is highern |
| Interest | Look for 0% APR introductory offer, and regular APR lower than current cards n |
| Duration of Promotional APRt | Usually 12-18 months, up to 21 monthsn |
| Credit Scoret | Generally requires good or excellent creditn |
| Credit Limitst | Larger than current balance of cards youu2019ll be transferringn |
Fees
You will incur a fee when you transfer a balance to another card.
These fees vary based on the amount you transfer.
At a minimum, you’ll be charged a $5 to $10 fee. For higher balances, expect to pay 3% to 5% of the transfer balance.
Don’t be scared off by this fee. It’s minor compared with the amount you’ll save in most cases.
Interest
When using a balance transfer credit card, an introductory 0% APR is the best deal. You can get this by opening a new account or through an offer on an existing account.
If you transfer a balance to an existing account, make sure it has a better interest rate than the card you’re transferring from.
Promotional periods do expire, and you’ll be forced to pay the remaining balance at the full interest rate when they do.
So know what these interest rates will be ahead of time, in case you’re unable to pay off the whole balance during the promotional period.
Standard interest rates range from 14% to 26%.
Duration
Promotional periods typically range from 12 to 18 months (and up to 21 months if you’re lucky).
You may only need 12 months to pay off small balances at a lower interest rate, while higher balances might take more time to pay off.
Selecting a balance transfer card with a longer duration will give you the best chance of paying off your total balance.
Keep in mind that failing to make a payment voids most promotional offers, and you will be forced to pay the remaining balance at full interest.
Credit Score
If you have excellent or good credit, you have the best chance at scoring a 0% APR balance transfer credit card.
While it’s harder to get a balance transfer card with a low credit score, it’s not impossible. They generally have higher interest rates with shorter promotional periods, which might still be a better option than your current situation.
Check if you’re pre-qualified prior to applying to avoid the hit on your credit.
Credit Limits
You can’t transfer $3,000 onto a card with a $2,000 credit limit. Verify the card you’re considering has a credit limit that supports your transfer balance.
Why Use a Balance Transfer Credit Card?
If you’re paying off a credit card balance at full interest, you might want to catch a ride on the balance transfer route.
But transfer credit card balances with intention. Be sure there’s a gain for you.
Saving Money
You’ve probably received countless promotional balance transfer credit card offers in the mail or by email. They boast 0% APR for 12 months (or something similar).
They work like this: If you have a $1,500 credit card balance with a 15.99% APR, you’re being charged 15.99% interest on your average daily balance every year — and that’s on top of the minimum payment. Which means you’re getting nowhere fast.
If you transferred that $1,500 balance to a card offering 0% APR for 12 months, then you avoid paying any interest on your balance for 12 months.
That means if you make a $125 payment every month for 12 months, you can pay off the entire balance before the promotional period ends.
If the balance is fully paid off before the 12-month offer expires, you can save hundreds of dollars in finance charges you’d otherwise pay on a high-interest credit card.
Debt Consolidation
Once upon a time, I was paying off five credit card balances at once. I tried to remember the due dates. I even put them in my calendar and worked my budget around them. Still, I never seemed to make any headway.
I simplified my financial struggles by transferring all five balances onto two new promotional balance transfer credit cards.
The best offer I found was the Chase Freedom Unlimited card. Its introductory 0% APR for 15 months with a 5% transaction fee enabled me to transfer $800 from one account and $500 from another for $65.
I paid off the balance in 13 months without any additional finance charges.
Consolidating my balances down to two cards allowed me to get out from under those high-interest credit cards and actually make big dents in my debt.
I dubbed it the “balance transfer dance.”
Do Balance Transfers Affect Credit Scores?
Your FICO credit score is determined by five key factors: payment history, credit utilization, age of credit, types of credit and number of inquiries.
The best balance transfer credit card offers generally come from opening new accounts, which means you will receive a hard inquiry for each card you open.
Credit inquiries make up 10% of your credit score, so this will have minimal impact.
Opening multiple cards at once will increase the negative impact, but your score should rebound after a few months.
Age of credit is 15% of your credit score. If you close an account or open a new one, these alter your age of credit average and could lower your score temporarily.
Credit utilization makes up a whopping 30% your credit score. This is how much credit you are using versus the total credit available on all of your accounts combined.
So, if you have a $1,000 limit credit card with a $500 balance, that means you are using 50% of your credit.
Opening a new account and transferring a balance can increase your available credit and positively affect your credit score.
Are you feeling more confident about balance transfer credit cards? Good. Now go do your laundry.
Stephanie Bolling is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She’s paid off over $5,000 in credit card debt by doing the balance transfer dance.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
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I Spent My Emergency Fund: Now What?
In the span of just a few weeks this last month, my husband and I faced over $6,000 in surprise expenses. First, our car broke down and needed a new battery, brakes, and rotors, for a grand total of $1,100. A visit to the orthodontist led to a $2,700 bill to fix my youngest child’s underbite. Next up, we had to replace some rotten wood on the back of our home after we demolished our deck.
After that, my youngest child (the one with a new contraption to fix her jaw) fell off a jungle him and broke her left arm. That zapped our health care deductible in an instant, but fortunately she’s okay.
What does all this mean? We spent a big chunk of our emergency fund without any warning at all. It was stressful in some ways, but also a huge relief.
I mean, this is what emergency funds are for, right? They’re made for spending on real emergencies — things like broken arms and surprise car repairs. My kid needing her jaw fixed was something I suppose I could have saved for ahead of time, but it never crossed my mind that a seven-year-old would need braces so early on. That was a surprise for me, and also a learning experience.
When Your E-Fund Takes a Hit
Most experts suggest you set aside three to six months of expenses (not income) in an easily accessible account and designate those funds for emergencies only. The whole purpose of having an e-fund is that, when life happens, at least you don’t have to worry about how to pay for it — and you don’t have to charge your bills on a credit card or struggle to make ends meet. With an e-fund, you have the privilege of paying for your emergencies in cold, hard cash so you can go on with your life without ruining all your financial goals.
Because my husband and I have an emergency fund, our lives and our finances will be just fine. We had three months of expenses set aside already, so we didn’t deplete all our cash funds to begin with. We’ll now spend the next few months replenishing our cash emergency fund out of our monthly pay. It won’t be fun, but it’s a lot better than going into debt over life’s little disasters.
If your emergency fund has been depleted — or you don’t have one at all — don’t be hard on yourself! Your emergency fund exists to help you through hard times, including unexpected bills, medical emergencies, or a loss of pay, but it’s easy to underestimate how much you need or get stuck in a situation where several emergencies hit all at once.
Here are a few steps to take to build an e-fund from scratch or replenish emergency funds you had to spend:
- Reallocate savings. If you’re saving money every month for different goals, you will need to reallocate some of your savings back toward your emergency fund for a while. Let’s say you’re saving $200 per month toward a kitchen remodel or a family vacation. If you can move at least half of those funds to beef up your emergency fund each month, you’ll be on your way to replacing what you’ve lost.
- Don’t be afraid to start small. If you don’t have an emergency fund already or you aren’t saving money regularly, remember that you must start somewhere. If you can set aside even $25 or $50 per payday or per month and put it in a savings account, you’ll eventually make some headway toward your goal. Dave Ramsey suggests a starter emergency fund goal of $1,000, so don’t be discouraged by the idea of saving up three to six months of expenses. Anything you save for emergencies is better than nothing.
- Cut spending temporarily. If you’re using a monthly budget already, you’re probably setting money aside each month for “fun” categories like dining out, movies, and general entertainment. For the sake of building up an emergency fund or replacing money you had to spend, you may want to consider reducing these categories — or cutting them out altogether — until your e-fund is fully funded again.
- Create a repayment timeline. Crafting a repayment plan can also help you get on track toward your goal of building up your emergency fund. If you had to spend $2,000 of your savings to pay for a roof repair, and you know you can save $200 per month, you’ll need 10 months to pay yourself back. Write it down and commit to that amount.
- Pay yourself first. Also make sure you’re “paying yourself first” before life gets in the way. If you’re using a monthly budget (and especially a zero-sum budget), simply list your e-fund savings as debt repayment and pay yourself like you would any other bill. Also make sure you’re keeping your emergency funds in a separate high interest savings account so they don’t get mixed in with your general funds.
- Make it automatic. Making your savings automatic can also help you start on track toward rebuilding your emergency fund. Set up automatic bank transfers for payday or a certain day of the month for your repayment/savings plan, and you can “set it and forget it.”
The Bottom Line
If you had to spend your emergency fund, it’s not the end of the world. But since it takes time to build up adequate savings for life’s “what ifs,” your best course of action is to start saving to replace it right away.
With an emergency fund of even a few thousand dollars, you’ll be in a better position to handle life’s ups and downs, a job loss, a surprise bill, or having to meet your annual health insurance deductible in one fell swoop. Without one, on the other hand, you’re stuck trying to pay emergency expenses out of your regular income. And that could become an emergency on its own.
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.
More by Holly Johnson:
- Why I’m Focusing on Just One Half of ‘FIRE’
- Strategies for Fighting Frugality Fatigue
- Eight Ways to Borrow Less for College
The post I Spent My Emergency Fund: Now What? appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
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High-Paying Work-From-Home Healthcare Careers for Women
Not so long ago, in the days before the web, people had to actually go to work. They got dressed in the morning, fed their children and pets, rode the train or drove a car and clocked in for a productive day in the traditional clinical environment – and many still do. But with the […]
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'My bracelet broke under guarantee, but Astley Clarke wouldn’t replace it'
Moneywise helps a reader trying to get a guarantee honoured.
My sisters bought me an Astley Clarke bracelet for my birthday in March at the Astley Clarke stand in department store Liberty in London for £90. We were told that it came with a 12-month guarantee.
The bracelet broke in May, so I took it to the store. Liberty phoned to say that it couldn’t be repaired but it was a voicemail and I couldn’t really hear why. I rang Astley Clarke customer service, which said the chain had been “pulled” and it offered me a 30% discount on a new bracelet. I said that I wasn’t happy with that and asked for more information on why it couldn’t be repaired.
It said: “The chain itself has been completely pulled and has been stretched out of shape, one side is now approximately 10mm longer than the other. This damage is outside of what we consider as normal fair wear and tear and, sadly it’s not something we are able to repair, I’m afraid.”
I am not happy with this response because it’s a friendship bracelet, so you have to pull it to close it, so it doesn’t fall off your arm! The website says it has a guarantee for wear and tear, which says: “Every piece of Astley Clarke jewellery is guaranteed for 12 months from the date of purchase subject to normal conditions of ‘wear and tear’.”
To think that an item is under guarantee and to have to pay around £60 to buy a new one just three months later from what is meant to be a reputable firm seems unfair.
HM/London
I agree with you. If a piece of jewellery breaks and there’s a guarantee, it should be replaced, otherwise what’s the point in having a guarantee? The good news is that Astley Clarke saw sense when I got in touch. The customer service team agreed to replace the bracelet. A spokesperson told me: “It is not uncommon for the bracelet to catch on something or get pulled and our inspection felt this was the case. As you can see from the testimonials on our site, we do pride ourselves on exceptional customer service, so in this instance we will offer a free replacement.”
When I told you its response, you said: “It’s great news that Astley Clarke has agreed to replace my bracelet. But I’m disappointed that it only agreed to do this once Moneywise got involved. I’d only had it for a couple of months, so it should have honoured its 12-month guarantee right away rather than offering me a paltry discount on a new bracelet.”
However, I do hope the new bracelet brings you joy – for more than three months at least!
OUTCOME: Reader gets a new £90 bracelet
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What You Can Do to Protect Yourself from Spying Devices
Smart devices are making their way into more homes each day, including my own. And the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal certainly didn’t help me feel comfortable with the safety of my data.
And now, a report from The New York Times revealed over 250 apps in the Google Play Store (as well as a few on iOS) contained a software called Alphonso, which runs in the background while you use your favorite applications.
The software listens in to discover your interests and then uses that data to present specific ads to you while you’re scrolling.
Items like wireless Bluetooth headphones, an iPhone or a laptop computer with a front-facing camera could be potential security threats if you’re not careful. In 2017, a lawsuit even alleged that Samsung Smart TVs secretly recorded consumers’ private conversations.
When it comes to protecting my privacy, I’m not as paranoid as my best friend’s mom, who has her desktop computer’s camera covered in black electrical tape, but I still take some precautions when it comes to allowing access to my devices.
How to Protect Yourself
Let’s start with what you can control when it comes to what your devices see and hear.
As scary as these situations sound, most people don’t realize that they are the ones who granted access to the spying software. Alphonso representatives claimed to have included a disclaimer in the applications’ descriptions that follow the Federal Trade Commission’s guidelines, but let’s face it — does anyone really read those?
When an application prompts you to allow it access to your microphone, camera or location, you have the option to say no.
Smartphones typically have privacy options located in the Settings application. From there, you can decide if you want your phone to know your location or have access to the microphone or camera. These options also often pop up when using an application for the first time.
Obviously, apps like Snapchat or Instagram will need access to your camera if you plan on using them. Facebook doesn’t necessarily need access to your microphone unless you plan on going live.
Keep in mind, if you completely remove location access, apps that inform you of weather or directions won’t work. Depending on your smartphone, it may be easier to allow access to certain applications one by one rather than all at once.
How to File a Claim
The easiest way to stay informed of any lawsuits or potential recalls regarding products you’ve purchased is to register them online. Most items come with registration cards that are often tossed in the trash along with their packaging.
But the five minutes it takes to register your product could end up saving you cash in the long run.
If your registration cards are long gone by now, you can still cash in on certain class-action lawsuits. Sites like Top Class Actions and Class Action Rebates allow you to search for current claims, ranging from probiotic supplements to unwanted text messages. These sites are constantly updated and send newsletters out via email subscriptions.
Filing a claim is simple. Top Class Actions includes links to the official legal documentation of each lawsuit, which includes electronic forms to complete the claim process. While most claims don’t require proof of purchase, it does help to have that information available.
When speaking to USA Today, Scott Hardy, founder and CEO of Top Class Actions, said, “The settlement administrators are dealing with tens of thousands, if not millions, of claims and 99% of people don’t submit any proof at all. So if you’re submitting any kind of proof attached to your claim, then you’re going to get a little extra special care and that’s going to help you.”
If you can’t find the receipt for a purchase, credit or debit card statements can often work and tend to accrue larger payouts.
Once you’ve filed your claim, be sure to save the details, including claim number and date of submission. Some claims can take months or even years to pay out, so it’s important to be patient and keep track of everything over time. When that check finally appears in your mailbox, cash it quickly. Many checks are only valid for up to 180 days after their date of issue.
Finally, while most of us have gone paperless, some companies still send class-action lawsuit postcards via snail mail. Don’t ignore these. They often include a reference number for settlements regarding common products.
You just might be able to cash in on a pair of spying headphones — or a smart TV that knows way too much about your solo karaoke sessions.
Morgan Pritchett is a tech-loving millennial with newly evolved trust issues, thanks to Mark Zuckerberg. Most of her time is spent watching sports, reading comic books or hiking along trails with her pup, Ellie.
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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