It’s incredible how much the web evolves and changes every day. I mean, remember when we used to clip coupons from the Sunday newspaper and look for recommendations in Consumer Reports? Now we check our inboxes for daily deals, we grab coupons from our smartphones and search for recommendations on social media platforms like Facebook, […]
The post Refer Your Friends and Earn Money with Referral Links appeared first on The Work at Home Woman.
Pei Wei, in partnership with Dr Pepper, is holding a “Creators of Fortune” contest where your sayings can end up as a fortune-cookie fortune.
That’s right. All those witty comments and comebacks you come up with on social media could literally pay off.
Who knew that so much could depend on a 2 ¼ inch by ⅙ inch piece of paper?
Anyone 18 and older and a legal resident of the U.S. can enter.
However, only students actively enrolled at an accredited university in the U.S and taking at least six credit hours will be eligible for the grand prize and first prize scholarships.
All entrants must have a Facebook or Twitter account to enter the contest.
Emotions are sweet and sour, and so are the prizes in this contest.
There’s only one grand prize winner, and that person will receive a tuition check for $1,000.
Four first-place prizes will receive a tuition check for $500.
The 125 second-place prize winners will receive a $5 Pei Wei gift card, and 220 third-place prizes will receive a digital coupon for a free beverage at participating Pei Wei locations.
Fortunes can be inspirational or humorous, but they must be original.
You can submit one fortune per day.
Enter by posting your fortunes on Facebook or sending out a tweet on Twitter.
To enter via Facebook, post your fortune as a comment on the Pei Wei Creators of Fortune Facebook post.
You must include @PeiWei, @DrPepper and #CreateAFortuneContest in your comment. Don’t forget to add #student if you meet the eligibility requirements for the scholarships.
To enter on Twitter, tweet your fortune and tag @PeiWei or @PeiWei_Tiger; tag @DrPepper, and the hashtags #CreateAFortuneContest. Include #student if you meet the eligibility requirements for the scholarships.
The deadline to enter is Oct. 10, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Check out the Create a Fortune contest official rules.
Like our College page on Facebook to discover other scholarship opportunities.
And if you’re looking for even more scholarships to apply for, be sure to check out our list of 100 scholarships that will help you pay for college.
Stephanie Bolling is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She always eats the fortune cookie before reading the fortune.
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.
Challenger energy provider Ovo has hiked the price of its variable tariffs by well above the rate of inflation.
Ovo customers on the ‘Simpler Energy’ standard variable tariff (SVT) with the online discount will see the £60 discount cut. This, combined with a price rise of 6.5%, amounts to a total increase in bills equivalent to 12.4% or £135 on average from 12 October.
Those on the Simpler Energy tariff without the online discount will have a 6.5% price rise.
This means that customers on both plans will be paying a total of £1,225 a month on average from 12 October onwards.
This is the second price rise form Ovo this year, following a 5.1% hike in June.
The news comes after Bulb said it was raising prices by 11.1% in November.
Taking a similar position to Bulb, Ovo blamed the rise on wholesale energy costs going up by 15% since last June.
In a statement on its website Ovo says: “Wholesale energy costs have risen by over 15% since June, as a result we’re increasing our variable plan rates and removing the online discount from our variable plan.
“We review our prices every week to ensure we’re giving our customers a fair deal that reflects the real cost of energy and continue to make all our decisions as if our ‘customer is in the room’ with us.”
Earlier this month, British Gas announced its second price rise this year, which will take the typical standard variable tariff bill to £1,205 a year.
E.on, SSE, Npower, EDF and Scottish Power have also introduced price rises this year.
Stephen Murray, energy expert at MoneySuperMarket, says the decision by Ovo highlights benefits that switching and fixing your energy tariff can bring.
He says: “Whilst the percentage of Ovo customers on standard variable tariffs is relatively low, this increase is in stark contrast to customers who switched to the brand’s two-year fixed deal this time last year.
“Those customers are now sitting on a deal that is almost £100 cheaper than the current cheapest deal on the market, and still have a further year of protection to come at rock-bottom prices.
“With all indications that prices will continue to increase this winter, now is the time to switch to one of the many competitive fixed-rate tariffs on the market. The price you pay will be secured for the next 12 months – or 24 if you go with two-year fixed tariff – and you will save £250 or more on your bills.”
And just when you thought Thanksgiving was as #America as a holiday could possibly get, National Cheeseburger Day steps up to the proverbial plate.
And the literal one.
National Cheeseburger Day is Tuesday, Sept. 18, and if you’re anything like me, you absolutely cannot wait to celebrate.
And you don’t have to spend a ton to do so. In fact, if you play your cards right, you might even make money off chowing down on a burger this Tuesday.
Here are 12 national cheeseburger deals to sink your teeth into.
BurgerFi is dishing out a BOGO deal all day long. Buy one cheeseburger at regular price, and you’ll get the second one for $1. All you have to do is show or mention the offer at a participating location.
If you live near a Checkers or Rally’s, you have a few deals to choose from.
You can get two cheeseburgers for $2, or you can grab a crispy fish sandwich, cheeseburger or Fry Lover’s burger (that’s a cheeseburger with fries on top) for just $1 each from the $1 Fan Favorites menu.
Want some ice cream with that cheeseburger? Then Dairy Queen has a deal for you — your choice of a regular cheeseburger or a barbecue bacon cheeseburger and a mini Blizzard for $4.
And if you download the Dairy Queen app and register an account, you’ll receive an offer for a free Blizzard, because the only thing better than ice cream is more ice cream.
Known for serving farm-fresh food, Farmer Boys will be serving up $1 cheeseburgers all day long on National Cheeseburger Day. You just have to mention the offer and dine in.
And if you’re a very important farmer (VIF) club member, you can scan your receipt on National Cheeseburger Day and get another offer for a $1 cheeseburger to use on your next visit. Plus, new VIF members get a $5 reward just for signing up.
Got a serious appetite?
This Tuesday, if you down Fuddruckers’ three-pound burger and a one-pound side of fries in an hour or less, you’ll receive a $25 gift card.
More than 80 locations are participating nationwide — most of which are in Texas. I guess everything really is bigger there!
But if you want to participate in the challenge, you’ve got to plan ahead — and not just because you’ll need to starve yourself for a day or three first. The flier states 24 hours’ notice is required, so call your favorite Fuddruckers soon if you’re up to this considerable task.
McDonald’s has made no specific mention of National Cheeseburger Day, but if you have the McDonald’s app, you can get a McDouble for a $1. Just look for the offer under “deals.”
(By the way, you can use this offer once a day until it expires.)
Yummm. Red Robin is celebrating the day with a $5 deal.
When you dine in and purchase a beverage on National Cheeseburger Day, you’ll get a gourmet cheeseburger and bottomless steak fries for $5.
This National Cheeseburger Day, Ruby Tuesday is giving all So Connected members a free burger with the purchase of any entree. And if you don’t make it for National Cheeseburger Day, don’t worry — the offer is available on Wednesday, too.
Although not specific to National Cheeseburger Day, Sonic is currently running a deal for the Carhop Classic. You get your choice of either the quarter-pound double cheeseburger or the classic Sonic signature Slinger with medium tots for $2.99.
And since the holiday falls on a Tuesday, cheeseburgers are half off after 5 p.m.
Burger chain Wayback Burgers is celebrating National Cheeseburger Day with a BOGO deal for its Cheeeesy burger. That’s four slices of melted American cheese on two cooked-to-order beef patties between a buttered bun: a real double cheeseburger.
To score this deal, simply download the Wayback app by Monday, Sept. 17.
As an added bonus, you’ll get an offer for a free classic burger after your first in-app purchase.
Wendy’s is celebrating National Cheeseburger Day all month long with a free Dave’s Single with any purchase. The best part is, you can use the offer once a day until Sept. 30!
All you have to do is download the Wendy’s app and create an account.
If you’re a fan of those tasty little square burgers, you can use this coupon to get a free cheese slider with any purchase on National Cheeseburger Day.
Happy holidays!
Jamie Cattanach is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder and cheeseburger aficionado. Her writing has also been featured at The Write Life, Word Riot, Nashville Review and elsewhere. Find @JamieCattanach on Twitter to wave hello.
Jessica Gray is an editorial assistant at The Penny Hoarder. She updated this post for 2018.
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.
What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to summaries of five or fewer words. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question.
1. Mother using my credit card
2. College planner a worthwhile investment?
3. 401(k) contribution question
4. Quietly seeking a new job
5. Who buys penny stocks?
6. Spend money too easily
7. Mail order mattress advice
8. New city, huge raise
9. IKEA actually a bargain?
10. Uses for Amazon Echo
11. Finding time to read
12. Good national parks to visit
There are days when I see a picture of my children when they were much younger and I think, “Man, those were some wonderful days.” They’re older now and they simply don’t do a lot of the things that they used to do.
Then, I’ll see them saying a kind word to one of their friends or bringing up a very good point in a dinner table conversation or puzzling through their homework or helping someone out on the street and I think to myself that I wouldn’t trade the people they are now for anything, nor would I trade the people they’re coming for anything.
They’re not perfect. No one is. They make mistakes. Everyone does. But I wouldn’t trade the whole messy process for anything else.
After my dad died my mother didn’t have much money so I added her as an authorized user on my credit card. Lately there have been regular Amazon purchases showing up on the card and I suspect that my mother is making the purchases. I’m not sure how to handle this.
– Naomi
The thing to remember here is that there could be an identity theft issue going on. Your mother might not be using the card for Amazon purchases; it might be someone else entirely who has access to that card or to that account.
If I were you, I’d call up your credit card company and see if they can distinguish between your personal usage and the usage of the authorized user (your mother). Some banks issue credit cards with unique numbers to each authorized user, some do it upon request, while others don’t do it at all. See if you can figure out which card is causing those online purchases.
If you can’t clearly identify this, I would talk to your mother about the issue from an identity theft perspective. Tell her that you are going to be closing the card soon because the identity has been stolen and has been used to make a number of Amazon purchases. She may confess if it’s her or she may not (maybe it’s her and maybe it isn’t). In either case, consider reporting the card as lost and getting a new card number. You may not want to give a new authorized card to your mother after this change, however.
I’m wondering what your thoughts are on hiring a college planner for the inundating college process. My daughter is a senior in high school, she a solid B student with a 3.4 gpa, plays soccer, is actively involved in the church and youth groups. The fasfa, profiler, scholarships and entire college process is overwhelming. The planner we met offers to see the process of everything from start to finish for a fee of $3,000. It would also include my 2 younger daughters. Do you think this is an investment? Or a little too much to ask for?
– Diana
That’s a pretty stiff fee. It might be worth it depending on how robust this person’s efforts are, which is hard to tell. Do they have any references?
If I were in your situation, I would only consider this if your child were an only child. If you have multiple children, you’re going to have to go through this process multiple times and it’ll get substantially easier each time. Treat the first time through as a tough learning experience and subsequent times will be much easier.
I don’t think personally I would spend $3,000 on this type of service, even if I were maneuvering an only child through it. I absolutely wouldn’t spend $9,000 to maneuver our three children through it.
If I were you, I’d lean toward saving that $3,000 and instead applying it to the first semester of tuition or to things like textbooks.
What happens if you contribute too much to your 401(k)? It appears that the annual contribution that an individual can make under normal circumstances is $18,500 but what happens if you contribute more than that?
– Jeremy
Normally, your 401(k) plan should stop accepting contributions when you hit the annual cap. This should be an automated thing. The only way this should happen is if you switch jobs and fail to notify the new plan administrator of your contributions earlier in the year.
If you do realize that you were able to somehow overcontribute, you should contact your plan administrator immediately. They will refund the excess contributions as well as any earnings on those contributions. You’ll be liable for the taxes on those excess contributions and earnings, of course.
If this discovery happens after you’ve filed taxes for that year, you may be in a bit of a difficult situation. I’d contact a tax professional at that point to help you navigate the paperwork spaghetti that’s going to follow.
I work in an area where there are several businesses in the same field. I want to find a new job due to an uncomfortable relationship with a coworker who wants to start a physical relationship and I do not. I discussed it with my boss who basically acted like it wasn’t his problem and I should be glad to be getting action which made me want to get out of here. Anyway, how does one go about quietly seeking a new job in the same field without your current employers knowing about it?
– Darren
The best way to do this is to do it via trusted friends. Do you have close friends who work at other businesses in your field in the area? Start with them. Put out gentle feelers through them to find out if there are any positions available.
Another approach is to update your resume and put it out there for people to see. Make sure it’s “100% buzzword compliant,” meaning that any and every keyword that an employer might be looking for that applies to you shows up in your resume. You might want to look at job listings for jobs in your field to make sure you’re covering the bases. If you’re in an in-demand field, you may just find headhunters knocking at your door pretty immediately.
If you really want out of your current job, don’t worry about it. Just get out there and apply. My suggestion would be to apply to a bunch of places all at once so that you have good odds of finding a new position.
A final tip: the issue going on in your workplace isn’t right. You should strongly consider discussing the matter with someone further up the food chain than your immediate boss.
None of the brokers you identify will take a penny stock for sale. Do you know of any that actually will?
– Alex
Many brokers will allow you to sell a penny stock, so I’m not sure what you’re referring to. It may be that you can’t find a broker that participates in a stock exchange where a particular penny stock is allowed to be listed. Many stock exchanges require that a company meet certain criteria to be listed there and if the company can’t meet the criteria, that stock exchange won’t list the stock.
I know for a fact, for example, that Scottrade allows penny stock trading.
Just to clarify, a “penny stock” is any stock with a valuation below $1 per share. Some brokerages are a little wary of shares with such a low valuation because they’re often used in market manipulation and “pump and dump” schemes.
I’m 29, my wife is 26. We make more money than either of our parents ever have. We’re trying to get our student loans paid off and build up a down payment for a house. The problem we have is that whenever there is money in checking we tend to spend it. We avoid credit cards but whenever we see money in our checking and know there aren’t any bills due we always find things to spend it on.
– Nolan
One strategy to help fix this problem is to use a “waterfall” scheme. Rather than having your pay direct deposited into your primary checking account, have it deposited into an online bank. Then, set up an automatic transfer so that only a portion of that pay is transferred into your normal bank.
So, for example, let’s say you get paid on the 15th and 30th of every month and you take home $1,000 each time. Rather than having it put directly into your checking, you have this amount put into an online bank – say, Capital One 360. Then, on the 4th and 20th of each month, you have an automatic transfer of $800 from your online bank to your main bank.
Every once in a while, you log onto the online bank and use the built-up balance in there for a big financial move, like a big extra student loan payment or even a down payment on your home (if you give it several years).
What are your thoughts on mail order mattresses like Casper and Purple? Are they any good or just hype?
– Daniel
I’m just going to flat out say it: it is really hard to give an objective review of a mattress because the same mattress might be splendid for one person and awful for another. It depends on the person’s body shape, how they sleep, and many other factors.
All I can say is that, in my experience, the Purple mattress is really good for back or stomach sleepers and not so good for side sleepers. The more your weight is spread out on the bed, the better the Purple mattress is.
On the other hand, my experience with Casper mattresses is that they’re great for lighter people and get progressively worse depending on how heavy the sleeper is. If you have a normal or low BMI, a Casper mattress is probably pretty good for you.
Again, it really depends on your body shape and how you sleep. A mattress that works really well for one person might not work at all for a seemingly similar person.
I am 33 years old. I have lived in the same metro area (Cincinnati) for all of my life excepting my college years where I lived about 2.5 hours away. All of my family is here and all of my current friends are here. I got a good job after college but the company closed up shop about 18 months ago and I have been searching for new work ever since, at first around here but lately all over the country. I got an interview in SLC and they made an offer. I know no one in SLC. The job is incredible in terms of pay and benefits, far more than I have ever made but I will basically be starting over with my life without friends or family around for the first time ever or at least since college. Advice?
– Bill
What are your hobbies and interests? How do you like spending your free time? Whatever those activities are, are they available in Salt Lake City? Are there groups that engage in those activities so that you can jump start the process of finding friends?
I’d honestly start with looking at Meetup. Are there groups that match your interests? If you find a bunch, well, you have a social calendar for yourself already. Visit lots of those groups and see who and what you find.
Basically, the more fertile the possibilities seem for finding new friends and a life for yourself in Salt Lake City, the more I’d suggest moving. By default, I’d be in favor of it anyway, simply because a change in environment can often be a good thing for people.
Is stuff at IKEA actually a bargain? Seems to me like a lot of the stuff can be found elsewhere for less.
– Gerry
Some things at IKEA are nicely priced or are very good examples of a particular item for the price. I am a huge fan of their bookshelves, for example – for the price, they’re really good.
Other things are simply overpriced for what you get. For example, I can find perfectly good bed loft kits at places besides IKEA that are easy to assemble and look fine.
I don’t think IKEA is awful, nor do I think it’s the be-all-end-all of furniture stores. We have a few IKEA items in our home and many items that aren’t from IKEA.
I do like their AA batteries, though – they’re really good for the price.
I got an Amazon Echo as a birthday gift and my kids showed me some things to do with it but for me I don’t see the point. It just sits there plugged in and doesn’t do anything. The only thing I use it for is to play music sometimes and I’ll just say “Hey Alexa play Mariah Carey” and it will play some songs by her. Thinking of just giving it to one of the grandkids who always plays with it when he’s visiting.
– Mary
I also received an Echo as a gift (an Echo Spot) and I’ve found it pretty useful in two ways.
One, it’s a great alarm clock. If I want to set an alarm, I’ll just say, “Hey Alexa, set an alarm for 30 minutes from now” or “Hey Alexa, set an alarm for five thirty AM.”
Two, it’s really slick if you have smart devices in your home, like a Nest thermostat or Hue lights. You can say things like “Hey Alexa, turn the temperature down to 70 degrees” or “Hey Alexa, turn the bedroom lights to 50%.” You need secondary devices that your Echo can connect to in order to make this work, though.
The thing is, if you don’t have uses for those things – playing music (as you’re already doing), setting alarms, or controlling smart devices – the Echo really doesn’t do much.
You’ve said before that you block off hour a day for reading. How do you find time for that with full time work and family?
– Keith
For starters, I basically don’t watch television. I don’t think I have sat down in front of a television with an intent to watch a program in more than two weeks. The average American watches five hours of television on an average day. I watch almost none.
One of the ways I use that time is reading. Since I’m almost never watching television, I just use some of that time for reading instead. (I also use it for things like playing board games or spending a lot of focused time with my kids – I make it a goal to have a daily meaningful conversation with each of them.)
If you want time for something, you have to give up time invested in something else. If you want to read more, spend less time in front of the television or on the internet.
Over time, my goal is to try to use my time each day as optimally as possible, but it’s a moving target. I just know that the closer I get to the target, the better.
We live in Minnesota. Our oldest child is in 4th grade and we are thinking of following your advice and getting a “every kid in a park” national park pass and spending a couple of weeks next summer on a road trip. Do you have any recommendations for this? We have a tent and sleeping bags and camp a time or two in the summer up around Lake Superior.
– Ginny
Given your location, I’d strongly recommend hitting Badlands National Park in South Dakota, followed by Mount Rushmore and Custer State Park in western South Dakota, followed by a stop at Devil’s Tower in eastern Wyoming, then head westward across the Bighorn Mountains and then on to Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park in western Wyoming. You can easily burn two weeks on this trip.
We’ve done this exact thing for a family vacation for our family and spent nine days on it and we could have easily spent several more days. There are camping opportunities all along the way, as well as little spots of civilization.
It was, in my opinion, the best family vacation we’ve ever taken, and you could easily do it in your car. With the park pass, none of those things will cost anything for a visit. Good luck!
Got any questions? The best way to ask is to follow me on Facebook and ask questions directly there. I’ll attempt to answer them in a future mailbag (which, by way of full disclosure, may also get re-posted on other websites that pick up my blog). However, I do receive many, many questions per week, so I may not necessarily be able to answer yours.
The post Questions About Penny Stocks, College Planners, Mattresses, and More! appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
I love the poem from Maya Angelou called Every Woman Should. A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE one friend who always makes her laugh … and one who lets her cry … Time is a precious commodity, and part of being a business owner is knowing when it’s time to call in the troops for help. When […]
The post Types of Employees Every Small Business Owner Needs appeared first on The Work at Home Woman.
How often do people visit your website?
To be a successful ecommerce shop, you need to rely on website traffic that leads to conversions. That said, the same people probably aren’t navigating to your website every day.
Even your most loyal customers don’t have a reason to visit your site on a daily basis.
You can’t blame them for this. How often do you buy something online?
According to a recent study about online shopping in the US, 40% of consumers buy products or services from the Internet multiple times per month, and 20% of consumers buy on a weekly basis.
While these numbers are encouraging, you can’t rely on your ecommerce website alone to generate sales based on those statistics.
You need to use other platforms to sell your products.
It makes sense to take advantage of networks consumers are using on a daily basis. You can increase your ecommerce revenue by leveraging social commerce.
Instagram has 500 million daily active users, and 80% of all Instagram accounts follow a business profile.
This is great news for you and for your ecommerce brand.
Your current and prospective customers are not only active on this platform but also willing to engage with your brand.
In fact, 60% of Instagram users find new products through this social platform, and 75% of users take an action after viewing a post.
This action could be visiting the brand’s website or making a purchase.
With all of this in mind, it’s clear your ecommerce company needs to use this platform to your advantage.
I’ll show you how to boost ecommerce sales with Instagram shoppable posts.
Before you do anything, you want to make sure your shoppable posts are not violating any of the Instagram rules and regulations.
If you violate any policies, it could mean big trouble for your account. Your profile could be suspended or even terminated, which would obviously crush your Instagram marketing strategy.
Even if they aren’t always enforced, violations are more common than you might think. In fact, more than 90% of celebrity endorsements on social media violate FTC policies.
But we’ll discuss social influencers in greater detail later in this post.
The shoppable posts feature on Instagram is not available on every account. You need to meet certain requirements to be eligible.
For starters, you must be located in one of the following countries:
An Instagram business account is also a requirement.
You can’t sell anything that violates the Facebook community standards, since Facebook owns Instagram.
This should go without saying, but you can’t sell anything illegal either. But that’s not the only restriction. Here is a list of products that are strictly prohibited from being sold through Instagram:
If you are not selling any of these products, you’re eligible for shoppable posts on Instagram.
Even if your ecommerce brand sells something prohibited on your website, you can still use shoppable posts for your other products that are allowed on this platform.
Once your eligibility is determined, you can proceed.
Using Facebook Business Manager, you’ll create a catalog of products to sell via Instagram.
This will be a file that shows all the items you want to sell.
Set this up using the Facebook page connected to your Instagram business profile. Navigate to the “catalogs” option from the menu.
From here, you can control all the settings related to your products catalog. You’ll even be able to set up multiple new catalogs.
Those of you with employees or team members helping you with this process can grant access and assign roles to those people from here as well.
When you add products to your Facebook catalog, it will sync with Instagram and allow you to share shoppable posts.
You’ll be able to use this for posts on your Instagram profile as well as any advertisements you’re running on the platform.
Add filters to each product to help you manage them the same way you would on your ecommerce site.
These filters would include basic parameters such as:
While manually adding information about each product in your catalogs will work just fine, it’s not your only option.
If you are using BigCommerce or Shopify to sell your products, you can integrate those existing shops with your Instagram shoppable posts.
It won’t cost you any extra money to do this.
You can refer to this detailed guide for setting this up through BigCommerce.
This is a faster way to create your product catalogs instead of manually adding each product, assuming you’re already using one of these platforms.
Even if you haven’t been using these networks, you may want to consider using Shopify to help you sell more products.
Once your shop is set up, you can continue with the integration process through Facebook Business Manager.
Whether you’re using BigCommerce or Shopify, Instagram needs to review your account before you can proceed.
Once your business meets the eligibility requirements and gets approved, you’ll gain access to the shoppable posts feature on Instagram.
All you need to do now is upload photos to your Instagram business profile the same way you normally would.
Use professional photos of people wearing or using your products available in your catalog.
Before finalizing the upload, you’ll notice a difference in your posting options. You’ll now have access to a new feature that other accounts don’t have.
Just tag your products the same way you would tag a person in a picture:
Then search for the names of the products you want to tag. Again, this will look very similar to how you would search for a person’s Instagram name.
Look through your Facebook catalog connected to your Instagram account, which you previously set up.
Find the product or products in the image you’re uploading.
You can tag up to five products in one picture. If you’re uploading a carousel post containing multiple photos, you can tag up to 20 products per carousel.
Don’t overwhelm your followers.
I’d recommend keeping these shoppable posts as simple as possible.
It’s the paradox of choice. The more choices you give someone, the less likely they are to pick one. This will hurt your conversion rates.
Stick to tagging just one or two products in each post for now, and see how that works out for you. Then you can start experimenting with carousel photos and adding more shoppable products.
You need to make sure you’re promoting products on Instagram based on who follows your profile.
As part of your market research, you’ve previously been able to identify your target market. In a perfect world, your Instagram followers will mirror your target audience.
However, this may not always be the case.
For example, let’s say you sell clothing for both men and women on your ecommerce website. That doesn’t mean your shoppable posts should be 50/50 for each gender.
If 80% of your followers are female, you’ll want to post products that appeal to that audience instead.
Keep a close eye on your Instagram analytics so you know who is following your account.
This is another feature only available to Instagram business accounts.
It’s important for you to take advantage of as many tools as possible to maximize the efficiency of your shoppable posts.
Promoting products that don’t appeal to your followers won’t generate sales.
In addition to tagging your products for your shoppable posts, you should also tag your location.
Well, you don’t have to tag your actual location. You just need to tag a location related to what you’re selling and your target audience.
This is a bit of a loophole you can take advantage of.
For example, let’s say you’re trying to sell new swimwear products on Instagram. But your company headquarters are based in North Dakota, a landlocked state.
It probably doesn’t make sense to tag that location if you’re trying to appeal to consumers who spend lots of time at the beach.
But you can tag Miami, FL or San Diego, CA, where a beach season is all year long.
Again, you’ll want to refer to your Instagram analytics to help you with a location tag as well. Tag a location that speaks to your followers based on where they are located.
Here’s an example of this strategy put to use by Western Rise:
They’re selling a button down shirt for men.
As you can see from the tag, they set Brooklyn, New York as the location.
Anyone who clicks on this location tag will see this post as one of the most recent images. This strategy adds exposure to your brand so your shoppable posts can reach users who don’t follow your profile.
Let’s continue talking about maximizing the reach of your posts.
Your current followers may already be existing customers. But how can you use your shoppable posts to reach consumers who haven’t bought anything from your brand before?
You need to learn how to use social influencers to increase your product credibility.
Let’s look at an example. Take a look at this Instagram shoppable post from Herschel:
It used social influencer Michele Dee as the model in the photo. Michelle has over 31,000 followers on Instagram.
If she supports the brand, it shows people it’s legitimate.
It’s worth noting you can’t tag a person in your shoppable posts containing a product. However, you can tag their name in the caption, like Hershel did in the example above.
As I said before, you need to get these shoppable posts in front of as many eyes as possible.
Get creative if you want to gain an advantage over your competitors who are also using Instagram to sell their products.
You should consider running a profitable giveaway to build hype for the items you’re selling.
Here’s an example of how Lems Shoes used this strategy in a recent promotion.
The brand partnered with the Adventure Enthusiasts Instagram page, which relates to my previous point about using influencers to create social proof.
This account has more than 186k followers. Anything posted on its profile will be seen by a huge audience.
Lems Shoes is giving away a pair of its hiking boots, which is obviously a product that speaks to the people who follow Adventure Enthusiasts. Right away, this promotion is on the right track.
But you can’t run shoppable posts from someone else’s account. That’s no problem.
Lems Shoes used this other account to build hype while using its own profile to sell the product:
By partnering with another account and running a giveaway, the brand encouraged people to view its profile.
Once they get there, they’ll see the shoppable post.
Obviously, not everyone will win the giveaway. But the hope here is the users will still be interested to buy after seeing the promotion.
Your ecommerce website may be successful, but consumers aren’t visiting your site as often as they are using social media.
That’s why you need to sell your products on Instagram.
Just make sure all your product information is accurate. The prices and descriptions should be the same as on your website.
Monitor each post’s metrics to see whether your shoppable campaigns are successful.
Before you start with Instagram shoppable posts, you need to verify your account is eligible for this feature.
Then set up your product catalogs through Facebook Business Manager. You can sync these catalogs with your BigCommerce or Shopify accounts to speed up the process.
Review your Instagram analytics to make sure your shoppable posts target your followers. Add a location tag based on this information as well.
Leverage your relationships with social influencers to increase the credibility of your products. Run promotions as a creative way to drive conversions.
If you follow the tips I’ve outlined in this guide, you’ll be able to use shoppable posts on Instagram to increase ecommerce product sales.
How is your brand leveraging Instagram to drive sales?
HM Revenue and Customs is increasingly targeting estates it believes have undervalued residential property to avoid Inheritance Tax bills, according to an accountancy firm.
HMRC investigated 5,400 estates for underpayment of inheritance tax (IHT) last year. This is up 5% from 5,100 in the 2016/17 tax year.
One in four (24%) of the total estates liable for IHT were investigated by HMRC in the latest available year.
Accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young says the area most likely to be queried by HMRC is the valuation of residential property that is passed onto heirs.
In some cases, HMRC might argue that additional value should be attributed to properties that have potential for refurbishment, or development of any attached land.
If an investigation finds that IHT has been underpaid, the estate may have to pay all of the tax owed plus a penalty, which could be up to 100% of the tax at stake in the estate.
HMRC knows that there is a temptation to under-value residential property to save on IHT as it is typically the largest figure on the return, according to Mark Giddens, a partner at the firm.
He says: “The rise in investigations means more beneficiaries and estates, who may not necessarily be cash-rich, could be hit with hefty fines.”
HMRC is increasingly challenging the value of estates as investigating IHT returns is becoming more lucrative for raking in extra tax, Mr Giddens says.
He adds: “If HMRC deem that there has been a lack of care in carrying out valuations, the estate could end up having to pay up to 100% in penalties. With that much at stake, taking professional advice is absolutely critical.”
Responding to the claims, an HMRC spokesperson comments: “Our investigations ensure that everyone pays the right tax.”
Commonly known as the ‘death tax’, IHT is a tax on the estate – property, money and possessions – that is paid when someone dies. It is payable when the assets of an estate total in excess of £325,000. Any assets above this amount are liable to a tax of 40%.
However, married couples can combine their IHT thresholds, meaning that up to the first £650,000 of their combined estate is IHT-free, as any unused nil-rate band can normally be passed on to the surviving spouse.
There is also an additional threshold called the residence nil rate band, which is increasing year-on-year. You can use the HMRC calculator to find out how much the additional threshold on your estate might be.
You must pay Inheritance Tax by the end of the sixth month after the person dies.
Widely loathed by the middle-classes, there have been frequent calls for the tax to be overhauled in recent years.
For more, read the Moneywise guide to cutting your inheritance tax bill.
Even if you have a solid understanding of the general concepts around investing, choosing specific investments can be a struggle.
In some cases there are literally thousands of choices with an almost limitless amount of information available about each one. How are you supposed to sort through all of that information and pick the right mix of investments for your personal goals?
Today I’d like to share my personal process for doing just that. I’m going to explain both my overall investment plan and the specific investments I’ve chosen to implement it.
To be clear, this is not a set of recommendations. Your personal investment decisions should reflect your personal goals, needs, and preferences. The right portfolio for me is not necessarily the right one for you.
My goal is simply to detail my personal thought process with the hope that it helps you think through your own decisions and make better choices.
For anyone who likes to dig into the details, my investment philosophy is heavily influenced by Dave Swensen’s “Unconventional Success.” It’s a great book for anyone who really wants to understand the nuances behind building a portfolio.
With that, let’s get into it!
There are six principles that make up my overall investment philosophy and drive my decisions when I make individual investment choices.
As much as I’d love to find the perfect mix of investments that provides the maximum return with a minimal amount of risk, I know that’s an impossible task.
I also know that I don’t need to be perfect or beat some kind of benchmark in order to reach my personal goals. All I need is for my investment portfolio to be good enough to help me achieve the things that are important to me and my family.
So that’s what I strive for: “good enough.” As long as my investment choices are good enough to get me where I want to go, I’m happy.
This one is simple. Research shows that when it comes to investing, cost is the single best predictor of future performance, with lower costs leading to higher returns.
So I always strive to minimize costs, from mutual fund expense ratios, to account maintenance fees, to taxes and trading fees. I know that the less I pay, the more likely I am to succeed.
There are plenty of reasons to prefer index funds over actively managed funds, but at the end of the day it all comes down to the simple fact that the best research we have shows that index funds consistently provide better returns.
I know that the likeliest outcome of trying to beat the market is losing to it, so my goal is simply to mimic the market at the lowest cost possible. Index funds make that easy.
As investors, our asset allocation is the primary tool we have for managing risk and return. The balance we strike between stocks and bonds does more than any other decision to determine how much risk we’re exposed to and how much return we can expect to receive.
I’ve decided that a mix of 70% stocks and 30% bonds is the right balance for me and my family, and one of my primary goals when choosing investments is to match that high-level asset allocation as closely as possible.
To be clear, this is not an incredibly scientific pick. I’d probably be okay moving as much as 10 percentage points in either direction.
But this decision falls squarely in the “good enough” camp. It allocates enough money to stocks to expect a reasonable return, while keeping enough money in bonds so that my entire portfolio isn’t sacrificed during a market crash.
While my high-level asset allocation is most important, I do have a slightly more detailed asset allocation that I try to follow whenever possible.
For the stock portion of my portfolio, I like to use a 50/50 split between U.S. stocks and international stocks. This roughly represents the actual proportion of the U.S. stock market to the global economy and it ensures that I have exposure to whichever industries and companies are currently performing best, no matter which country they reside in.
For the bond portion of my portfolio, my primary goal is protection instead of return. More than anything else, I want the bonds in my portfolio to serve as a buffer when the stock market is down, even at the expense of long-term returns.
For that reason, my preference is to invest exclusively in U.S. Treasury bonds. They’re backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, which means there is minimal risk of them defaulting. And when the stock market is crashing, history shows that they provide better returns than corporate bonds, which are issued by many of the very same companies whose stocks are struggling during those crashes.
I do like to split my bond holdings between two different types of Treasury bonds:
I have no interest in trying to time the market. I know that any attempt to do so is more likely to hurt me than to help me.
My strategy is simply to buy the investments I want, hold onto them for the long-term, and occasionally rebalance back to my target asset allocation.
With that as my overall investment framework, let’s talk about the specific investments I’ve chosen to implement that plan.
First, whenever possible, I choose Vanguard as my investment provider. They’re customer-owned, low-cost, they essentially invented index funds, and it’s easier to keep everything at one place.
So, assuming I’m at Vanguard, here are my preferred investment choices:
Vanguard funds all come in several different classes, and each of those funds is also available as lower-cost Admiral shares or ETFs. I personally use the Admiral shares whenever I qualify, but the links above go to the version of each fund with the lowest minimum investment.
Sometimes I can’t choose those exact investments, either because I don’t have enough money in a particular account to meet the minimum investment requirement on each of those funds, or because I’m choosing investments within something like a 401(k) that has a limited set of investment options.
In those situations I typically take one of two approaches.
The first is to look for a target-date fund or other all-in-one fund that approximates my target asset allocation with minimal fees. That’s generally my preferred choice as long as the underlying investments are a reasonable approximation for what I want to achieve.
The second is to look for at least one inexpensive U.S. stock fund and one inexpensive U.S. bond fund that I can use to match my 70/30 asset allocation. It may not be quite as diverse as I’d like, but sometimes it’s the best I can do.
So that’s it! That’s my overall investment plan as well as the specific investments I’ve chosen to implement it.
Again, this isn’t meant to be a recommendation. Everyone’s personal goals, timelines, and preferences are different, and you may very well be better served by a different mix of investments.
But hopefully this helps you understand a little more about how a financial planner thinks about investing so that you can make a better set of decisions for yourself.
Matt Becker, CFP® is a fee-only financial planner and the founder of Mom and Dad Money, where he helps new parents take control of their money so they can take care of their families.
More by Matt Becker:
The post I’m a Financial Planner. Here’s How I Invest My Own Money. appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
The income 65-year olds can get from a £100,000 pension is up by 19% since rates bottomed out on 15th September 2016, just months after the UK voted to leave the EU.
Between the day before the EU referendum (23 June 2016) and the annuity rate nadir on 15 September 2016, the income available to a 65-year-old on a pot of £100,000 fell from £5,155 to £4,495, according to Hargreaves Lansdown.
The same pot today could buy an income of £5,431, a 19% increase.
Over the same period, Hargreaves Lansdown, says the UK stock market has risen by 17.49% and the average managed pension fund is up 15.34%.
Interest rates have also been increased by 0.5%, since the all-time-low of 0.25% set on 4 August 2016.
With Brexit just around the corner, and annuity rates looking much better than they did, Nathan Long, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown says that using part of a pension to purchase some guaranteed income could be a good way to mitigate against market jitters.
He says: “There’s a lot of nervousness among investors, thanks to economic uncertainties, a 10-year stock market bull run which must come to an end one day, and of course Brexit anxiety.
“Pension investors may take the opportunity to de-risk ahead of potentially stormy waters by using a tranche of their pension to buy an annuity. The optimum annuity price point for most providers is around £40,000 to £60,000 which may appeal to those currently using income drawdown.”
This table shows the income a £100,000 pot can buy at various ages (single life, level annuity, income paid monthly).
| Time | Age 60 | Age 65 | Age 70 | Age 75 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-referendum result 23/06/2016 | £4,518 | £5,155 | £5,930 | £7,072 |
| Annuity rates bottom 15/09/2016 | £3,856 | £4,495 | £5,262 | £6,418 |
| Current annuity rates 13/09/2018 | £4,727 | £5,341 | £6,044 | £7,066 |
Source: Hargreaves Lansdown
Any person considering an annuity should always shop around to make sure they get the best rate and declare any health problems or lifestyle factors such as smoking, which could make them eligible for an enhanced income.
House prices increased by 0.7% in September, with signs confidence is returning to the London market, according to property website Rightmove.
This monthly rise of over £2,000 took the average house price to £304,061, up 1.2% from a year ago, but some parts of Britain are recording average annual price rises of at least 4%.
Substantial price reductions in some parts of London over the last two years are now helping to improve sentiment and momentum, Rightmove says.
There are signs of renewed buyer activity in London, particularly at the upper end, with a 6% rise in number of sales agreed for homes at £750,000 and over compared to the same month last year.
Average asking prices in Inner London peaked in February 2016 at £823,000, and are now £756,000.
Lucy Pendleton, director of independent estate agents James Pendleton, says: “London is thumbing its nose at the threat of a no-deal Brexit and it’s well deserved. The capital is further ahead than the rest of the country in adopting a more affordable price posture that is pulling buyers back to the table.”
She points out that homes above £750,000 are not that costly for the capital.
She adds: “Despite being well above the national average, they are nowhere near what would be considered London prime. A bounce in agreed sales in this bracket is a significantly positive sign for the London market — less doom and gloom, more doom and boom — but cheap borrowing is still playing its part.”
While the annual rise remains muted at 1.2%, some areas with better affordability and sentiment saw considerably higher rises. Wales, East Midlands, West Midlands and Yorkshire & the Humber all recorded average annual price rises of at least 4%.
Mark Readings, founder and managing director of online estate agency House Network, says: "Although a clear divide between regions remains, the overall picture in the UK is encouraging and positive, as the high-employment rate and government first-time buyer incentives help steer the market upwards."
Rightmove says choice for buyers has been boosted with the start of the ‘Back to school’ season, which has seen a 16% jump in new properties coming to market.
Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst, says: “The start of the ‘back to school’ season sees a surge of sellers coming to market compared to the preceding quieter holiday period.
“Sellers aren’t hanging back in coming forward to try and sell, and with average prices just 1.2% higher than a year ago, many seem to be pricing sensibly.”
People with disabilities are the most likely to be living in poverty, while “far fewer” pensioners are living in poverty than had previously been estimated.
These are the findings of a new independent body, the Social Metrics Commission (SMC), established to develop a new approach to measuring poverty.
For the first time ‘unavoidable costs’ are included in poverty analysis such as childcare, housing costs and costs brought about by disability, which reduce an individual’s spending power.
It also takes into account the positive impact of ‘liquid assets’ like savings and stocks and shares. Previous metrics have focused too heavily on income alone.
The research shows that there are currently 14.2 million people living in poverty in the UK today. This includes 8.4 million working age adults and 4.5 million children.
The number of pensioners living in poverty now only stands at 1.4 million. 17% of pensioners lived in poverty in 2001, but this has fallen in the last 15 years to 11%.
Pensioners who do not own their own homes experience a far higher rate of poverty – estimated at more than a third (34%).
Improvements in poverty are not being seen amongst disabled people – the group most likely to be struggling financially.
Approximately half of 14.2 million people considered to be living in poverty have a disabled person in their family, the SMC research found. This means poverty levels for disabled people were higher than previously thought.
Those working for the new commission say the improved metrics would make it easier for government to understand poverty and target help at those who need it.
David Hutchison, chief executive of Social Finance and SMC commissioner, says: “What do we mean by living in poverty? Five people living in one room because they can’t afford any more space. Falling behind on household bills with no savings to rely on. Not being able to go out to work because childcare costs are too high.
“If we are serious about supporting vulnerable people, we need to understand what drives them into poverty and what keeps them there. This new measure is a bold attempt to understand the characteristics of those who face the challenge that their resources fall short of the inescapable costs of daily life.
“It is a critical step if we are to change the way we tackle poverty in the UK.”
