MAKE MONEY ONLINE POSTS: 06/28/19

الجمعة، 28 يونيو 2019

Business briefs

Ruffino Real Estate names top agentWeichert, Realtors — Ruffino Real Estate in Milford has announced that Realtor Angela Williams has been named the top agent in the office for May.Williams was named the Top Agent of the Month after generating the most sales production in May – including six buyer transactions, one new listing agreement and a successful open house event.Weichert, Realtors — Ruffino Real Estate is an [...]

Source Business - poconorecord.com https://ift.tt/2xgUEaz

What Are Polarized Sunglasses, and Are They Really Worth the Cost?

The Ten Year Old Test

A few years ago, when my oldest had freshly turned ten years old, he began to ask a lot of questions about our family’s financial state. He wanted to know if we saved money, how much we saved, and where we saved it. He wanted to know how we spent our money and where it went and how we kept track of that.

For a two or three month period, he kept asking these questions until, I guess, his curiosity was sated and he moved onto something else.

Unsurprisingly, those conversations gave rise to a lot of articles on The Simple Dollar. I’d start talking about something with him and realize before long that there was something in this conversation that could easily grow into an article for the site. Many articles that I wrote two to three years ago were outgrowths of those conversations.

One thing I found very interesting during those conversations with him is that there were at least a few areas he’d delve into where I would get upset or frustrated with having to talk about that issue. I kept my cool – I didn’t blow up at him or get angry or angsty or anything – but inside, I felt annoyed or frustrated or I simply wanted to avoid talking about that subject.

It took me a while to really put together what was happening, but after some reflection, it became clear: anything that I was doing financially that I couldn’t or didn’t want to explain to a ten year old was probably a bad move.

In short, if I couldn’t justify it to my ten year old son, then it probably didn’t deserve to be justified.

Similarly, if I couldn’t explain it to my ten year old son, then I didn’t understand it myself and shouldn’t be financially involved with it.

As I began to realize this, I also began to realize that the “ten year old test” was actually a pretty simple way to quickly figure out if something was an acceptable move or not. If it was something I could reasonably justify or could easily explain, that idea at least passed a basic sniff test. If I couldn’t justify it or explain it, that idea was almost certainly bad.

Over the last few years, without really thinking about it, I’ve adopted that “ten year old test” to a lot of my financial moves and to a lot of my choices in other areas of life.

It’s actually really easy to use. I just try to imagine, as accurately as possible, how my ten year old would respond if I suggest a course of action. I’d try to explain it to my ten year old as clearly as I could and then, to the best of my ability, try to imagine how he’d respond (I usually visualize my oldest son when doing this, as he was the ten year old that originated the idea).

One of four things typically happens.

One, I have trouble explaining it at all. This either means I’m trying to pitch something that I don’t even really understand myself (because of the complexity) or because I’m considering a course of action that’s really hard to justify.

For example, I’ve often thought about trying out more complex investment arrangements for our retirement, but whenever I sit down and try to explain them in simple terms, it sounds like a mishmashed mess.

Two, I can explain it simply, but it rings hollow as I’m explaining it. This happens quite often when I’m trying to justify unnecessary spending or some kind of unhealthy choice.

For example, if I try to explain why I really need to spend $40 on this game, the explanation usually rings hollow pretty quickly, so I put it back on the shelf. If I try to justify stopping at a drive-thru, the explanation usually sounds comically shortsighted, so I drive on by.

Three, I can explain it simply, but it leads to a really obvious question that I can’t easily answer – either I can’t actually explain the answer to that obvious question or else it rings hollow. In this case, again, it’s a bad idea, but there’s usually a better idea buried somewhere nearby. If I can explain the core idea well but a simple question makes it much less clear or justifiable, the core idea is probably okay, but I just need to think about the implementation of it.

For example, I might suggest that it’s a good idea to stop at a drive-thru because it’s dinner time and everyone in the car is hungry. The obvious question in response would be, “Don’t we have a bunch of good leftovers in the fridge that we could eat as soon as we get home?” The core idea of eating soon because we’re hungry is good, but the course of action is flawed – there’s a cheaper alternative that’s obvious at just a glance.

A similar thing pops up at the grocery store. I know I need some laundry detergent and I’m looking at the options, but that ten year old voice asks, “Why buy that expensive one when that store brand will do the job you want?” If I can’t really answer that sensible follow-up with a good reason, the store brand goes in the cart.

Finally, I can explain it simply and answer any follow-up questions simply. If this happens, then I know the plan is pretty good and at least somewhat sensible, and when I need a quick plan or decision, the first thing that works here is usually what I do.

This usually happens when I’m making good spending choices and focusing on actual needs and keeping costs low. It happens when I’m making good long term choices.

In fact, almost every “bad” decision I might make in any area of my life is silenced by the ten year old test.

It’s pretty hard to justify eating a bunch of junk food when there are grapes in the fridge or an apple in the fruit bowl.

It’s pretty hard to convince myself that wasting time doing something unfulfilling is ever a great idea.

It’s pretty hard to see why I would say bad things about someone else or let a friendship wither or let a friend down.

The question you’re probably asking yourself is, “Great, but I don’t have a ten year old asking these questions!”

Here’s the thing: the ten year old test works just as well when you cultivate that voice of a questioning ten year old in your head rather than relying on an actual curious ten year old. Let it be your conscience. Run your plans through that voice and see whether or not it passes muster.

What you’re really doing here is cultivating a better sense of what makes for a good financial move. If your internal ten year old is balking at a purchase, then you likely shouldn’t be making that purchase. If your internal ten year old doesn’t understand your financial plan, then you don’t understand it, either, and you shouldn’t be doing it.

That ten year old voice can keep you away from unnecessary purchases, network marketing schemes, and bad investment choices. That ten year old voice can nudge you toward saving for retirement, building an emergency fund, and making sensible buying choices.

Listen to it. Use it.

If you can’t explain what you’re about to do with your money to a ten year old, or you can’t do so without feeling angry or ashamed, you probably shouldn’t be doing it. It’s that simple.

As I write this, my nine year old is just starting to ask questions along those same lines. Why are you buying that? What are you doing with the money you make? Why are you saving for retirement? What happens if our house gets hit by a tornado?

Can I answer those questions truthfully in a way he can understand? If so, I’m probably on the right path. If I can’t, maybe I need to rethink things.

When he gets past that phase, I’ll have to go back to relying on my internal ten year old test. It might not be as loud, but it’s certainly good at separating out good ideas and truth from bad ideas and nonsense.

Cultivate your own ten year old voice. You’ll be glad you did.

The post The Ten Year Old Test appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

Source The Simple Dollar https://ift.tt/2xi89Hl

The 11 Top WordPress Landing Page Templates in 2019

Anyone can create a website. Just because you own or manage a website, it doesn’t automatically mean that you’re a natural born designer.

But the design and layout of your website will have a huge impact on its success.

In fact, 48% of people say that the design of a website is the top factor they use when it comes to determining how credible a business is. 38% of people will stop using websites with unattractive layouts.

So if you want to create unique and beautiful landing pages without having to design them from scratch, you’re going to want to use pre-designed templates. WordPress is the best place to find these.

That’s because WordPress is the most popular CMS platform in the world, and has been for the past seven years in a row.

It controls nearly 60% of the entire CMS market across the globe. With more than 500 new sites launching on WordPress each day, it’s also the fastest growing CMS worldwide. 34% of the whole internet is run via WordPress.

So if you were on the fence about using WordPress to manage your site, hopefully now you’re convinced.

For those of you who are already using WordPress, you’re ahead of the game. Now it’s time to design the best landing pages for your WordPress site.

With so many options to choose from, I’ve narrowed down the top 11 WordPress landing page templates to make the decision much easier for you.

1. Landkit

Landkit

Landkit is extremely easy to use, yet it’s designed for high performance. The hybrid composer page builder makes it possible for you to design your website without having to write any code.

It doesn’t use many server resources, which makes it perfect for websites with high volumes of traffic. You can use the Landkit template to functionally present information in a way that’s attractive to your website visitors.

Another reason why I recommend Landkit is because the landing page templates are so versatile. They can be used for pages related to things like:

Lead generation
Ebook downloads
Webinar registrations
Online services
Free trial page
Mobile app showcase
Contest details
Crowdfunding
New product launch
Coupons

The list goes on and on. Landkit makes it easy for you to change the colors to match your website color schemes. It’s also compatible with the WooCommerce plugin, for those of you who are using WordPress for your ecommerce site.

Landkit has more than 70 page elements for complete customization. You can choose from 12 header styles, and add use the built-in WordPress mega menu. This landing page theme can be purchased for $49.

2. Landing

Landing

The Landing template from Themify is another versatile option for you to consider. It comes with a drag and drop page builder, making it easier than ever before to customize all of the page elements to your liking.

Landing has more than 25 builder layouts for you to choose from, based on the type of page that you want to create.

There are options specifically created for products, portfolios, marketers, events, ebooks, weddings, agencies, restaurants, mobile apps, personal pages, and more.

I like this template because it has a responsive design on all devices, and it’s retina ready as well. Landing has cool header options such as:

Default header
Transparent with text
Transparent
Transparent with no logo
No header

These choices are ideal for those of you who want to draw more attention to background images and CTAs on your landing page. Another benefit of Landing is the fact that it has MailChimp integration, so you can use this landing page to collect email addresses.

The standard Landing WordPress template costs $59. Developers can buy it for $69.

3. BeOnePage Lite

BeOnePage Lite

BeOnePage Lite is meant to portray a futuristic and interactive design. This template can be customized to be colorful as well. It comes with a full-screen layout and slider that can be used to display things like images, videos, icons, and other graphics.

Another benefit of this template is that it can support several different media files. The parallax effect of BeOnePage Lite ensures that all scrolling will be very smooth on the user’s end.

It has a responsive design, with lots of customizable options for you to consider. BeOnePage Lite is a retina ready template that can be used as a landing page for virtually any website.

So if you’re looking for a modern WordPress template that’s free to install, BeOnePage Lite should be taken into consideration.

4. Foton

Foton

Foton was developed with software and mobile app promotion in mind. So for those of you who are creating a landing page to drive mobile app downloads or sell software, this template should be at the top of your list.

You can import this template into WordPress with just one click. To customize your page settings, you can take advantage of the drag and drop page builder, which is extremely easy for anyone to use.

No coding is required to use Foton. It has WooCommerce integration, slider revolution, and excellent support. It’s also fully responsive and easy to change color themes.

Foton comes with free plugins and is optimized for SEO purposes. It has shortcodes designed for portfolios as well, such as lists, projects, sliders, galleries, masonry, and hover layouts.

Transitions from page to page are very smooth. The font sets and icons are attractive and easy to change as well. Shortcodes for videos and call-to-actions are definitely ones that you’ll want to take advantage of.

The Foton WordPress landing page template is priced at $59.

5. Jevelin

Jevelin

Jevelin is another multi-purpose WordPress landing page template. Some of the top features of this theme include:

WooCommerce integration
Mobile ready
Contact Form 7
One click installation
SEO friendly
RTL optimized
40+ customizable shortcodes

There is a great video installation guide, making it possible for anyone to install Jevelin, even if you don’t have experience adding landing page templates to your WordPress site. The fact that it has built-in capabilities with one of the best WordPress form plugins is another added bonus.

Jevelin has great reviews from website owners who are using this template on their sites.

The drag and drop builder paired with mega menus, custom widgets, social sharing functionality, and ecommerce support make it a popular option. This WordPress landing page template can be bought for just $59.

6. Launchkit

Launchkit

Launchkit is definitely a one size fits all landing page template, which I’m not saying in a negative way by any stretch. I like Launchkit because it can be used for virtually any landing page for any business type.

They offer versatile headers with all different types of media in mind. You can customize headers, CTAs, and forms in a way that positions them for high conversions.

Launchkit has simple colors, so your website always looks good, regardless of the screen size or type that it’s being viewed on.

Top features of Launchkit include:

Three header layouts
Seven footer layouts
Custom logos
One click data installer
Multilingual support
Gravity Forms
Contact Form 7

This template comes with more than 600 Google Fonts as well. With that in mind, you should check out my guide on the best Google Fonts that go together on your website.

For the reasonable price of $59, Launchkit is definitely one of the best landing page templates you can find for your WordPress site.

7. The Gem

Gem

If you’re looking for a multi-purpose landing page that is optimized for high performance, look no further than The Gem. This template offers a creative design that’s modern and suitable for all different types of websites.

There are more than 70 built-in concepts. So you can find a landing page that fits your needs.

Agencies
Business and finance
Ecommerce shops
Portfolios
Blogs
Mobile apps
Cryptocurrencies
Real estate
Restaurants
Gyms
Beauty salons
Law firms
Hotels
Nonprofit organizations

These are just some of the many options that showcase the versatility of this WordPress landing page template. It’s fully responsive and looks great on both desktop devices and mobile screens.

The Gem is compatible with WooCommerce, making it a top choice for those of you who have an ecommerce shop.

With the visual composer, you can easily change elements on your landing pages with the drag and drop builder. The template is compatible with plugins and also comes with premium sliders.

You can buy this landing page template for $59.

8. Kallyas

Kallyas

More than 35,000 websites are using Kallyas for landing page templates. They have more than 65 live demos, with new ones coming out each month.

I always like it when landing page templates offer lots of live demos because it makes it easier to give you inspiration for designing your own website. Top benefits of Kallyas include:

Fast loading times
Quick setup
Video tutorials
Written tutorials
Reliable customer support
Visual page builder
Free updates for life

The one-click installation makes it easy for you to start editing your website in minutes. They have demos for things like weddings, makeup artists, bloggers, kids websites, membership sites, news, medical, sports, and dozens more.

Kallyas has more than 100 pre-built elements into the template. This gives you seemingly unlimited options when it comes to customizing your landing pages. Kallyas is priced at $69.

9. Softbox

Softbox

Softbox is perfect for those of you who want a clean and professional design for landing pages on your website. It’s easy to choose your layout and customize the elements with some of their pre-built options.

It works on all major web browsers, screens, and devices. Softbox is retina ready and fully responsive. They have templates designed specifically for home pages, blogs, and interior landing pages as well.

In a word, Softbox can be described as simple. But when it comes to your website, simple designs have higher conversion rates.

Compared to some of the other WordPress landing pages on our list, Softbox is offered at a lower price point. This template can be yours for just $39.

10. Fusion

Fusion

The Fusion WordPress template is designed with mobile app landing pages and portfolio landing pages in mind. So if you’re looking to showcase one or both of these things on your website, you should take a closer look at this option.

It’s an ideal solution for agencies and developers. The pages can be set up so that creatives can showcase their products. This holds true for both firms or individuals as well.

The typography is super clean. All of the design elements and whitespace is managed perfectly with this template, so the eyes of your website visitors are always drawn to the right spot on the page.

Fusion has a simple shortcode builder and easy customization. Everything integrates seamlessly into WordPress for you to manage.

This template has more than 1,500 retina icons, a revolution slider, and the ability to create a gallery with captions. It comes with over 500 Google Fonts, Contact Form 7, and an Ajax loading gallery as well.

Fusion costs $49 to install.

11. Leadinjection

Leadinjection

Last, but certainly not least, on our list is Leadinjection. As the name implies, this template is designed especially for generating leads.

They have pre-built layouts for things like:

Online courses
Mobile apps
eBooks
Services
Medical websites
Insurance companies
Landscaping businesses
Diets and health
Cryptocurrencies

As you can see, these lead generation templates are extremely versatile and can fit the needs of nearly any website.

The template comes with a Lead Modal plugin, that’s basically a popup on your site that can be used to generate leads. This can be based on timing, exit intent, or other trigger options.

Leadinjection has all different types of opt-in forms for your landing pages as well. You can fully customize your CTA, and even add a click to call button for your mobile site. If this sounds like the landing page template that you want, it can be purchased for $39.

Conclusion

If you need help designing a landing page for your WordPress website, I’m confident that you can find what you’re looking for somewhere in these options that I’ve listed above.

I tried to include something for everyone on here. Some of these templates are made for multiple purposes, while others are made specifically for things like mobile apps, ecommerce, or lead generation.

Price is another factor that you can take into consideration when making this decision. While there are some free WordPress landing page templates, the rest tend to be priced between the $39 and $69 range.

So keep this list in mind when you’re on the search for the perfect WordPress landing page template.

Source Quick Sprout https://ift.tt/2RPXxZL

Dear Penny: I’m 54 With No Retirement Savings. How Do I Get Started?

Dear E.,

Investment firms produce fancy charts that claim to tell you how much you should have saved at any given age. According to the charts, a person in their mid-50s should have anywhere from five to eight times their annual earnings in a retirement account.

But chartland is a perfect world. It’s one where we all start saving for retirement at age 22, where our wages and the stock market keep growing, and where we always have access to a 401(k) with an employer match.

Then, there’s the real world.

A 2016 report from the Government Accountability Office found that 29% of households headed by someone over 55 had no retirement savings and no defined-benefit retirement plan, such as a pension.

So your predicament is common, unfortunately. But you still have options that can make your retirement years a lot more comfortable.

Let’s start with the obvious: If you have access to a 401(k), enrolling in your employer’s plan and taking advantage of any match is a must. You can contribute up to $25,000 in 2019 since you’re over 50; for workers under 50, the limit is $19,000.

But let’s be real: A lot of people aren’t saving for retirement because they don’t have access to an employer-sponsored plan.

Since you have $30,000 in your savings account, I suggest opening a Roth IRA stat. (Seriously, like as soon as you finish this column.)

You can open and fund a Roth IRA to the max if you have taxable income that doesn’t exceed $122,000 a year, or $193,000 if you’re married. You can easily open one online. Since it sounds like you’re new to investing, consider using a robo-adviser, which will select investments for you based on your goals.

Start by investing $7,000 in your account, which is the 2019 maximum amount someone over 50 can contribute to an IRA. Then make it a priority to fund it to the max every year.

If you contribute $7,000 now and then continue to invest $7,000 until you reach age 70, you’d have nearly $200,000 saved, assuming a 6% average annual rate of return. It certainly won’t buy you a cushy retirement, but it will make things easier.

The great thing about a Roth IRA is that it’s funded using money you’ve already paid taxes on, so you won’t owe taxes when you withdraw it later on.

So now that leaves you with $23,000. You should leave about three months’ living expenses set aside in savings for emergencies.

If you have money left over beyond that, using it to pay off debt is one of the best investments you can make. Your retirement will be a lot more comfortable without a mortgage or consumer debt.

But if you’re debt-free, you could open a taxable investment account to accrue more retirement savings.

You should also plan to wait as long as possible to take Social Security. If you take Social Security at 62, your benefit will be 30% lower than if you can wait until you’re 67.

Ultimately, when you delay saving for retirement, you should plan to work longer and live on less. But you do have options for building a nest egg, even when you get a late start.

Robin Hartill is a senior editor at The Penny Hoarder and the voice behind Dear Penny. Send your questions about saving for retirement to AskPenny@thepennyhoarder.com.

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.

source The Penny Hoarder https://ift.tt/2YfEw5i

Moneywise First 50 Funds interview: Neil Hermon, Henderson Smaller Companies

Henderson Smaller Companies' Neil Hermon

Neil Hermon is manager of Henderson Smaller Companies. Edmund Greaves talks to him about exciting acquisitions, the upside of Brexit, and his top tips for experienced and new investors

What is Henderson Smaller Companies?

It’s a 130-year-old investment trust, which focuses on investing in UK mid-size and small companies. That is, companies in the bottom 10% of the UK market by market capitalisation [total value of a company’s listed shares], and ones valued below around £1.5billion.

For us it’s all about finding quality companies to invest in over the longer term.

What’s your top holding?

A company called Bellway, a UK housebuilder. It’s not your typical growth investor story, but I think it fits well with the Growth at a Reasonable Price (GARP) idea.

Bellway has had several very good years. It’s a very successful builder, certainly helped by the robust nature of the UK housing market. Help to Buy is a key driver as well as the government’s push to increase the housing supply.

We like Bellway because it has seen good growth in the past, and it’s building and expanding across the UK. It has a good management team, very consistent, very steady. The strategy is very well defined and worked out. The balance sheet is strong and has typically met and beat expectations on momentum.

What have you recently bought?

The most recent is Savills, a well-known property business. We’ve taken advantage of weakness in the share price around Brexit. As you look closer beneath the bonnet it’s quite a diverse business. People think of it very much as UK domestic-centric stock, but it’s got good diversification. It’s a business we’ve admired for a long time.

How has Brexit affected the UK stock market?

Brexit has been front and centre for the past three years now. But the UK stock market is very international by nature. Over 70% of the earnings of FTSE companies come from overseas. Even in our portfolio around half of the sales of our companies come from overseas.

We’ve got some balance in the portfolio regarding international versus UK domestic exposure. Even if the UK economy isn’t growing particularly quickly, there are some great UK businesses to invest in.

What’s your best investment decision?

The poster child of the portfolio in the last few years has been NMC Health. We invested in 2012 when it IPO’d [offered shares to the public for the first time in an Initial Public Offering] around £2 per share. We sold it last year at £36, an 18-fold return over the course of six years.

NMC is a Middle Eastern healthcare operation, but it’s listed in the UK. We liked the market, it was fast growing in an undeveloped area with the lack of government healthcare, and a growing and ageing population.

And the worst?

I’ve never had a company go bust on me (Neil taps the wooden table at this point). But we’ve had several companies that have fallen substantially.

One example would be London Mining. This is kind of a case in point of not straying too far from areas you understand. It was essentially a greenfield/brownfield start-up of an iron ore mine in Sierra Leone.

I mean, why did I do that? I don’t really know. The management team had done very well with a similar project in Brazil, so there was a degree of credibility there.

But it was too far away from our comfort zone. We didn’t really understand the dynamics of the market it was operating in. Mining ventures tend to cost twice as much [as projected] three years too late.

We haven’t invested in any greenfield start-up mining companies since that happened.

Did you go to Sierra Leone?

No, but it would have been a good idea wouldn’t it? On paper, it looked like an attractive investment, but with hindsight you reflect on that and think: “Actually that was a mistake I made, let’s not repeat those mistakes.”

Since then we’ve never invested in any other mining small-cap company. Frankly it’s a verboten for me going forward because the risks are too high for the reward you might get.

What’s the first thing you ever invested in?

What got me interested in this job was that I inherited a couple of shares from my grandmother when I was in my mid-teens, a long time ago.

That really piqued my interest in the stock market and fund management and I got addicted to reading the business section of the paper and looking at Teletext.

Quite sad, really – I should have been out dating girls! It gave me a real interest and from that I realised it’s what I wanted to do for a career.

What’s your top tip for a beginner investor?

First: if it’s too good to be true, it usually is. If the returns allegedly on offer are exceptional they usually carry excessive risk. Those stocks or investments that look like they’re going to make you 10 times your money usually lose you 90%.

Second: run your winners. Good companies tend to remain good companies. Always reflect on your investments – but taking a long-term approach to investing and trying to find buy-and-hold-forever stocks is the best thing you can do.

Henderson Smaller Companies key stats:

Launched: 1887
Fund size: £683 million
Ongoing charge (OCF): Yield: 2.38%
Source: Janus Henderson Investors, March 31 2019

The manager behind the fund

Neil Hermon is director of UK Equities and a fund manager at Janus Henderson Investors, a position he has held since 2013. He joined Henderson in 2002 as head of UK smaller companies. Prior to this, he served as head of UK smaller companies for General Accident Investment Management (later to become CGU plc). He began his career at Ernst & Young as a chartered accountant. Neil received an MA (Hons) in mathematics from Cambridge University. He is an associate member of the Society of Investment Professionals (ASIP) and has 30 years of financial industry experience.