Iran Deal, Greek Bailout Send Oil Prices Tumbling

The prospect of striking a deal with Iran on its nuclear program, coupled with the bailout for Greece, is causing a drop in oil prices worldwide.

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Win $100,000 in This App Design Contest, Even If You’re Not a Developer

We already know that creating a popular app can help you earn $6,000 a month — or even $10 million. But creating an app often takes coding skills the average person might not have. Now, even the non-techies among us have a chance to design an app and win $100,000 in prize money.

As part of its Small Business App Challenge, a tech company called Appsbar is offering $100,000 to the person or company who creates the best app for Android, iPhone or Windows using its free app-development platform. The idea is to make it easier for small business owners to design and launch apps to support their work.

“It’s always been our mission to empower small business and level the playing field for mobile app development,” the company’s founder and CEO, Scott Hirsch, told PRNewswire. “This opportunity to earn $100,000 reinforces our commitment to that cause.”

How Does Appsbar Work?

The platform helps small and medium-sized businesses develop and distribute mobile apps. It focuses on smaller businesses, such as “mom-and-pop” stores and This Free App Will Pay You to Tell Your Friends About New Music, which may lack the technical skills and know-how to program or code their own apps, as well as the budget to hire professionals.

The tool is also popular with community and nonprofit groups. For example, several parents have created apps to coordinate their kids’ soccer and softball schedules. Instead of hiring programmers to custom-build an app for their specific needs, they simply use a free template to create an app that meets their needs.

The app builder is easy to use, and you can even create an app directly from your Android, iPhone, Windows and even BlackBerry smartphones and tablets.

Win $100,000 With Your App

To enter Appsbar’s Small Business App Challenge, you must be a legal U.S. resident aged 18 or older who develops an app through Appsbar’s platform.

You’ll be eligible for weekly prizes, such as iPods, tablets, laptops and flat-screen TVs. Judges will select these weekly winners based on a number of factors, including creativity, practicality, innovation, number of downloads and other factors.

When the contest closes on November 4, 2015, a “celebrity panel of judges” will select the official Grand Prize Winner from the group of weekly winners, and the winning app’s designer will take home $100,000.

Though the judges have not been named, Appsbar notes these individuals have “backgrounds in technology, pop culture, business, philanthropy and more.”

How to Enter

The hardest part of entering is probably coming up with your app idea. The rest is easy!

Sign up with Appsbar and create an app using their free platform, which the company says should only take 20 minutes or so, unless you’re adding a lot of forms, menus and other data-heavy options. After you’ve created your app, publish it on one or more app marketplaces like Google Play, the Apple App Store and Appcatch.com. That’s it: As long as you’ve used Appsbar to develop your app, posted it on an app marketplace and listed it as free for users, you’re entered to win.

After you submit your app, Appsbar will review and optimize it. This process typically takes three to five business days, and then your app will be ready for sharing. You’ll want to get as many downloads as possible, so be ready to fire up your Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook accounts to publicize your app.

The contest won’t accept group submissions, and you can’t use any kind of automatic program to develop your entry. Read the FAQ and the fine print for more details.

Good luck!

Your Turn: Have you considered creating an app? Will you enter this contest?

Kristen Pope is a freelance writer and editor in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

The post Win $100,000 in This App Design Contest, Even If You’re Not a Developer appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Survey: Shoppers’ Use Of Social Media Drops, But It Remains Vital To Those Who Use It

Other tools -- search engines, coupons, retailer emails, etc. -- have more overall users, but people who use social media to shop are more apt to be swayed by that use, Epsilon survey finds.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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How Teens Can Make Money Blogging

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your blogging journey. My mom requires each of us to do a project for high school. Something that will help us develop real life skills and make a difference in the world. I decided to do a website, but I wasn’t sure of my topic. After listening […]

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LV= launches low-cost online-only pensions advice service

Mark King

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The retirement income market is hotting up with the launch of a highly-competitive online advice service from LV=, costing as little as £199.

The retirement income market is hotting up with the launch of a highly-competitive online advice service from LV=, costing as little as £199.

LV= launches low-cost online-only pensions advice service

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The retirement income market is hotting up with the launch of a highly-competitive online advice service from LV=, costing as little as £199. Customers will be able to access the insurer's qualified financial advisers during the process, who can recommend income solutions "from across the market" for people ready to convert their pension into an income. Customers can access an "online income shaping tool" for free, that will generate a report spelling out the products on the market and their pros and cons. From that point, customers can choose between two price levels. For £199 they can access a detailed "personalised regulated advice recommendation on the most suitable products for them". LV= says this could include buying an annuity, using income drawdown, deferring taking action, or a blend of different income solutions. It includes a discussion with a financial adviser to talk through the recommendations. For a further £499 LV= will also complete all the required paperwork, contact existing pension providers and organise the payment of any tax-free cash. The service, called Clear Online Retirement Advice (CORA), aims to make advice "more accessible and cost effective", clearly aimed at people who might not feel the government's free Pension Wise guidance service goes far enough – but who might not wish to pay the sometimes hefty fees charged by independent financial advisers. John Perks, managing director of LV= Retirement Solutions, said: "Financial advice helps pension savers make the most of their funds. However, we recognise that there are many retirees who do not plan to see an adviser before they access their pension. "To ensure that middle Britons approaching retirement do not miss out we have changed how advice is offered. CORA has been designed to help demonstrate the value of advice to those who would not typically seek it. "By making the advice available online it means that pension savers can access valuable information from the comfort of their homes, whenever it suits them, safe in the knowledge that our expert advisers are on hand to help. "Making those approaching retirement aware of the choices the pension freedoms afford them will ensure that they make an informed decision about how they take an income from their pension. For some an annuity will remain the best option for them, for others it will be drawdown, however many could benefit from mixing and matching solutions to achieve the level of income and flexibility they want in retirement." The service is available at http://ift.tt/1dVwoyw.

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Women in their 60s see car insurance bills rise fastest

Laura Whitcombe

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Women aged 66 to 70 who share their car insurance with a spouse have seen their premiums rise faster over the past three months than all other UK drivers, new research shows.

Women aged 66 to 70 who share their car insurance with a spouse have seen their premiums rise faster over the past three months than all other UK drivers, new research shows.

The average premium for an annual comprehensive policy for this group of motorists has risen by 17.5% to £220, up £33 from three months ago.

Women in their 60s see car insurance bills rise fastest

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Women aged 66 to 70 who share their car insurance with a spouse have seen their premiums rise faster over the past three months than all other UK drivers, new research shows. The average premium for an annual comprehensive policy for this group of motorists has risen by 17.5% to £220, up £33 from three months ago. The cost of the average UK car insurance policy rose 3.6% to £600 over the last quarter, according to the analysis by Confused.com. Over the past year, drivers aged 59 and above have seen the biggest spike in premiums at 7.8%, with the average premium among them reaching £384 in the second quarter of 2015, compared with £356 a year earlier. Meanwhile, premiums for the UK's youngest drivers (aged 17) have fallen to an all-time low. At £1,869 a year on average, they are now 50% less than they were in the third quarter of 2011, when they stood at £3,729. Over the past year, the cost has fallen by 6.4% and by 1.7% over the past three months. Overall, men are still paying more for their premiums across all age groups. While the cost has been rising for both genders recently, the average male driver's premium is now £627, while the female's is £566. The £61 gap between the two premiums in the second quarter has risen from £27 two years ago. On a regional basis, drivers in the East and North East of Scotland have experienced the biggest spike in premium costs across the UK, with bills rising by 9.2% over the past year. Dundee's drivers have been hardest hit, with a 15.3% bill hike. Motorists in Manchester and Merseyside and the North West region are the only ones to have seen premiums fall in price, but the dip is very marginal at just 0.5%%. Steve Sanders at Confused.com said: "We've seen insurance premiums fall steadily over the last few years, which has been welcome news for motorists, however it looks like the end of the road for continuing price drops. "Despite enjoying a brief reprieve in the first quarter of 2015, market movements in the last 12 months suggest consumers should prepare themselves for price rises to continue for the rest of 2015. The last time we saw this sort of premium change pattern we were at the beginning of three years of consecutive comprehensive premium increases."

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Buyers' Guide - Car insurance

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Dress Up Like a Cow for Free Chick-fil-A on July 14

What would you do for free food?

If “dress up in a cow costume” is something you’d be willing to add to your list, then get your outfit ready, because Tuesday, July 14, 2015 is Chick-fil-A’s National Cow Appreciation Day. It’s a clever play on their “Eat Mor Chikin” cow campaign, and it can net you free food if you’re willing to look a little silly.

There are plenty of free food days out there, from national days observed by a number of chains to chain-specific days created as a tie-in with certain products. But this has to be one of the most fun free food days, by far.

How to Get Free Chick-fil-A

On July 14, anyone “fully dressed as a cow” will get a free meal of their choice, including entree, side item and beverage. You can see the full list of meal options here.

“Fully dressed,” according to the promotion’s FAQs, means dressing like a cow from head to toe. You don’t need to rent a full cow costume; a cow-print shirt, pair of pants and hat would do the trick, or you can glue some black construction paper dots onto an all-white outfit. But you can also get as creative as you desire by painting your face, crafting a cow mask or adding a fun touch like a cowbell around your neck. DIY lovers can even download a range of free patterns and templates here to get started.

Only feel like wearing “partial cow attire”? Walk in wearing a cow-themed accessory like a hat, scarf or sneakers and you may still be able to get a free entree (sans side and beverage) at the manager’s discretion.

The choice is yours, but what’s the fun in engaging in partial silliness and getting a partial freebie? Get your full moo on and grab yourself a whole meal! Plenty of other customers will be doing the same, so you won’t even look out of place.

Your Turn: Have you ever participated in National Cow Appreciation Day? Will you be participating this year?

Kelly Gurnett is a freelance blogger, writer and editor who runs the blog Cordelia Calls It Quits, where she documents her attempts to rid her life of the things that don’t matter and focus more on the things that do. Follow her on Twitter @CordeliaCallsIt.

The post Dress Up Like a Cow for Free Chick-fil-A on July 14 appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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East Stroudsburg University graduate opens Tannersville takeout

Stephen Cilurso teamed up with high school friend Zach Kozary to debut a Mexican-American fusion grill down the road from Camelback resorts.

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Local vineyards inspire entrepreneurs

The Poconos will become a major wine region in the United States within the next 10 years.Blue Ridge Vineyard and Winery owner Randy Detrick genuinely believes that, citing the region’s “perfect storm” of grape growth and proximity to major markets as reasons to think that the Poconos have what Napa Valley has. What’s missing, for now, is the people.But that’s an open market that Timothy Roselli and Allen Foder are spearheading this summer. [...]

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Aldi reveals monster secret profits

IN an unusual move, the highly secretive grocery discounter has thrown open its books, giving Coles and Woolies more reason than ever to be worried.

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25 Creative Ways to Make Money With Your Musical Talents

So you sing better than Taylor Swift or Nick Jonas, strum a guitar like Jimi Hendrix or Kelly Deal, or play piano better than Tori Amos. Maybe, if writing music or lyrics is your thing, you can compare yourself to Morrissey or Jhene Aiko. Or maybe you’re not as good as any of these music icons — but you’re good enough.

But what if the record companies don’t know you exist, your product jingle submissions are rejected, and you wash out on the first round of auditions for The Voice? When you know you have what it takes, but others don’t yet, how do you translate that skill into something more? How do you make money with your music?

Start by trying a few of these ways to earn money from your musical talents.

1. Be a Karaoke Host

If you check the listings at SimplyHired.com you’ll always find some karaoke host jobs. Sometimes the company provides equipment, and other times you have to bring your own. You might not be paid much for the work, but it’s a chance to practice and display your singing ability.

2. Try Busking

Busking is performing in public for tips, and it can be a tough way to make a living. But if you’re good enough and play in the right places, it’s not a bad way to hone your skills while making some extra cash.

For example, busker Mark Sandusky says he made over $21 per hour playing guitar and singing in the streets of San Francisco, and that was just his half of the take, because he was part of a duo.

3. Start a YouTube Channel

There are two primary ways to make money putting your music on YouTube. The first is to simply make and monetize YouTube videos. If you get enough traffic, you can make some serious money.

The second strategy, which you can try in conjunction with the first, is to use your videos as a way to get discovered. Many successful musicians and even pop stars started on YouTube, from Justin Bieber to Soulja Boy.

4. Be a DJ

The most obvious way to make money as a DJ is to get paid for working at bars, clubs and private parties. But millionaire DJs make it a serious business by building a brand, putting on big shows, selling merchandise and doing endorsements. Also, depending on the venues you work, you might be able to play some of your own tunes alongside the popular requests. You might soon have a following.

5. Play at Bars

Many famous bands got their starts working at small bars and clubs. Former member of Sonic Youth Daniel Kohn suggests that you take whatever you can get at first. He also suggests asking bar owners for a Monday or Tuesday night spot. Few bands want these slow nights, making it easier to get hired. Then you can prove yourself and get the better slots.

6. Do Event Gigs

Small bars and restaurants might be some of the easier places to start, but events can pay better. In fact, the The Fuzz Band made it to a quarter-million dollars in annual revenue by focusing on corporate event gigs. Parties, small festivals and art fairs are other possible events where you might find work.

7. Sing in Church

It isn’t common knowledge, but some churches pay their singers.

The posts in the forum of the Church Music Association of America suggest that $50 is a common payment for singing at mass, and singers at funerals typically make $100 or more.

8. Sell Your CDs in the Street

If you can’t seem to sell CDs of your musical performances elsewhere, hit the streets! A New York Times article about rappers notes that, “The peddlers typically sell around 30 CDs a day, for $5 to $10, depending on their bargaining skills and the buyers’ generosity.”

Places like CopyCatsMedia.com can duplicate your CDs for less than a buck each, including printing and a plastic-wrapped case, so most of each sale will be profit.

9. Be a Band Stand-In

You know what you can do, but why not let a few active local bands know? Offer to be a stand-in for any sick or absent band members. Apart from making a little cash, it might lead to something bigger, like joining a rising band or starting your own.

10. Play Wedding Gigs

In a post on DYIMusician.com, Drew Stoga from GigMasters.com says wedding gigs are consistently among the best paying bookings on their website.

“All told, the average wedding pays around $2,000, though we routinely book wedding receptions for $10,000 and over,” he explains.

11. Perform on Cruise Ships

After Josh Greenberg graduated from music school, he went to work as a saxophonist on a cruise ship. He says a typical day is “one or two shows plus maybe a dance set.” He says you can find work through booking agents, but he chooses to be a free agent to leave open more possibilities.

12. Write Songs

Selling songs outright isn’t common, according to WritersWrite.com, and that’s probably a good thing. Who wants to make just a few bucks when a song becomes a big hit?

Instead you typically get royalties. “Mechanical royalties” earn you a statutory rate of $0.0755 per song, per manufactured unit. If the song you wrote is on 10,000 albums, you would make $755.

You’ll earn performance royalties whenever the song you wrote is performed. To collect those, you have to join one of these three performing rights organizations:

• ASCAP
• BMI
• SESAC

13. Enter Songwriting Contests

If, as a songwriter, you can’t break into the music industry in the usual ways, you can always look for contests to enter.

For example, the International Songwriting Competition (ISC) hands out cash, prizes and recognition to 68 winners. You can enter the contest in one or more of 21 different categories. ASCAP maintains a list of songwriting competitions.

14. Make Music for Video Games

Some musicians have found that one of the more lucrative markets for their music is in video games. A post on Kokatu.com shares the stories of several who make a living in this niche.

15. Rent Your Studio

If you have built a nice studio for producing your music, it might be of use to others, so why not rent it out? That’s what Neal Morse did with his personal recording studio, now named “Radiant Studios.”

16. Put Your Music on Spotify

Spotify is a streaming music platform that lets people listen to music for free or upgrade to paid subscriptions. Artists get paid according to a somewhat complex formula. Spotify explains that they take 30% of revenue and distribute the remaining 70% as royalties to “publishers,” who then pay artists according to their agreements.

If you put your music on Spotify using an “artist aggregator,” service you keep 100%of your royalties, but pay a fee to the aggregator service. And yes, you’re paid even for free streaming of your tunes, so tell all of your friends to listen.

17. Enter Singing Competitions

Recent reports suggest that singing competitions are not as popular as they once were, but they’re still around. And one look at a list of the famous singers from singing competitions shows you what the potential is.

18. Teach in Person

If you know how to play guitar, you can probably teach others. If you sing, you can give singing lessons. Websites like Wyzant.com make it easier than ever to find people to tutor without expensive advertising.

19. Create YouTube Lessons

YouTube is not only a good place to make money with your own music, but also a great place to make money giving free video lessons. You can find single video lessons there with millions of views (like this beginner’s guitar lesson). That can translate into big money if you monetize your video tutorials.

20. Create a Website

A website or blog is a great way to showcase your music sell your CDs, and advertise your availability for gigs.

No idea where to start? You can use a platform designed specifically for band websites, like Bandzoogle.com, which has a free trial and plans starting at less than $10 per month. Or to create your own site, follow our guide to how to start a blog.

21. Raise Money on Kickstarter

If you need money to create an album or put together a tour, you can try Kickstarter. John Mark McMillan raised more than $69,000 in 30 days to launch his album.

Just make sure you have a plan so you don’t wind up spending more on your crowdfunding campaign than you bring in. Here’s our guide to running a Kickstarter campaign.

22. Raise Money on Patreon

Patreon has a different model than Kickstarter. Instead of soliciting pledges for a one-time project, you get “patrons” who offer to regularly fund you according to some criteria.

For example, one might pledge to give you $10 every time you produce a new song. You offer your patrons rewards like free downloads of your songs, the chance to hang out with you online, or at least regular reports on the progress they’re helping to make possible. Here’s a more detailed post on how to use Patreon.

23. Record a Cover Song

Can you really make money recording cover songs? Yes, and interestingly, you don’t even need permission from the original artist to do a cover.

A website like EasySongLicensing.com can help you get what’s called a “Compulsory Mechanical License” for as little as $14.95, as long as you aren’t making any changes to the lyrics or tune. Then you can sell your version of “Achy Breaky Heart” or “Uptown Funk” and pay royalties only when your version sells.

24. Submit Your Music to a Record Club

Feedbands lets you submit your best tracks to them and, if they like what they hear, they stream your music to listeners who vote for their favorites. Then, once per month, Feedbands offers a musician or group a record deal. They say, “We press your record, you keep the rights, and we write you a big check.”

25. Try Fiverr

You’ll find many ways to make money on Fiverr.com, but can you do it with music? The artist known as “Shiftypop” does. He creates jingles for clients, and 438 positive reviews suggest he’s doing well. But the $5 gigs aren’t where the money is. His extra services can add hundreds of dollars to an order.

Your Turn: Can you add to this list of ways to make money with your music, and have you tried any of these methods yourself?

Steve Gillman is the author of “101 Weird Ways to Make Money” and creator of EveryWayToMakeMoney.com. He’s been a repo-man, walking stick carver, search engine evaluator, house flipper, tram driver, process server, mock juror, and roulette croupier, but of more than 100 ways he has made money, writing is his favorite (so far).

The post 25 Creative Ways to Make Money With Your Musical Talents appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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21 free or cheap date ideas

You don’t have to give up fun even if you’re on a super-tight budget. You just have to get creative. Try these cheap date ideas to have a great — and potentially romantic — time without breaking your budget or even without spending any money at all.

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Why Self-Employment and Early Retirement Go Hand in Hand

Being your own boss comes with certain risks, but also plenty of freedoms — including the ability to sock away more tax-deferred money for retirement. Photo: Nosha

In 2012, I left a steady and rewarding 9-5 job to pursue my side hustle full-time. While it’s true I had gotten extremely tired of working 70- and 80-hour weeks, that wasn’t what finally pushed me over the edge. In addition to craving more autonomy and better work hours, I also wanted to work my way toward early retirement.

A lot of people thought I was crazy at the time. How could I save for retirement when I didn’t have a work-sponsored 401(k), let alone a 401(k) company match? And how would we get by without other work-related benefits, such as subsidized health care, paid vacation, and corporate stock options and bonuses?

All of the concerns people had were quickly compounded by the fact that my husband left his full-time job to pursue self-employment in early 2015, too. With nobody in this house carrying a full-time job with benefits, many people assumed we had lost our minds. But, have we?

Here’s the truth – our precarious situation can feel slightly unnerving at times. Even though I have a proven track record of providing for my family, we still have two small children to provide for.

And I want to do more than just keep a roof over their heads; in addition to providing shelter and sustenance, I want to provide them with educational opportunities, adventure, and an extraordinary life. And as importantly, I have always had a deep-seated desire to pay for my children’s higher education.

Here’s how we plan to do it:

Our Plans for Financial Independence at 46

Although we made some awful money moves before we had kids, we did several things right. That includes the fact that we started saving for retirement at our old jobs in our mid-20s, usually saving around 10%-15% of our incomes. Having that nest egg to build on was a huge relief. Still, in order to retire early, we knew that we needed to increase how much we save relative to our earnings– and continue contributing steadily.

After pouring through my options, I decided to open an SEP IRA with Vanguard right before I quit my 9-5 job. With an SEP IRA, you can save up to 20% of your net self-employment income (up to $53,000 in 2015) every single year.

With the low living expenses we have now – no car payments, no cable television, no smartphone bills, no expensive hobbies – we can afford to tuck a large percentage of our incomes away. As long as things stay the way they are, we should be able to continue contributing up to 40% of our incomes to retirement for the long-term.

Another way we have saved in the past: We both have a Roth IRA with Vanguard. Although our ability to contribute in the future may be limited due to income phase-outs, we maxed out our Roth IRAs steadily each year until 2014. (For 2014 and 2015, contribution limits for Roth IRAs are $5,500 per year, $6,500 if you’re age 50 or older.)

The other prong to our early retirement scheme: our rental properties. Last year, I wrote about the fact that my husband and I purchased two rental properties in my hometown in our mid-20s. Part of our early retirement plan relies on the fact that both properties will be paid off in about 10 to 11 years.

Since we’re 35 now, at age 46, we’ll own two properties that bring in at least $2,000 per month in somewhat passive income. Subtract expenses like property taxes, upkeep and repairs, and vacancies, and we should be bringing in a minimum of $18,000 per year ($1,500 per month) from those two homes.

• Related: What I Wish I Knew Before Buying Rental Property

In the meantime, we’ve been prepaying the mortgage on our primary residence in order to get it on a similar timeline. Since it should be paid off in less than 10 years, I’ll also be able to stop paying $1,500 per month toward our mortgage before then.

But, what about college?

Although I haven’t done everything right, I made some smart moves early on when it comes to my children’s college funds. As soon as they each got a social security number, I started contributing to a 529 college savings plan for each of them. When they were babies, my monthly contributions were only $25 per month, but that amount has grown steadily over the years. And in addition to the money I stashed away, I also put most of their birthday and holiday money in their accounts as well.

The result: If I continue contributing steadily, I believe I will have enough money to pay for each of them to attend community college or an in-state public school. If not, I should be pretty darn close.

• Related: More Than One Kid? How to Save for College

Putting It All Together

With all that said, here is our plan: Once our rentals and primary home are paid off, we’ll have $1,500 per month in somewhat passive income to sustain us. Meanwhile, we’ll also drop our largest monthly bill – our mortgage – and own our home free and clear.

My goal is to find a lifestyle that allows us to live on $3,000 per month (adjusted for inflation) from ages 46-59. That way, we would only need to earn an additional $1,500 per month before we can start withdrawing money from our retirement accounts.

At this point, that should be a piece of cake. Part of our online business includes three websites that we own outright, all three of which bring in some income each month. At this point, I feel confident that they will continue earning at least $1,500 per month as long as we continue running them as we do now. In fact, they should even continue to grow over the years.

Also keep in mind that, although we’re shooting for early semi-retirement, what we really want is financial independence. In other words, we want choices.

With enough money in our retirement accounts and other investments, and enough passive income, we hope to secure a future with unlimited options, including the ability to continue working full-time if we want, hustle part-time, or even not at all.

As a workaholic, I am well aware that I may never be able to stop working altogether. But that’s not the point; the point is, I want the freedom to decide.

My Biggest Worries About Early Retirement

Although it might sound like I thought of every detail, there are certain components of our plan that are difficult to prepare for — the biggest one being health care.

Faced with out-of-control costs in our country and state, we joined a health care sharing ministry in lieu of traditional health coverage earlier this year. Still, it’s hard to say how long that will last.

Further, it’s hard to know how future changes to the nation’s health care system might impact our finances. At this point, health care is one issue I have chosen to deal with on a year-to-year basis, while also knowing that future changes might require us to work longer than we’d hoped.

My other early retirement worry is the fact that we’ll still have kids at home. In 10 years, my oldest daughter will be 16 and gearing up for college. It’s possible that I’ll want to continue working part-time until I know for a fact I can get both of them through college, and be able to help with other big events: things like weddings, first homes, and — dare I say it – grandchildren.

Simply put, it’s hard to plan for a future that isn’t quite here.

Why Self-Employment and Early Retirement Go Hand-in-Hand

With all of those concerns and worries in the back of my mind, I still feel that we’re on the right track. At our old jobs, we had limited income potential and could only save for retirement up to the annual 401(k) contribution maximum (up to $18,000 in 2015). Now we have unlimited earning potential and the ability to save a lot more pretax dollars for retirement.

Meanwhile, we now have the free time to cultivate additional passive income streams to sustain us, continue working to earn as much as possible, and build a happier, healthier future for our family.

And that’s why self-employment and early retirement go hand-in-hand. When you don’t have a reliable paycheck to count on, it forces to you to not only confront your biggest fears, but to do something about them as well.

Here’s the truth: All I have ever really wanted is freedom – freedom to do as I please, freedom to live the life of my dreams, and the freedom to make choices based on my needs and desires, not based on how much money I earn.

Self-employment certainly isn’t perfect. But for me, it has proven to be the fastest way to get there.

Do you think self-employment and early retirement go hand-in-hand? Are you planning for early retirement? If so, how?

The post Why Self-Employment and Early Retirement Go Hand in Hand appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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‘He wasn’t there for me’

SHE was a normal teen before she became a mining heiress overnight. Now, she breaks her silence on the billionaire father who neglected her, and her fight for inheritance.

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Winners and losers in Massachusetts casino plans

The opening of the $250 million Plainridge Park Casino last month wasn’t exactly the grand unveiling Massachusetts gaming backers envisioned more than four years ago.

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Gambling or game of skill? Debate swirls over fantasy sports

There is a reason Nevada’s gaming industry has avoided getting involved in the estimated $15 billion a year online fantasy sports business. Most — but not all — believe the growing activity constitutes unregulated gambling.

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Delaware Water Gap's RockTenn merges with MeadWestvaco

RockTenn is now WestRock.

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How to trick yourself into paying off your credit card debt

Paying off large debt is by no means easy, but if you change your mindset and adjust your approach, you can trick yourself into getting out of debt.

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This Reader Spent One Hour Switching Banks and Saved $1,240

I’ve been a big fan of The Penny Hoarder ever since I discovered it on Facebook, and have found lots of creative ways to earn and save both large and small amounts of money. If I had to sum up one major theme I’ve seen consistently, it’s to regularly take inventory of your bank accounts and credit cards and always be on the lookout for better rates, promotions and offers.

I’ve been meaning to change over my bank accounts for a long time now. I used to have checking and savings accounts with a small community bank that offered high interest rates and benefits, but since People’s United bought them, I’ve been getting hit with tons of monthly fees: a monthly maintenance fee, plus ATM fees charged by both the ATM and People’s.

I’ve also had a high-yield savings account with American Express for years, which I opened when they were offering 4%-5% interest. Now the account earns a meager 0.9%, and after some research, I realized I could do much better.

Finally, I opened a Chase Sapphire Preferred card about six months ago to take advantage of a 40,000 points bonus offer (which translated to $400 cash back). The card’s rewards are OK, but there are better cash-back credit cards out there and I wanted to close it before the company started charging me the $95 annual fee they’d waived the first year.

After browsing the Penny Hoarder for a couple of hours one afternoon, I came with a plan that will not only save me $10-$15 a month in fees, but will actually generate an estimated $1,240 in interest and rewards annually. Here’s how I’m planning to change my financial strategy.

Move My Checking and Savings Accounts

I closed my People’s United checking and savings accounts and moved them to Santander. Santander’s Extra 20 checking account is free with a direct deposit of $1,500 per month.

Plus, each month you can earn up to $20 in bonuses deposited to a linked savings account. The first bonus is $10 for your direct deposit of $1,500 or more, and the second bonus is $10 is for completing two online bill payments using Santander’s portal.

By moving my accounts to Santander, I not only saved $10-$15 in monthly fees but I will earn $240 per year in bonuses.

Total annual bonuses: $240

Open a Kasasa Account

I moved my savings from American Express to two Kasasa Cash accounts. Kasasa is a program I learned about on The Penny Hoarder, that helps community banks stay competitive with larger national (and international) banks. Terms will vary by bank, but generally you need to enroll in online banking and make 12 debit card purchases a month to qualify for a higher interest rate plus other benefits like reimbursements for ATM fees charged by other banks. If you miss a month, you get a lower interest rate, but no matter what, the Kasasa accounts are generally free.

I found a Kasasa Cash account at a local community bank that offered 2% interest on balances up to $10,000. They also offered a free Kasasa savings account at 1% interest on balances up to $50,000. The balance in my American Express account was about $18,000, so I moved $10,000 to my new Kasasa checking account and $8,000 to savings. I set up a small weekly direct deposit to the checking account for the amount I usually budget as spending, to ensure I get my 12 debit card transactions a month without ever touching the $10,000 in savings.

Total annual interest: $280

Try Credit Card Arbitrage

I opened a new credit card to try this credit card arbitrage strategy, also called “stoozing,” I read about on The Penny Hoarder. Credit card arbitrage is when you use the credit card company’s money to earn interest and other rewards by taking advantage of 0% interest and bonus offers. Instead of paying your balance each month, you take the money and deposit it into a high yield savings account.

I opened a Citi double cash back card, which has no interest for the first 15 months and no annual fee, and offers 1% cash back when you make a purchase and 1% back when you pay it off. I moved every automatic payment I could over to this card (gym membership, cable, etc.), plus I plan to use this card for every purchase except the 12 monthly debit card transactions required to earn interest on my Kasasa cash account.

Rather than paying the balance off in full each month like I would normally do, I’ll move the money into my Kasasa Savings account, where it will earn 1% interest. At the end of the 15-month interest-free period, I’ll pay the balance in full out of my savings account. Any money left over will be mine to keep.

I estimate my annual spend to be $24,028 and at 3% (1% interest + 2% cash back) I’ll earn $720. I also closed out the Chase Sapphire Rewards card I’d opened to take advantage of a promotion, and saved the $95 fee I would’ve been charged later this year.

Total earnings (interest + cash back): $720

Grand Total: $1,240

I’ve often heard people complain that it’s too difficult or time consuming to change banks, but I did the majority of the work online in an hour or so. For upwards of $1,200, it’s definitely worth the effort!

Your Turn: How much have you earned or saved by switching to a new bank account or credit card?

Kerrie Urban is a regular reader of The Penny Hoarder and loves finding great deals. She also blogs at The Reward Ninja.

The post This Reader Spent One Hour Switching Banks and Saved $1,240 appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Inspiration from Hermann Hesse, Ingmar Bergman, Buckminster Fuller, and More

Once a month (or so), I share a dozen things that have inspired me to greater personal, professional, and financial success in my life. I hope they bring similar success to your life.

1. Hermann Hesse on knowledge and wisdom

Wisdom is not communicable. The wisdom which a wise man tries to communicate always sounds foolish… Knowledge can be communicated, but not wisdom.” – Hermann Hesse

This is something I bump up against time and time again when writing articles on The Simple Dollar.

I often find that there are ideas and conclusions that I have inside of me that make perfect sense within the context of the varied things I have done and the books I have read, but when I try to write them down in a simple and short way, they either sound like nonsense or they sound like nothing.

I think of those things as being the “wisdom” that Hesse describes here.

On the other hand, many of the articles I end up writing don’t deal so much with the life conclusions I have drawn, but instead on the path I took to get there. What are the specific things that I’ve done that have worked for me and pushed me forward?

I think of those things as being the “knowledge” that Hesse describes.

The wisdom that people collect often requires the life experiences and learning of that person in order to really make sense. The best thing anyone can do for anyone else is aid them on their path to wisdom, because trying to give wisdom directly is basically useless.

2. Richard Wilkinson on how economic inequality harms societies

From the description:

We feel instinctively that societies with huge income gaps are somehow going wrong. Richard Wilkinson charts the hard data on economic inequality, and shows what gets worse when rich and poor are too far apart: real effects on health, lifespan, even such basic values as trust.

I am absolutely in favor of people reaping the rewards of their savings and hard work. That’s one of the guiding ideas behind The Simple Dollar, that if you work hard and are smart about your earnings, you can do great things with it and live a powerful life.

At the same time, I’d have to be blind not to see that there is a gigantic gap between the wealthy and the poor.

For me, the problem isn’t so much with the adults that are making active choices about their own lives, but with the children. Children don’t choose to be born in a broken home or in a home of privilege. They don’t choose whether they get parents that read bedtime stories to them every night or parents that drink themselves into a stupor every night. They don’t choose whether to be born into a family that will care about the nutritional value of every meal or into a family where no one even cares if supper is on the table.

By the time the children are old enough to step away from their families, the die is mostly cast for their life and the accumulated advantages of simply being born into a family that cares is enormous.

The older I get, the more this troubles me. I don’t know what the solution to the problem is, but I do know this: every moment we waste in calling each other names and not even listening to each other’s solutions is a moment where some kid doesn’t eat, where some kid doesn’t get decent medical care, where some kid doesn’t have someone read them a story.

The fact that this problem wasn’t addressed twenty or thirty years ago is affecting my life in a negative way right now. Because we didn’t deal with it, society is lacking some of the great minds and leaders and workers we may have had.

The fact that we aren’t dealing with it right now will affect my life in a negative way down the road. Because we’re not dealing with it, society will be lacking some of the great minds and leaders and workers we may have had.

I’m a big believer in planting mustard seeds for the future. To me, children are perhaps the most important mustard seed we have outside of our immediate life. The seeds we plant now in the children in our community, our state, and our society as a whole are what will be the bedrock of our society in twenty or thirty years, when we’re older and we need that bedrock more than ever.

Rather than being angry that someone is suggesting a solution you don’t like to ensure that children are fed, safe, and educated, step back for a moment and realize that he or she is trying to solve a real problem and that’s a great thing. Rather than getting angry and calling them a name because you don’t like the solution, pat them on the back because they’re thinking about the problem.

3. Nikola Tesla on the future

“The scientific man does not aim at an immediate result. He does not expect that his advanced ideas will be readily taken up. His work is like that of a planter — for the future. His duty is to lay the foundation of those who are to come and point the way.” – Nikola Tesla

You can never build anything great solely by living for today. The path to achieving something worth remembering is to look at your actions and what they imply for your life ten or twenty years from now.

The more actions you take each and every day that have a positive impact ten or twenty years from now, the better your life will become over time.

The life you want doesn’t happen immediately, no matter what you do. It happens down the road, and it requires you to lay a foundation now, to plant seeds now. The best thing you can do today is always to lay a foundation for the days down the road.

4. Jason Vieaux And Yolanda Kondonassis: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

From the description:

We rarely invite Tiny Desk alumni back to the confines of Bob Boilen’s work space, but we couldn’t resist this time. Harpist Yolanda Kondonassis and Grammy-winning guitarist Jason Vieaux have both given solo Tiny Desk performances. Since then they’ve paired up for concerts and a new album of works composed especially for their combination of instruments.

Although the harp and guitar are both instruments you pluck and strum, they seem to come from different corners of the classical world. The guitar conjures up the legacy of zesty Spanish music while the harp must contend with the cliché of its angelic role in the orchestra. But when Kondonassis and Vieaux are together, the two instruments seem to merge into a singularly evocative voice. Kondonassis joked that they could call it a “guitarp” until someone quickly Googled and told us there actually is such a contraption.

Music for harp and guitar isn’t easy to come by, so Kondonassis and Vieaux have been busy commissioning works like the opening “Elysian,” part of a larger suite written for the duo by Gary Schocker.

Anything that sounds even vaguely non-Western is a good fit for the duo because most cultures enjoy their own versions of the harp and guitar. Alan Hovhaness, an American composer with a global outlook, weaved Asian ideas into his Sonata for Harp and Guitar, subtitled “Spirit of Trees.” And the duo ends by beating out the interlocking rhythms of the African candombe, which Argentine composer Máximo Diego Pujol placed in his Suite mágica.

I listened to this in a loop for several hours the other day. The music just flows along and sweeps me into a contemplative mood that’s just perfect for writing (at least for me).

The thing that got me is that, at many points, the guitar and harp just merged together. I could not tell you for sure which of the two instruments was playing at many points because they just melted together in an amazing way.

Listen, especially as a background music when you’re doing something else like doing the dishes or writing an article. You’ll be glad you did.

5. Buckminster Fuller on information, communication, and people

“I have to say, I think that we are in some kind of final examination as to whether human beings now, with this capability to acquire information and to communicate, whether we’re really qualified to take on the responsibility we’re designed to be entrusted with. And this is not a matter of an examination of the types of governments, nothing to do with politics, nothing to do with economic systems. It has to do with the individual. Does the individual have the courage to really go along with the truth?” – Buckminster Fuller

The internet has such incredible positive potential for humankind. It can enable all of us to find information at an instant’s notice, filling our minds and our curiosities with facts and details about the world.

Yet, so often, the opposite happens. Even more than accurate information, the internet is loaded with page after page of people spreading dishonest information and thoughts and ideas. They write things with agendas behind them, attempting to skew and carefully select facts and charge the few remaining ones with high emotional energy in order to sway people rather than inform them.

The internet is full of anonymous commenters who seek nothing more than to spread negativity and bile. It’s full of people on social media spreading half-baked opinions and pretending that those opinions are fact, and then yelling at and de-friending anyone who dares to question those ideas.

The only person that can make it better is me. And you. We have to have the courage to realize that our deepest convictions might not be the right ones. We have to have the courage to admit that sometimes we’re wrong. We have to be willing to listen to facts that don’t line up with what we already believe – and sometimes even change what we believe. We have to respect that others aren’t just going to fall in lockstep with what we think – and that doesn’t make them “bad” or “evil.”

Otherwise, we are lost.

6. Streaks

I’m going to be honest with you. I was in the process of learning how to write iOS apps for the last several months because I had an idea of an app in my head. This is almost exactly that app, and I’ve been using it almost nonstop for weeks.

The idea behind Streaks is that you define up to six simple tasks that you want to do each day. For me right now, it’s “study philosophy for an hour,” “do a set of planks,” “read for an hour (ideally with kids),” “walk a mile,” and “floss” – I don’t have a sixth right now.

Each day, you just fire up the app and check off the ones you’ve done. For each one, it keeps track of your “streak” – how many days in a row that you’ve done it.

This is basically my “wall calendar” in a simpler app form. What I’ve found over the years by doing this in analog form is that the longer the streak gets, the stronger my urge to make sure I do this thing happens to be. It’s a great motivator.

There’s another element, too – I try to pick tasks that are pretty easy for me to complete. The only task there that I have to stretch to complete much at all is the hour of study. In truth, most of the time when I meet those tasks, I tend to do a lot more than that, as the task just serves as a starting point.

When I’ve walked a mile, for instance, I might be a mile from the house, so I keep going. When I’ve read for an hour, I might be in the middle of a chapter, so I keep going. You get the idea.

This app has been wonderful for me over the past month or so. Highly recommended.

7. Walt Whitman – A Clear Midnight

This is thy hour O Soul, thy free flight into the wordless,
Away from books, away from art, the day erased, the lesson done,
Thee fully forth emerging, silent, gazing, pondering the themes thou lovest best.
Night, sleep, death and the stars.

At the end of a day of work, thought, love, joy, and sadness, where does my heart lie?

It lies at home with my family, with a quiet moment to think as I drift off to sleep, my wife warm next to me, my children in slumber down the hallway.

There is no better ingredient for a restful sleep.

8. Arthur C. Clarke on humanity, alone or not

“Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.” ― Arthur C. Clarke

My children are curious little creatures and they ask a lot of questions, some of them quite tough. Why are we here? Who made everything?

The other night, after some stargazing, my daughter asked me whether there were places like Earth out there among the stars. I told her that I thought that there was.

She’s watched enough children’s movies with aliens in them to ask the next questions. Are there really aliens out there on those places like Earth? I told her I didn’t know, but that I thought so.

Then I asked her whether she would feel happier if there were aliens or if there weren’t any. She didn’t say anything for a long time, but I know she heard me because she reached over and held my hand after a moment.

It’s one of those questions where neither answer particularly makes you feel safe.

9. The Dam Keeper

From Wikipedia:

The Dam Keeper is a 2014 American animated short film directed by former Pixar art directors Robert Kondo and Daisuke Tsutsumi. It tells the story of Pig, an introverted youth who lives in a windmill and keeps a dark fog from engulfing his town. Although socially rejected by his peers, he is befriended by the artistic Fox.

I was blown away by this short animated film, much like I’ve been blown away by some of the recent ones in front of Disney and Pixar films (like Paper).

I watched this just last week with my seven year old standing next to me and my five year old on my lap. We watched it. They wanted to watch it again. Then again.

Later, my nine year old comes up stairs and asked me what the name of the “pig movie” was. He found it on Youtube and the three of them watched it another few times.

It’s just mesmerizing and well-executed, the type of thing that made me wish I had the artistic skills to pull such a thing together.

10. Otto von Bismarck on the horror of war

“Anyone who has ever looked into the glazed eyes of a soldier dying on the battlefield will think hard before starting a war.” – Otto von Bismarck

Whenever we commit anyone to a battlefield, whether the cause is great or not, we are paying a heavy price, one that many of us overlook. As a nation, we are frightfully willing to flip that switch of “military action” to take on anything we see that we don’t like in the world.

The end result? More death.

I often wonder how many Mozarts and Einsteins we’ve blown up with unintended bombs, how many young Beethovens and Newtons we’ve left without parents so that their flame is snuffed out.

How many fathers and mothers have died fighting for a cause they were conscripted for, leaving a parentless child behind?

How many wars are really worth that? Not nearly as many has have been fought.

11. Peering through the grass

One of my favorite things to do with my children is to wander in open fields with them, wherever we can find them. We always find interesting things as we explore, whether it’s a bone from a long-dead animal, some unusual butterflies, a strange plant, or something else.

I often find myself wondering what this all looks like from their angle, so I’ll often kneel down in the grass, bringing my eye to their level and peering at the world through simple breaks in the tall grass.

Everything looks so different.

I get so used to how the world looks from my own eyes that sometimes it is really powerful to look at the world from the angle at which others see it.

Many thanks to A Guy Taking Pictures for this image.

12. Ingmar Bergman on working together

“Regardless of whether I believe or not, whether I am a Christian or not, I would play my part in the collective building of the cathedral.” – Ingmar Bergman

The greatest things in the world aren’t always in lockstep with what we believe.

The greatest things in the world don’t have to be twisted to our own specific desires and wants.

The greatest things in the world go far beyond one individual person, and require each of those persons to contribute to something that doesn’t perfectly match their own desires.

What great things are we building?

The post Inspiration from Hermann Hesse, Ingmar Bergman, Buckminster Fuller, and More appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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