A Deeper Look at Check-Cashing Services: Do They Really Provide an ‘Alternative Banking’ Opportunity?

A couple of weeks ago, Business Insider published an amazing article by Alex Morrell on check cashing that I think is well worth everyone’s time to read: An Ivy League professor who spent four months working in a South Bronx check-cashing store says we’re getting it all wrong.

The article focuses on the research of University of Pennsylvania professor Lisa Servon, who spent several months working as a cashier at a check-cashing service in order to actually understand why people would ever choose such a service instead of the normal banking industry. She actually found a lot of interesting reasons why, ones that she’s outlined in her book The Unbanking of America.

I know several people who use check-cashing services, and their primary reason for doing so is that local banks will no longer do business with them. Those individuals built up a large history of overdrafts and other such misuses of the bank’s services until they had piled up a mountain of unpaid overdraft fees and other expenses, at which point the bank simply cut ties with them. They now use check-cashing services, for better or worse, for their financial needs.

First of all, let’s look at what the check-cashing industry is and the services it provides, because it’s something that many people who are “doing things right” in their financial life may be unfamiliar with.

A check-cashing service offers a number of financial services, many of which you would expect to find at a typical bank. Check cashing is obviously one, but others include payday loans, other short term loans, bill payments, money orders, notary services, currency exchange, public transportation passes, mail services, prepaid debit and credit cards, and so on. The exact services vary from business to business and even location to location.

At a check-cashing service, the biggest thing you’ll notice is that the services are listed on a menu, not too different than what you’ll find at a fast food service, and each service is denoted with an exact price. Those prices are often in dollar amounts, but sometimes, as in the case of the check cashing, it’s listed as a percentage of the face value of the check.

What a check-cashing service typically doesn’t offer is a checking or savings account. They don’t and won’t hold your money for you. They won’t enable you to write checks on behalf of an account that may or may not have money in it.

Here’s how I look at the two in comparison. A check-cashing service offers all of the services of a bank that don’t require extending trust to the customer; instead, all of the transactions are done over the counter for a clear fee. What sets a bank apart is that some bank services are oriented around extending some trust to the customer, but the fees come in whenever a customer does things that are outside of a narrow list of things, and the fees are often unclear.

You can see this when you compare the experience of taking a check into each of those businesses.

At a check-cashing service, you take your check in there and you see that they charge you 3% to cash that check. It’s a $1,000 check, so you pay $30 to cash it – they hand you $970. The business will attempt to verify the check before they cash it, of course, and that can take a few minutes. Once they do cash it, though, the $970 is yours. You walk out of there with no further business arrangement between you and the business.

At a bank, you take your check in there and there are no fees listed clearly anywhere. You take that $1,000 check up to the counter to cash it. They’ll cash it for you – if you have an account there – and if you do have an account, they’ll encourage you to deposit that check and may even require it to be deposited.

That’s the end of the story, right? Why would anyone ever use a check-cashing service, then? Here’s a quote from the article:

“The prevailing wisdom from bankers and policy makers went like this: People who used alternative financial services — like check cashers and payday lenders — were making expensive and unwise decisions. If we could just educate the ‘unbanked’ and ‘underbanked’ and usher them into the modern financial system with a bank account, their fortunes would surely improve.

‘It felt like the only way I could answer this question: If alternative financial service providers are so bad — if they’re so predatory and so sleazy and so much in the business of taking advantage of people — why are people using them in growing numbers?’ Servon said.

But Servon, a professor of city and regional planning at the University of Pennsylvania and a former dean at the New School, spent 20 years studying low-income communities, and to her, that picture didn’t add up. Most of the unbanked (the roughly 7% of US households without checking or savings accounts) and the underbanked (the nearly 20% that had such accounts but still used alternative financial services) that she encountered were neither naive nor irresponsible about money.

‘The implication of that’ — the biennial surveys of the ‘unbanked and underbanked’ by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – ‘was these people were making poor decisions,’ Servon recently told Business Insider. ‘I knew that the people I had worked with closely who don’t have very much money know where every penny goes. They budget things. They know where to get the best deals on things. And so it struck me that if they were using check cashers, there must be a good reason for that.’

It didn’t even seem clear to people studying the banking industry as to why people would ever use a check-cashing service. Surprisingly, it turned out that there were reasons:

Servon was surprised by what people told her. Over and over, Servon heard and observed that check cashers often met customers’ needs better than banks did.

She discovered there were three main reasons people used these services instead of banks: cost, transparency, and service.

Cost Check-cashing services tend to charge very clear fees for their services and those fees often seem really high compared to traditional banking services. Quite often, that’s where the comparison stops – check-cashing services appear to be a ripoff.

The thing is, banks will often drain your money, too. They just do it in a more subtle way, through other fees. Banks charge ATM fees and account maintenance fees and overdraft fees. Many of the non-check-cashing services that they offer also undercut banks, such as the cost of a money order or a prepaid debit card. You also don’t typically have to wait for the services there, while on the other hand you’ll sometimes have to wait several days for a check to deposit.

Transparency Check-cashing services are very up front about their fees – as I mentioned earlier, they’re often displayed on a giant board inside the shop so you can see what everything costs right off the bat, just like at a fast food restaurant.

With a bank, you often don’t see the fees. They’re included in small text in a brochure or in the fine print of a lengthy handout. That means that such fees often surprise customers, and those surprises aren’t usually happy ones. Seeing your account dinged with a $3 ATM fee and a $9.99 maintenance fee for not having a particular balance or just to have the account open can be frustrating, especially when you’re not expecting it.

Service Check-cashing services are very much service-oriented businesses. They make their money through good customer service and interaction with customers. Most banks really don’t do that; they have tellers, but the tellers are usually driven by throughput of customers, meaning that they don’t spend a lot of time or a lot of effort establishing positive rapport with customers.

For many people, strong customer service is a real value that they’re willing to pay real money for. A person at the counter who will explain something to you instead of rushing you through it means a lot to many people. A person at the counter who positively engages with you, learns your name and your story, and remembers you when you return means a lot to many people.

If you look at things from this perspective, it becomes clear why some people use check-cashing services instead of the normal banking system. Many of those customers have been burnt by hidden fees and waiting for checks to deposit and are alienated by cold customer service, and that adds up to a deep mistrust of banks. That mistrust is exactly what’s met by check-cashing services.

All of this brings up a few interesting personal finance questions for everyone.

First, is there a reason for a typical customer of a bank to ever consider a check-cashing service?

It’s my view that most of the people who use traditional banks as opposed to check-cashing services are better served by the things that traditional banks provide today rather than the things provided by check-cashing services today.

Most users of traditional banking services today – people with checking accounts and savings accounts, in other words – are mostly in it for security and convenience. They want a safe place to put their money, and they want to be able to conveniently use that money to pay their bills and for other expenses. Banks cover these needs very well, and for many banking customers, that’s all they want.

I put myself into this category of people who are better served by the relative offerings of the traditional banking industry. I don’t particularly have a need for the relative advantages of check-cashing services in my life. When I take a check to the bank, I generally don’t need the funds immediately; in fact, most checks are just deposited automatically into my account and I don’t have to think about it. When I want to spend that money, again, I don’t want to have to go to a bank location to do so. I just want to be able to pay a bill online or write a check or something akin to that.

I also don’t typically engage in behavior that racks up fees – I don’t overdraft my accounts, I rarely use ATMs at all (and when I do, I know one that I use nearby that’s definitely fee-free for me), and I use the free checking option at my bank. I honestly don’t see many fees at all.

To put it simply, I don’t need or want to have to go to a location and pay a fee to have a check cashed right now, and I don’t get much value out of customer service with a person behind the counter. Those things don’t provide significant value to me.

That’s not to say that these factors are true for everyone. Some people do have a need for immediate check-cashing services, such as a small contractor who needs to pay his workers immediately (as described in the article). Some people do have a need for good customer service at the teller window, such as a person for whom English is a second or third language and they’re having trouble understanding some documents (again, as described in the article). Some people do struggle with fees, such as a person who is really struggling to make ends meet and keeps getting whammied by overdraft charges.

All of these people, and many more, may get more value out of check-cashing services than the traditional banking system. For me, however, there’s more value and fewer fees in the offerings at a traditional bank.

Second, is there anything a mildly frustrated banking customer can do without abandoning the advantages of traditional banking entirely and going with check-cashing services?

I think the best “middle ground” solution tends to come from credit unions, which tend to have a greater focus on customer service at the counter than banks do and usually have fewer hidden fees, and in my experience you can often get fees waived at credit unions simply by asking, something that often doesn’t happen at mainstream banks. That’s because of the purpose of a credit union – it’s a nonprofit that’s intended to serve customers first and foremost.

The catch with credit unions is that they tend to lack a few features that are appealing from other banks. One big factor is that many credit unions have closed membership, meaning you have to live in a certain area or be employed by a certain employer to be a member. There’s also sometimes a membership fee for joining. Most credit unions are very local, which means that they only have branches in a certain small geographical area. Some are not FDIC insured, something which is a given when it comes to banks, and some credit unions tend to have less robust online banking tools.

Because of those features, credit unions can feel like a “middle ground” of sorts, offering some of the customer service that people want from check-cashing services but also offering many of the conveniences of mainstream banking.

Third, what can a regular customer of a check-cashing service do if they’re finding that their needs are changing and they wish to move into a more traditional banking operation?

As alluded to in the previous answer, my initial suggestion would be for that person to check out the offerings at a local credit union. Find a union that you’re eligible for membership in, check out the services they provide, and sign up. You may even want to look for recommendations within your local social circle, as they may know of a solid option in your area.

Credit unions tend to be more forgiving of poor credit and are more up front when it comes to their fees, but they do offer most of the advantages of traditional banking – checking accounts, savings accounts, and so forth. They tend to be a great reentry point (or entry point) into traditional banking services for people, especially those who want good customer service at the teller window when they’re first figuring things out.

Here’s the take home message: many people use check-cashing services not out of ignorance, but because it is the best option for money services available to them that handles their needs. They may be locked out of the traditional banking system for any number of reasons. They may have particular needs that aren’t met at local banks, such as a need for rapid check cashing or language assistance. They may simply want positive interaction with people when doing their banking business. They may just simply be fed up with hidden fees that seem to keep dinging them.

For many people, those factors are relatively unimportant compared to the advantages of banking. If you keep a balance in your account, mostly just use online banking, and rarely use an out-of-network ATM, there’s almost no reason for you to use check-cashing services. Your bank provides what you need. That description matches me pretty well.

It’s not true for everyone, however, and check-cashing services do fill a niche that matches what some people need.

The only real “danger” of a check-cashing service is that people who might find better financial results in traditional banking use check-cashing services instead because of family history, recommendations, or so forth. (There may be situations where the reverse is true, too.)

In the end, having more financial services available to everyone is better for the purposes of competition and for customers looking for the right services for them. Even if you conclude that one particular type of service isn’t right for you, the presence of that service may eventually drive other services to improve their offerings over time. Check-cashing services, for example, may eventually push some banks to reconsider how they assess fees and how open they are with those fees, and in that situation, everyone wins.

Related Articles:

• How to Escape the Trap of Expensive Banking
• Need Help With Payday Loans? How to Escape the Cycle
• How to Cash a Check (and Skip the High Fees)

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Stop Shrinking Your Wardrobe and Your Budget: 9 Pro Tips for Doing Laundry

CLOSING BELL: S&P 500 limps to the finish line in another winning week

It's the seventh weekly gain for the S&P 500 in the last eight, and the index is within 1 percent of its record high.

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Feeling Totally Stressed at Work? This Simple 5-Step Plan Can Help

You have dozens of emails in your inbox, a couple deadlines looming and a boss that keeps walking past your desk staring over your shoulder.

Stressful! Sometimes you just need a minute to take a breath.

Don’t feel guilty. We’ve all been there. Stress at work is commonplace, but it doesn’t have to be.

And you don’t necessarily have to change jobs or take a weeklong hiatus to a tropical destination to relieve all the tension building up.

Sometimes all you have to do is breathe.

Yes, just breathe. In. Out.

Studies have shown that incorporating mindfulness into your workday — by taking a few minutes and using focused breathing to center your thoughts on the present moment — results in lower stress levels.

Taking 5 to 10 minutes a day to practice mindfulness also helps lower blood pressure and improves the immune system, according to Laurel Geise, founder and CEO of The Geise Group, a corporate training and consulting firm that helps companies integrate mindfulness programs into their corporate culture.

Think: fewer doctor visits and no more stocking up on Advil.

The benefits extend beyond the personal to the professional. Geise says incorporating mindfulness into your workday can improve your concentration, ability to stay focused and time management.

So How Exactly Do You Practice Mindfulness?

Mindfulness doesn’t require intensive background knowledge or any investment in equipment — only time. And you can start by just taking five minutes a day, twice a day.

“As long as you’re breathing, you can practice mindfulness,” Geise said.

She recommends five simple steps to put it into regular practice:

1. Sit up straight in your chair.
2. Focus on your breath.
3. When thoughts enter your mind, return to the breath.
4. If your mind wanders, go back to your breath.
5. Practice for five minutes a day.

Though Geise said it doesn’t matter how you breathe — in through the nose and out through the mouth, in and out through the nose, or in and out through the mouth — what’s more important is that you are in a comfortable position so you aren’t taking the focus away from your breathing.

But you don’t want to get too comfortable. Falling asleep is not the goal.

“If you could do it for more than five minutes a day that’s fantastic,” Geise said. “I would say five is good, 10 is better.”

For those interested in developing a more formal meditation practice, she said 20 minutes twice a day gives you optimal benefits.

When Should I Push the Pause Button?

Geise said the best time to put mindfulness into practice would be at the beginning of your day, then right after work. Do it before you get a cup of coffee or pick up your phone, she said, and then when you leave the office as a way to release the stress and anxiety built up through the day.

Taking a mindful moment during your lunch break can also be beneficial.

“I think it’s a great practice to have before you go back into full work mode because it helps you to get focused… into the afternoon,” Geise said.

For those crazy-busy, always-on-the-go folks who think taking a break in their day to essentially do nothing at all is counterproductive, she argues the opposite.

“When we can spend five to 10 minutes being mindful, what happens is that it actually enhances our focus,” she said. “Because I’m more focused, I’m actually going to be able to get more things done.”

Five minutes isn’t a huge amount of time when you put things in perspective. You’d spend that much taking a quick bathroom break or waiting for coffee to brew in the break room.

Sharing is Caring

Once you’re in the practice of rewiring your brain to better handle stress, it’s only right that you share your enlightenment with your co-workers. Anxiety can affect others around you. Why not have everyone in your office feeling zen?

A 2014 research study by the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School found that bringing mindfulness to work lowered absenteeism and turnover, increased productivity and enhanced work relationships.

That’s reason enough to convince your boss it’s important to take a break to breathe every now and then.

Companies already on the bandwagon include:

Apple

Apple provides its employees with 30 minutes of meditation each day, on-site yoga, meditation classes and a meditation room.

Google

Google offers around a dozen courses on “mindfulness meditation” — it introduced its first course, “Search Inside Yourself,” in 2007.

Salesforce

Marc Benioff, CEO of software company Salesforce, is such a big fan of meditation he put meditation rooms on every floor of the new Salesforce building in San Francisco.

HBO

HBO’s headquarters offer a variety of relaxation options: it has a gym, yoga classes and weekly meditation.  

Proctor & Gamble

Proctor & Gamble employees can take advantage of meditation spaces and classes at the P&G corporate centers.

Your Turn: Do you practice mindfulness to de-stress from the workday?

With research from Jacquelyn Pica, an editorial intern at The Penny Hoarder.

Nicole Dow is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. Practicing mindfulness has increased her inner peace, though she’s not sure if her 2-year-old will tolerate her taking many five-minute breaks of quiet at home.

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No Degree? No Problem. 5 Ways to Find Good Jobs Without Going to College

We talk a lot around here about getting and using a college degree, but you know what?

A four-year university stint isn’t the only path to workplace success.

Unfortunately, employers don’t seem to be getting the message.

A new CareerBuilder study reveals that 41% of the companies surveyed are hiring workers with undergraduate degrees to fill jobs that used to be held by employees with high school diplomas.

Organizations say degree-holding employees produce higher quality work, are more productive, and have better communication skills.

While it seems like the deck is stacked against non-degreed employees, part of the issue may simply be that the workforce is flooded with college grads looking for jobs, and companies are more than happy to snap them up.

After all, nearly 70% of recent high school graduates are enrolled in college.

But I Don’t Want To Spend Four Years In College!

If you don’t have the time, interest or money to pursue a four-year degree, don’t worry.

You can still find great jobs without a degree. Here’s how:

1. Get a job that doesn’t require a degree.

• Wind-turbine technicians can make as much as $71,000 a year

• Subway and streetcar operators pull in around $77,000 a year

• Forest firefighters earn about $40,000 in a six-month season

• Computer user support specialists make as much as $22 an hour

2. Attend a trade school.

Electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians and other hands-on, skilled trade jobs will always be in demand as long as people want to keep their lights, toilets and air conditioning working (so, forever).

“The vast majority of available opportunity right now requires training, not a liberal arts degree, not a four-year education. And trades are not bad jobs, “says television host and trade school advocate Mike Rowe.

“It’s time to change our perceptions about these career paths.”

3. Pursue an apprenticeship.

Apprenticeships teach you the skills you’ll need to succeed as a mechanic, carpenter, construction worker or in other trades.

Apprenticeships are on-the-job training learned in a real-world environment, rather than a trade school classroom.

Unions or organizations for the trade you’re interested in learning can point you in the right direction to get started down the path to apprenticeship.

Or search the Department of Labor’s apprenticeship database to find out what’s available near you.

4. Enroll in a community college.

The types of awesome, well-paying jobs available to community college graduates may surprise you.

Registered nurses, police officers, construction and building inspectors, boiler operators, and respiratory therapists all can potentially make more than $75,000 per year with a two-year degree.

5. Acquire a professional certification..

In some cases, a professional certification is all you need to land a great job.

Consider becoming a personal trainer, real estate agent, casino dealer, auctioneer, or horseshoer (also called a farrier).

Certification programs cost anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, but it’s still far less time and money than you’ll spend on a four-year degree.

Your turn: Have you opted out of getting a four-year degree to pursue a different education path?

Lisa McGreevy is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. If she didn’t love writing so much she’d probably try her hand at becoming a farrier because that sounds like a cool job.

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Rita’s Italian Ice Has Freebies on March 20. Here’s How to Get Yours

Regardless of what this giant freaking snowstorm wants us to believe right now, the start of spring is riiiiight around the corner.

And to celebrate the promise of warmer days ahead, Rita’s Italian Ice is back with its 25th annual First Day of Spring Free Italian Ice Giveaway.

Whatever You Call It, It’s Free

Whether you call it water ice (questionable to this Southerner), gelato (fancy but incorrect) or just plain old Italian ice, it’s all the same delicious (and free!) stuff.

You can pick up your icy treat on March 20 between noon and 9 p.m. at any of the more than 600 Rita’s locations.

Last year, Rita’s gave away almost 1 million cups of Italian ice during the nine-hour promotion period. (That’s close to 500,000 pounds!)

Rita’s will hand out the free ice in specially designed “First Day of Spring” cups, and it encourages guests to snap a photo and post it to social media for a chance to win free Italian ice for a year.

Free Ice for a Year?

That’s right, Rita’s is also bringing back its First Day of Spring Photo Contest, which guests can enter to win free Italian ice for a whole year.

All you have to do is upload a photo of yourself enjoying your Italian ice with the hashtag #RitasFirstDayofSpring. Fans will then vote on the submission they think shows the most creativity, originality and — of course — excitement for the season.

Read the full rules here, and get ready to showcase your spring spirit!

Your Turn: Do I even have to ask if you’re going to go snag your free Rita’s?!

Grace Schweizer is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder.

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Got a New Job? Congrats! Now Ask These 11 Health Insurance Questions

My little brother recently secured his first full-time job with benefits. (“Little” goes in italics because he’s a giant.)

His employer sent him an official offer a few days ago. Unlike me — who immediately signed all the papers because I was way too giddy about having my first “real” job — he’s diligently reviewing all the fine print.

Aside from the common “what’s a good 401(k)?” question, he’s stumbling through the health insurance portion. He knows he gets coverage… but what does it actually cover?

What does HMO mean? And why are there so many options on this thing?

He’s asking all the right health insurance questions — or at least more than I did. (I shoved my papers at Dad, who looked over them.)

If you’re finding yourself in the same bewildering situation, Glassdoor recently wrote “8 Must-Ask Questions About Your Company’s Health Insurance Options.”

I loved this resource too much not to share. (Jake, you better read this!)

I also chatted with Erin O’Neill, The Penny Hoarder’s people and culture manager, and included her insight and tips, as well. She’s our health insurance activist and guru, so take note.

And chances are, you’ll find an O’Neill at your company to help you out (though admittedly she’s pretty one-of-a-kind).

1. Is this an HMO or PPO?

Also… what the heck does that mean? Don’t ask that. I’ll tell you (and HealthCare.gov will help).

HMO stands for Health Maintenance Organization.

Under this type of plan, you’ll be limited to doctors who agree to work with the HMO. It won’t typically cover out-of-network expenses unless there’s a real emergency. Generally, the network coverage is smaller, and rates are lower.

PPO stands for Preferred Provider Organization. This is just a larger network of doctors. However, you’re often going to pay more for this coverage.

Do your research and find out what’s going to be best for you and your medical needs.

2. Are dental and vision covered?

Be sure to ask if dental and vision are covered.

If not, you can look into individual plans. For example, I have high-maintenance eyes, so I’m sticking it out on my family’s vision plan until I’m too old and have to get my own.

3. Can I include my spouse or family?

You’ll want to see if you can get your spouse or kids in on the coverage.

And if you’re not married but partnered, ask if your domestic partner will be covered.

4. When does coverage kick in?

Sometimes your coverage doesn’t start on day one; there might be a waiting period.

Be sure to know the timeline and whether you’ll need to figure out another option for a few months. If you’re still on Mom and Dad’s plan, ask if you can squeeze just a little bit more out of that. If not, consider short-term health insurance.

Glassdoor encourages you look into COBRA, a temporary coverage plan. However, my editor, Caitlin Constantine, says this option hasn’t been the most affordable in her experience. If you want to get an estimate, here’s a calculator.

5. When is the open enrollment period?

If for some reason you don’t want to immediately opt in, be sure to ask when you can if you need to.

Or, if you bring on a “new” spouse or kids, you’ll want to know when these humans can be added to your plan — if at all. (See No. 2).

6. Is there a monthly premium? Any deductibles? Copayments?

Here are some terms you’ll need to know:

• You might have to pay a monthly premium to keep your coverage active. Think of it like a gym membership fee. If there is one, it might automatically be taken out of your paycheck. Ask how that works.

• A deductible is a base amount you need to pay each year before health insurance fully kicks in. (This site, Very Well, explains it very well.) You’ll want to ask your employer what your deducible includes and to what level.

• O’Neill added this important note. After your deductible is met, you might still have to pay something out of pocket (OOP). You know how you go to the walk-in clinic, hand over your insurance card, then the nice receptionist still asks you for $80? That’s your co-pay.

You’ll want to ask what that maximum out-of-pocket limit will be (the total of your deductible plus coinsurance).

7. Where does the insurance work?

Do you travel internationally a lot? Or maybe you have family in South Carolina you frequently visit?

Be sure you ask about any geographic restrictions.

8. Will my current doctor(s) be included?

I get it: You become attached to a doctor you trust. That’s important.

If you’re not willing to budge, be sure your doctor is covered.

You can ask HR, consult the insurance company or even call your physician. If you do opt to call your physician, O’Neill suggests having the insurance’s name and the policy number on hand to get the quickest, most accurate answer.

9. Will my current conditions be covered?

If you walk into your new job with pre-existing conditions, you’ll definitely want to be sure that necessary care is covered — whether it’s routine appointments or prescriptions.

O’Neill says you can ask for a drug summary, as well as a detailed drug list. Certain drugs fall into specific tiers, based on pricing. She says this is especially useful if you take recurring drugs (think: birth control, insulin).

10. Give me a summary.

Ask your future employer for a summary of your insurance plan — or plans if it offers multiple options. If you want to use HR lingo, it’s called an SBC, or summary of benefits and coverage.

“It’s always best to ask for an SBC,” O’Neill says. “This is also good to have in advance, because while no one can discriminate against you for medical conditions, if you have this document, you can scope out specific services/coverages you may need without asking the HR rep.”

O’Neill suggests you check out information about specialist versus primary care co-pays, mental health co-pays and emergency health services.

It can get tricky and confusing, so a summary may help clear up any haziness you might experience.

11. Are there any extra perks?

Perhaps your plan doesn’t cover services like vision, acupuncture, chiropractic and general wellness services, but it might offer some discounts.

O’Neill says this is outside the SBC (that summary), so you’ll want to ask about these perks separately.

O’Neill’s final thoughts: “Insurance sucks. The more informed you are, the better.”

It’s a complicated world to dive into, but as long as you ask the right questions, you can prevent any surprise medical bills.

Your Turn: Did you ask all the right health insurance questions when you got your new job?

Carson Kohler (@CarsonKohler) is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder.

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Deal of the week: get 20% off gift cards at Asda and Tesco in time for Mother's Day

Helen Knapman

mothers-day-card.jpg

Supermarkets Asda and Tesco are offering 20% off certain gift cards this week in the run up to Mother’s Day on 26 March.

Supermarkets Asda and Tesco are offering 20% off certain gift cards this week in the run up to Mother’s Day on 26 March.

What’s the deal exactly?

Until 26 March, shoppers can get 20% off the following gift cards in store at Asda:

read more

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OPENING BELL: US stocks on pace for yet another winning week

U.S. stocks were mixed in early trading Friday, and indexes made only small moves for the second straight day.

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So You Want to Make More Money? Seven Core Pieces of Career Advice I Wish I Knew Starting Out

Several years ago, I had the chance to work closely with an intern I’ll call Chris. Chris was quite good at the tasks we gave him and you could see strong glimmers of the type of professional he might someday become.

Chris interned with us for two different periods, and at the end of the second period, we held a small “going away” lunch for him. We all gave him small gifts. I gave him two tickets to a concert and a handwritten card where I wrote down all of the worthwhile career advice I could think of, and that was that.

Flash forward about 10 years. Out of the blue recently, I heard from Chris. It turned out that his career path went in several strange directions but he eventually found himself in a field and on a career path that he was happy with, and he wanted to thank me for the experience and the advice. After swapping a few emails, I asked him what advice he found useful, because I could just barely remember even writing that card. He sent back a list of seven things that I shared with him, and they’re the highlights below.

It turns out that, even after a career change of my own and another decade of maturity and life experience under my belt, I can still look at those seven pieces of advice and nod my head at how useful they really are.

If you’re at a job and you have any desire to eventually earn better pay at that job or to stay in that career path, following these tips will help. They’re tickets to success in virtually every job and every career path.

Tip #1: Show up five to 10 minutes early to everything.

Here’s the truth: This tip won’t help you as much as it’ll prevent undesired damage to your opportunities. The truth is that only really observant people will notice that you’re early and ready to go all the time.

However – and this is the really important part – supervisors absolutely will notice if you’re not there when they want you to be, and they won’t be happy about it, and that unhappiness is going to grow and grow.

Simply by showing up for everything a little bit early, you’re going to find yourself present whenever your supervisor expects you to be there or when an interviewer expects you to be there or whenever a recruiter expects you to be there. They’ll open up their office door and see you there and all will be good with the world.

The alternative is that they open their office door and you’re not there. That’s an immediate negative, whether it’s your fault or not.

Even better, you’ll sometimes find that the early bird gets the worm. Showing up early will sometimes enable you to be involved in conversations that you would have never otherwise been involved with. It can sometimes result in introductions that would have never otherwise have been made. It can even result in offers that you may never have otherwise heard. Those things happen simply because you happen to be there at the right moment.

It’s really simple to achieve all of those things at once. Just strive to be there 10 minutes early for everything. Be there early for your shift. Be there early for meetings. Be there early for interviews. Be there early for anything you might possibly write down on your schedule.

That alone will make you appear better than many of the people around you. It’s such a little, easy step, but it pays off time and time again.

Tip #2: Network and keep in touch with people.

Whenever you meet someone new, take a moment and do everything you can to imprint their name, their face, and a few pieces of information about them in your head. Depending on your mental agility, you may find it helpful to do something like ask for their business card or simply pull out a pocket notebook to jot down their name so that you don’t forget it.

Make sure that when you do this, you’re keeping track of at least three pieces of information. You need their name, some method of contacting them (social media contact is great, but an email works too), and at least one piece of info about them that’s worth following up on later. If your primary method of communicating with the person is in the workplace, then the contact info is less important, but the other two are still vital.

Then, if you don’t see that person again within a day or so, use the piece of contact info you have for that person to follow up in some way with that person. Remind that person who you are and then touch base with them regarding that piece of information you learned. If you don’t have anything to share, ask them some follow up questions or for an introduction on the topic.

Ideally, this leads to some message exchanges and the beginning of some kind of connection between you. Keep an eye on what they share and look for opportunities to easily help that person. If they ask for ideas or suggestions, give them. If they’re looking for something, help if you can. If you haven’t heard from that person in a while, touch base with that person again.

The goal is to establish a relationship with as many people in your field as possible. You want your name out there far and wide with a positive reputation, and this is how you build it. It works almost exactly the same in every field – just connect with people. Unquestionably, this is easier for some than for others, but it’s valuable for everyone.

Tip #3: Don’t just do the minimum amount expected.

Doing the bare minimum in order to get by is an easy trap to fall into. You receive a task, you put the absolute minimum amount of effort needed into that task in order to somewhat call it complete, and then you move on. That’s how many people do their jobs, and they wind up spending a lot of time loafing around in the workplace not doing much because of it.

Supervisors and coworkers notice when you’re sitting around doing nothing. It almost never reflects well on you. Coworkers think you’re lazy and not pulling your fair share. Supervisors think you’re not really productive and can potentially be tossed aside.

Unless you’re pushed up against the wall and have to run through tasks as fast as possible to keep up, you’re better off doing a good job with your tasks and not be seen standing around.

Again, this is one of those things where you sometimes don’t get noticed for doing things the right way, but you usually do get noticed – and not in a good way – for taking the easy route.

Tip #4: Share credit whenever possible.

Whenever you receive recognition for anything, openly and clearly share credit for that success with anyone who helped even a little bit with making that possible. It doesn’t diminish the credit you’re receiving at all – if anything, it enhances it a little – and it makes everyone else in the room feel good.

If your boss calls you out for a job well done, respond in public and point out that it was a team effort and that Darrell did this part well and that Tammy did this other part well. Your boss is now impressed that you’re a team player as well and Darrell and Tammy feel good because they’ve been recognized, too. Everyone is happier with you.

Yes, it’s hard to do this. It feels good to receive all the credit and feel special, and it can feel like a zero sum game where if you share some of the credit, you get less credit. It’s not true, though. There isn’t a cap on how much credit and appreciation there is in a workplace. It’s infinite, and there’s always more to go around if people step up to the plate. If you share credit, there’s more credit to be had all around and everyone benefits, from you to your supervisor to your coworkers.

Tip #5: Watch for opportunities and jump on them when they come up.

Sometimes, opportunities for advancement or showing off your skills will jump out when you least expect them. Someone will miss a shift and the supervisor will look around and see you, the reliable worker who’s been doing a good job (tip #3), and you’ll be pushed into being the shift manager. Take it. Relish it.

You’ve just finished up a project in which you’ve gone the extra mile (tip #3) and you’ve shared a lot of credit for the success when talking about it (tip #4). Your boss will drop a hint about a big project coming up that might reward those involved with a pay raise or other benefits. Jump at it.

Your boss and that person’s supervisor are having a lunch together and going over how a particular project is going. Your boss comments on your performance (tip #3) and leadership (tip #4) and your boss’s supervisor recognizes your name (tip #1). You get a call and a request for a meeting, and you show up early for it (tip #1), enabling you to meet several people up the food chain at work. You find yourself given a great offer, a scary offer, but you take it.

Opportunities happen when you do things to make yourself prepared for them. Pay attention. If you follow the other strategies on this list, you’re going to see more opportunities, and if you’re watching for them, you can jump on them.

Tip #6: Don’t be dissuaded by lazy coworkers.

If you follow these strategies, you’ll probably notice yourself working harder than other coworkers. Some of them will probably suggest that you not work too hard. It can be really tempting to slack off and slow down to their pace, but the truth is that they want you to slow down so that they don’t look bad by comparison.

It’s not advice to help you. It’s a strategy to cover themselves.

Ignore them. This is your job and your career, not theirs. Build your own career. Don’t downshift it just to make a lazy coworker happy.

Tip #7: Find a good mentor and follow their suggestions 110%.

If you do one single thing from this entire article, do this one. Find a mentor. Find someone in your career path who you respect and trust and ask them for advice, then follow that advice to the absolute best of your ability. Help your mentor in exchange for that advice.

You don’t have to formally ask this person to be your mentor. Just simply say that you’ve seen that he or she has achieved the kind of success you want in your career and that you want to be in that kind of position someday and you’d like to know how they did it and what they’d do if they were to start all over again.

It’s usually a bad idea to ask someone to be your mentor when you’re going to be in direct competition at any point. Don’t choose someone who you hope to displace in the future. In fact, in some places, it’s a good idea to choose a mentor from outside your workplace.

Take that person out for lunch. Ask questions. Listen to what they say. Take it to heart and do everything you can to follow their suggestions. If they ever ask you for help, give it your all.

Not only will a mentor provide direct useful guidance, a good mentor will often provide indirect assistance, too. They’ll quietly help get your name out there in a positive way and will sometimes open closed doors for you without you ever seeing it. I know from experience, both as a mentor and as a mentee, that this happen when the relationship is a positive one.

These steps provided the cornerstone of any and all success I’ve found in my careers. It’s all about doing the job, connecting with people, and exceeding expectations. If you do that, you’ll find success; it’s shocking how many people just don’t step up in those areas.

Good luck!

Related Articles:

• Nine Things I Would Do Differently for My Finances and Career If I Graduated Today
• How (and Why) to Write a Career Plan
• 10 Simple Investments You Can Make in Yourself for a Huge Return on Your Money and Time

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These People Had a Collective $250,000 in Debt. Here’s How They Paid It Off

Let’s face it: Credit card debt is a bummer.

It’s a thorn in your side, a chain around your ankle, a roadblock on the superhighway of life.

And the deeper into debt you go, the more it can seem like a bottomless black hole from which you’ll never escape.

It can be done, though. Just ask all of the people in this story.

Collectively, they were a quarter million dollars in debt.

We’re talking about mountains of debt here. But by hook or by crook, through a combination of strategy, discipline, persistence and smart money management, they all climbed out of the hole.

You can do it too, by following their examples.

Lauren Bowling, a personal finance blogger, paid off $8,100 of credit card debt in just three months by freezing her spending and taking on side gigs.

Eliyah Eells and her husband paid off $13,000 of debt in two years on a combined salary of $28,000 by getting rid of cable and their smartphones, never eating out, and moving in with her parents.

All of these people used proven methods you can use to turn things around and get out from under that burden.

Here are five ways to pay off your credit card debt:

1. Katherine Consolidated Her Credit Card Debt

Katherine, who works at a digital security startup in San Francisco, had $12,000 of credit card debt weighing her down.

She was paying a whopping 15.24% interest to her credit card.

Interest rates often rise above 20% and can persistently gobble up so much of your income that you’ll never get ahead. At that point, all you’re doing is paying off the interest, not the principal.

Instead of continuing to financially tread water, Katherine refinanced her debt with a debt consolidation loan.

Here’s how it works:

You get a personal loan from a lender at a lower interest rate.

You use the loan to pay off the balances on your high-interest credit cards. Then you repay the lender a fixed amount every month for a set time period, usually two to five years.

An easy place to start is Even Financial, which can help you borrow up to $35,000.

Type in your info, and it compares interest rates from several lenders. There’s no charge for this.

The interest rates you’re offered on these loans will depend on your individual credit profile. Compare the lowest rate to what your credit cards are currently charging you. The average interest rate on credit cards these days is nearly 13%, or 16% for travel rewards cards.

Katherine saved $12,000 in interest by refinancing her $12,000 of credit card debt with a 5%-interest personal loan. Over the seven-year life of the loan, she’ll pay $2,000 in interest.

If she’d kept on making the minimum payments on her credit card, she would have paid $14,000 in interest over 25 years. Yikes.

2. Angela and Saskia Used the Debt Avalanche Method

South African couple Angela and Saskia Horn were $95,000 in debt.

They had a maxed-out credit card, a bank loan, a bank overdraft at its limit, two car loans and a mortgage.

They sold off possessions and embraced minimalist living. They also followed the “debt avalanche” method (also known as “debt stacking”), paying off the debts with the highest interest rates first.

Think of it as killing off your most toxic debt first — your most poisonous, radioactive, money-eating debt.

To get rid of your credit card debt this way, rank your credit cards by interest rate, from highest to lowest.

Here’s an example. (Note to readers: I am totally making these interest rates up.)

• Chase Visa — 22% interest rate — $5,000 balance
• Bank of America MasterCard — 19% — $3,000
• Citibank Visa — 13% — $7,000
• Capital One MasterCard — 8% — $1,000

Each month, make the minimum required payment on each card.

Then, use all your remaining available cash to pay off the card with the worst interest rate. Once you’ve wiped out that balance, move your debt-killing sniper rifle down to your next target.

This technique requires patience, but can save you significant money in interest payments.

And the more interest you pay off, the more momentum you gain — like an avalanche rolling downhill.

3. Cort and Katelyn Followed Dave Ramsey’s Advice

Cort and Katelyn Pincock, a married couple with two babies in Idaho, were $60,000 in credit card, student loan and medical debt.

They paid it all off in a year.

To do so, they took night jobs and side gigs. They also began following money management guru Dave Ramsey’s the advice.

Ramsey champions the “debt snowball” method. Here, you’re still focusing on eliminating one credit card at a time, but you’re getting rid of the lowest balance first.

With this method, you’d rank those same four credit cards in a different order:

• Capital One MasterCard — $1,000 balance — 8% interest rate
• Bank of America MasterCard — $3,000 — 19%
• Chase Visa — $5,000 — 22%
• Citibank Visa — $7,000 — 13%

Once again, pay the minimum on each card, and use your leftover money to pay off the smallest balance. Once you’ve knocked that one out, move on.

The downside: In the long run, you’ll end up paying more in interest.

The upside: Wiping out each credit card balance will give you a “quick win” and pump you up to keep tackling your debt.

Dave Ramsey’s take: “It’s more important to pay your debts in a way that keeps you motivated to keep going until you’ve wiped them all out. If you begin with the biggest one, you might think you’re not making fast enough progress, lose steam, and not finish the job.”

Which method should you use? The one that works best for you.

4. Lisa Got a Balance Transfer Credit Card

Lisa Rowan, writer and producer for The Penny Hoarder, was $50,000 in debt. She paid off $30,000 of it in 18 months.

How? She hustled her butt off, snapping up as many side jobs as she could. And she played the balance-transfer game.

This could also be an option for you.

If your credit is good, apply for a zero- or low-interest credit card. To entice you, these cards will offer a super-low annual percentage rate (APR) — for a certain period of time.

Transfer the balance from your high-interest cards to your new card.

Obviously this step will not magically get rid of your credit card debt all by itself (Presto! Abracadabra! Debt be gone!). No, your credit card debt is still stubbornly sitting there, now occupying a different piece of plastic.

The advantage? You’ll be saving some serious coin on interest payments, freeing up cash to pay down your debt.

Major caveats:

• You may be charged a balance transfer fee — typically 3% of the amount you’re transferring. Here’s a handy online calculator you can use to see if transferring your balance is worth it.

• That sweet low interest rate won’t last forever. After your new card’s “super special introductory promotion period” expires — often in six months to a year — its interest rate will shoot up. It might even end up higher than the interest rate you were trying to escape from in the first place. Read the fine print. Try to pay off your debt before this happens.

• Don’t get all spendy with that new credit card. It’s so shiny, so beautiful. It is MY PRECIOUS. That’s how we ended up in this situation in the first place, right.

5. Kyle Negotiated His Bills Down

Kyle Taylor, founder of The Penny Hoarder, used to be drowning in $10,000 of credit card debt.

He did 13 different things to pay it off.

Among those strategies: He negotiated down his bills.

You’re paying off your credit card balances with the same pot of money you’re using to pay your other bills. Why not try to cut down those other costs so you’ll have more money to apply to your credit card debt?

Use a free app like Clarity Money (currently only available on iOS) to take advantage of discounts you might not know you’re eligible for, and to help you negotiate your existing bills for stuff like cable… without going through the headache of calling customer service yourself.

If Clarity successfully negotiates a bill for you, it charges you 33% of that savings — but only once, and only after those savings have gone into effect.

The absolute worst case scenario: Nothing changes, and you just keep paying what you’re already paying now.

OR, you could end up freeing up some money. You’ll never know unless you try.

Bottom line: These are five ways to start paying off your debt. It’s time to get serious about slaying the credit card dragon!

Your Turn: Do you know how to pay off credit card debt faster?

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. May we all be a bit richer today.

Mike Brassfield (mike@thepennyhoarder.com) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder.

The post These People Had a Collective $250,000 in Debt. Here’s How They Paid It Off appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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10 Awesome Ways Retirees Can Work From Home and Make Extra Cash in 2017

It comes as no surprise that millennials are big on work-from-home jobs. According to Deloitte’s 2016 Millennial Study, 75% of this flexibility-loving, tech-savvy generation would like to start working (or work more often) from home.

But older workers can find just as many potential employment opportunities online if they know where to look. Whether you need a little extra money in your retirement or just like to keep busy, if you’re a retiree looking for a new job, here are 10 great positions you can do from the comfort of your home.

First, a Word of Warning

As with anything you find online, some opportunities are better than others. Sadly, there are plenty of work-from-home scams out there, so keep an eye out for the following red flags:

• They ask for personal information, like your Social Security number or bank account information.

• They ask you to pay. Legitimate job offers will never require payment to apply, purchase inventory, attend training, etc.

• They don’t mention a specific pay rate, or they make vaguely worded promises like, “You can earn up to $30 an hour!”

• They are not listed on the Better Business Bureau website (if they claim to represent a larger company) or have a large number of dubious reviews.

• The only physical location you find for the company is a P.O. box (if it’s local).

• They offer you an advance on your pay.

If a position meets one or more of the criteria listed above, there’s a good chance it might not be on the up and up, so you’re best to keep searching.

1. Customer Service Representative

What you’d do: Answer customer questions, troubleshoot problems, and take and track orders. Depending on the company, you may be communicating over the phone, via online chat or both.

Good if you: Are a people person, can multitask, have a decent typing speed and have a quiet place to work.

Average Pay*: $12.64/hour

Where to look: Working Solutions, LiveOps, Arise

2. Virtual Assistant

What you’d do: Everything a traditional administrative assistant might do: composing correspondence, calendar management, making travel arrangements, data entry.

Good if you: Already have experience working in an office, are organized, have good time-management skills, and are proficient in basic word processing and spreadsheet software.

Average Pay: $16.09/hour

Where to look: This list

3. Transcriptionist

What you’d do: Typing out, verbatim, what you hear on audio files. You may be captioning a video, capturing the words in a court presentation or taking down a written record of a dialogue between two or more people.

Good if you: Are a quick typer, have good hearing, can identify speakers by voice, are able to understand sometimes thick accents and can pass a transcription test.

Average Pay: $19.65/hour

Where to look: This list

4. Brand Advocate

What you’d do: Chat online with visitors to your favorite brand’s website, offer advice and recommendations, and answer questions about products.

Good if you: Consider yourself an expert on a particular brand or product, love sharing your favorite finds with others, and always dreamed of being a personal shopper.

Average Pay: $9-$12/hour, plus you’ll earn points you can redeem for products.

Where to look: Needle.com

5. Tutor

What you’d do: Share your knowledge with students of all ages. You may compose lessons, grade tests and papers, or help review material in preparation for a standardized test, like the SATs.

Good if you: Are knowledgeable in a certain subject (teacher certifications are nice but not necessary; real world experience counts), can pass an online exam in that subject, and have a knack for explaining things to people.

Average Pay: $10-$15/hour, according to a review of current openings.

Where to look: Tutor.com, Kaplan, Pearson Education

6. Subject Matter Expert

What you’d do: Answer a wide variety of questions from customers and businesses on a subject you’re knowledgeable about.

Good if you: Have lots of real-world or academic experience in a particular field.

Average Pay: $10-$15/accepted answer

Where to look: Just Answer

7. Online Juror

What you’d do: Serve as a mock juror for attorneys who want to see how their cases will fare if taken to trial. You’ll listen to testimony, weigh evidence and render your verdict just like a juror in a real court case.

Good if you: Are analytical, enjoy processing large (and often conflicting) amounts of evidence, like giving your opinion and have a clean record.

Average Pay: $5-$50 per case, according to a review of current openings; some extensive cases can pay $100-$120.

Where to look: JuryTest, eJury, OnlineVerdict, Resolution Research

8. Writer/Editor

What you’d do: Anything from proofreading to writing articles for online publications. This is a huge field, and if you’ve got the chops for it, you can find a wide range of opportunities.

Good if you: Have a way with words, have strong grammar and punctuation skills, and are an expert in a particular field.

Average Pay: $27.45/hour

Where to look: FlexJobs, FreelanceWriting.com, Morning Coffee Newsletter

9. Website Tester

What you’d do: Review and critique websites to shine a light on what users really think of them. Since these critiques are meant to give companies a true understanding of how the average person interacts with their sites, you don’t need to be a tech pro or a layout guru; you just need to be able to articulate your thoughts and feelings in real time.

Good if you: Know what you like and don’t like (and WHY you like it or or don’t), are comfortable thinking out loud, and can follow basic written instructions.

Average Pay: $3-$10 per test; tests take an average of 5-20 minutes.

Where to look: See the “Who’s Hiring” section at the bottom of this post.

10. Translator

What you’d do: Translate documents and provide interpretation over the phone or by video.

Good if you: Are fluent in another language.

Average Pay: $15-$40/hour, according to a review of current openings.

Where to look: VerbalizeIt, Ubiqus, Telelanguage, SDL, American Translators Association

*Unless otherwise indicated, average pay is based on Indeed.com estimates at the time of writing.

Your Turn: Are you a retiree with a great work-from-home job? Tell us what you do  in the Facebook comments!

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.

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Beware Amazon phishing fraud: one reader has £160 gift card balance stolen

Helen Knapman

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Shoppers who use Amazon should beware of being stung by phishing scams after one customer had £160 worth of gift cards stolen and goods fraudulently ordered using his details.

Shoppers who use Amazon should beware of being stung by phishing scams after one customer had £160 worth of gift cards stolen and goods fraudulently ordered using his details. 

Moneywise reader Mike Fox, a retired lecturer from North Wales, purchased five gift cards from the e-tailer worth £40 each to give as presents to family. 

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For Richer or Poorer: 8 Ways Getting Married Affects Your Taxes

Take it from me: Marriage can be really, really, really hard, but it’s totally worth it. As life decisions go, getting hitched is a good deal.

Not only do you get some sweet rings, a pile of wedding gifts, a honeymoon and a life partner, but you also get tax breaks. Bonus!

When you tie the knot with someone, you’re tying your taxes together, too. (That’s super sexy, I know.) Matrimony will definitely affect your taxes, probably for the better.

8 Things Newlyweds Should Know Before They File

Here are the eight most important things to know about taxes after getting hitched:

1. If You Get Married at the End of the Year, You’re Married for the Whole Year.

According to the IRS, at least.

Even if you say “I do” on Dec. 31, for tax purposes, the IRS considers you “married” for the entire year. Come next April 15, you won’t have the option of filing your taxes as a single person. You have to file as a married person.

2. You Need to Let the SSA Know If You Changed Your Last Name

If you change your last name when you get married, notify the Social Security Administration with this form. That way, the SSA’s records match the name and Social Security number you fill in on your tax return.

3. You Also Need to Change Your Withholding Status.

If you and your new spouse both work, take a look at how much federal income tax your employer withholds from your paycheck. It may be time to change your withholding status from “single” to “married” using Form W-4.

Use this online IRS withholding calculator to avoid having too much or not enough money withheld from your pay.

Pro tip: You don’t want to end up owing the IRS money. Apparently that’s not much fun.

4. It’s Almost Always in Your Favor to Choose This Filing Status  

In all seriousness, this is your biggest decision. As newlyweds filing taxes as married people for the first time, you’ll choose between “married filing jointly” or “married filing separately.”

Spoiler alert: You’ll almost certainly go with “married filing jointly” — almost every couple does. That’s because you’ll probably pay less that way.

Filing your taxes jointly makes you eligible for more tax breaks. In its Tax Tips for Newlyweds, the IRS advises: “You may want to figure the tax both ways to determine which filing status results in the lowest tax. In most cases, it’s beneficial to file jointly.”

5. Hold on a Minute. What About the Marriage Penalty?

Ah, yes, the marriage penalty. You’ve probably heard of that. It’s what happens when spouses who file jointly end up owing Uncle Sam more than if they had just stayed single.

Married people complained about this glitch in the system for years. Believe it or not, they complained so much that Congress actually did something. As Denver financial planner Valerie Antonioli tells TurboTax’s website, “Congress took steps to reduce that penalty, ensuring that the joint tax bill for married couples remains closer to the combined total they would have owed as single taxpayers.”

With the way U.S. tax brackets are set up, you’re more likely to get hit with a marriage penalty if you and your spouse are both high earners and pull in about the same salary. This article from MarketWatch lays out an example in which a husband and wife each make $90,000 a year, so they pay a marriage penalty of $843.

6. Most Spouses Collect a ‘Marriage Tax Bonus’

Couples filing jointly can claim two tax exemptions on their income tax returns and could qualify for tax breaks like these:

• Earned Income Tax Credit

• These higher education tax credits, or these

• Child care credits

An article on the TaxAct website details another common reason married couples save money on their taxes: “If a person in a high income tax bracket files jointly with someone in a much lower income tax bracket, their income together is taxed at a rate somewhere in between – generally resulting in a much lower total tax than they were paying as two single taxpayers.”

7. To Itemize or Not to Itemize — That is the Question

Whether you’re single or married, you can either claim the standard deduction or itemize your deductions — whichever works out better for you. But once you’re married and have a mortgage, you can probably lower your tax bill if you itemize.

As your life becomes more complicated, the same thing happens to your taxes. If doing your own taxes is starting to give you a headache, it might be time to hire a professional to do them for you.

8. Watch Out for Your Spouse’s Past Tax Issues

Hopefully your new husband or wife is honest and has a handle on their finances. If you file a tax return jointly, you’re legally on the hook for any of your spouse’s tax-related misdeeds, omissions, underpayments or mistakes. The IRS will hold you both accountable for every number on that tax return.

If your beloved’s taxes are a train wreck, it might be wise to file separately. Just a little something to keep in mind.

So congratulations, newlyweds! Those are the eight most important things to know about how getting married affects your taxes. Enjoy that lifelong companionship, that new fondue set and all those tax advantages.

In the eyes of the IRS, you’re in this together now.

For richer or for poorer. For better or for worse.

Your Turn: Have you taken advantage of marriage-related tax breaks? How?

Mike Brassfield (mike@thepennyhoarder.com) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. His taxes are way too complicated for him to do all by himself.

The post For Richer or Poorer: 8 Ways Getting Married Affects Your Taxes appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Struggling older borrowers handed interest-only mortgage boost

Adam Williams

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Older interest-only mortgage borrowers have been given a boost by the launch of a new product targeted at over 55s.

Older interest-only mortgage borrowers have been given a boost by the launch of a new product targeted at over 55s.

Borrowers who are reaching the end of their interest-only term but wish to borrow for longer have found their options severely restricted in today’s mortgage market.

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Cash Isa or current account - where should you stash £5,000?

Adam Williams

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The end of the tax year is quickly approaching and many people are looking to use up their Individual Savings Account (Isa) allowance for 2016/17.

The end of the tax year is quickly approaching and many people are looking to use up their Individual Savings Account (Isa) allowance for 2016/17.

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Coronation Street is the top soap performer for house prices

Hannah Nemeth

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Greater Manchester’s Coronation Street is the top performer when it comes to property price rises, according to new research.

Greater Manchester’s Coronation Street is the top performer when it comes to property price rises, according to new research.

To get a snapshot of how property prices have shot up over the past few decades, online estate agent eMoov has taken a look at the average increase in value of properties owned by some of the UK’s favourite soap characters.

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The worst savings accounts revealed

Adam Williams

It is already difficult for savers to get a decent return on their cash. There are low interest rates across the board and many accounts are returning less than the rate of inflation.

It is already difficult for savers to get a decent return on their cash. There are low interest rates across the board and many accounts are returning less than the rate of inflation.

Yet some providers are plunging new depths by paying as little as 0.01% interest to struggling savers.

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Have Trouble Saving Money? So Did I, Until I Tried This Game

Here are some of the things on my wish list right now:

• A sweet tart pan so I can make my very own fruit tarts. Thanks for inspiring my cravings and eventual weight gain, “Great British Bake Off”!

• This adorable neuron necklace. Yes, I’m nerdy.

• This gorgeous-but-way-too-expensive-for-what-it-is athleisure jacket.

• A bottle of this limited release wine that looks super tasty, but is a little pricy for a non-holiday occasion.

When I find something I want, even if I can’t afford it right away, I can get some satisfaction by having it on my wish list, where I can (and do) ogle it on the regular.

And if it sits there long enough without me finding the funds to buy it, I sometimes discover I didn’t really want it that badly in the first place. Talk about a money saver!

But my favorite part of keeping a wish list is actually treating myself to some of the goodies on it when I save enough cash.

There’s only one problem: Saving money is really hard.

How to Save Money Quickly by Hacking Your Psychology

Sometimes, my savings plan is derailed by unexpected minor emergencies. An unplanned trip to the doctor or a flat tire can make a pretty big dent in a 20-something’s bank account!

But I can’t deny that another factor keeping my savings game from getting stronger: impulse buys.

To be proactive about my savings, I automate them using Digit… but it’s so easy to move the money back into my account if I see something I want right now.

And I don’t want to lose track of my long-term goals, be they wish-list items or more important, bigger picture ones, like saving to buy a home.

But a recent post I saw at Lifehacker got me thinking.

The post describes Antonio, a business owner who found exercise so tedious that he couldn’t bring himself to do it, even after receiving doctor’s orders. Burning calories didn’t motivate him… but improving his willpower did.

So, Antonio stuck a sticker saying “willpower” over the word “calories” on his step counter to gamify his workouts and feel like he was earning something he really wanted.

How could I apply this to saving money?

What Can Your Money Buy You?

Well, I could easily look at my Digit balance and think of each dollar I don’t touch as a willpower point gained. But then, I thought about my wish list.

What if I thought about my savings in terms of the actual items I’m hoping to eventually purchase with them?

Right now, I have $311.39 in my Digit account. (Yes, I’ve been saving since November, so this is pretty low… but I just got back from a weekend trip where I spent a little more than I meant to at the bar.)

That money could buy me seven bottles of fancy wine, 12 neuron necklaces and three of those jackets I’m lusting after.

But it’s not even close to the cash I need to fund, say, that trip to Ireland I’ve been eyeing on Groupon.

In fact, I can do the math to discover exactly how close (or far) I am from achieving that savings goal: I only have 35% of the cash I need to get go on the trip to Ireland, and that’s before all the money I’ll need for food and other goods once I’m over there.

And if I can’t manage to scrape together almost $600 in the 10 days left on this Groupon and have to pay full price (likely), I’ll only be 19% of the way there.

So right now, I can buy three pretty athleisure jackets… but just a third of a trip to Ireland.

That really puts things into perspective. I mean, I already have enough clothes, right? That money can stay right where it is. For now.

So next time you’re tempted to blow your savings on something that steals your heart but probably won’t make you happy in the long run, think about what else that money could buy — and what it can’t quite, yet.

Your Turn: Will you use this psychological hack to help you keep your savings where it is?

Jamie Cattanach (@jamiecattanach) is a freelance writer whose work has been featured at Ms. Magazine, BUST, Roads & Kingdoms, The Write Life, Nashville Review, Word Riot and elsewhere. She lives in St. Augustine, Florida.

The post Have Trouble Saving Money? So Did I, Until I Tried This Game appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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