How to Create a Website in 120 Minutes — Step-by-Step

Creating a website used to be a massive project.

And expensive too.

Everything had to be built by hand and businesses needed to work with an online marketing agency that would charge them tens of thousands of dollars to build the site. If you wanted a professional-looking site, that was your only option.

Things have gotten a lot cheaper over the years.

Now it’s possible to get a polished site for less than $100. About $10 to buy the domain, $30–60 for a good template, and $5–10/month to host it. It’ll look so good that people won’t even realize that you built it yourself. It’ll look like some high-flying marketing agency built it for you.

Not only has it gotten cheaper, it’s also gotten a lot easier.

I’ve broken down the 9 simple steps to create your website from scratch. You’ll easily be able to run through these steps over the next 120 minutes.

Step 1: Pick a Name and Find a Domain

These are not two separate steps, unfortunately.

I really wish I could sit down, pick any name that I want for my business, and be able to create the site that I want around that name. Now that the internet is a couple of decades old, we all have to face the reality that most of the good domains have been taken.

Here’s how a naming session always seems to go for me:

1. In a moment of inspiration, we think of an amazing name.
2. We hold on to this name for months, maybe even years.
3. It’s time to start the business, so we go to purchase the domain.
4. The domain is taken.
5. We try a dozen small variations of our original idea, all taken.
6. No biggie, we thought of one brilliant name, we’ll think of another one.
7. Backup idea #2 = taken.
8. Backup idea #3 = taken.
9. Backup idea #4 = taken.
10. Despair sets in.
11. We start considering names that we don’t actually like, hoping that anything is available.
12. We come up with 2 or 3 options that we don’t like at all.
13. Then we spend a week trying to come up with a name that’s both available and a name that we can live with.
14. Finally, we find one.

Websites have also become so embedded in our day-to-day lives that it’s better to change the name of the business to match an available domain than it is to pick a poor quality domain. Through this process, I almost always end up with a completely different name than I originally intended.

This is why I consider the “naming my business” and “buying the domain” steps for creating a business to be the same step. I try to only lock myself into a name once I have the domain.

We put together an in-depth guide on buying domains here.

The good news is that the rest of these steps are a breeze once you have your domain purchased. It’s the first and hardest step.

Step 2: Register Your Domain

Real quick, let’s sort out the difference between a domain registrar and a web host.

A domain registrar is a company that specializes in buying (registering) domains.

A web host, on the other hand, specializes in running servers that host websites.

Every web host will desperately try to get you to also registrar a domain through them. The reason is that it’s a great upsell for them. They’ve spent most of their resources building out a hosting service, then they offer domain registration as a convenience, increase the price a bit, and collect a nice chunk of extra profit from you.

My philosophy is to buy things from businesses that specialize in that exact thing. Prices will be better and so will quality. That’s why I also use a domain registrar for buying domains and a web host for hosting. I never mix up the two.

We put together a detailed review of domain registrars here.

Step 3: Decide What Kind of Site You Want

Most guides on creating a website will push you into using WordPress. It’s the most popular and flexible website builder. And that’s usually a good recommendation.

But there are a few situations where I recommend different options.

Simple Portfolio or “Business Card” Sites

Many businesses need a simple website that tells people a few things:

• Who the business is for
• What the business does
• Sometimes a portfolio that shows off some work
• Contact info

This kind of site gives the basic info for the business, nothing more. If this is what you need, Squarespace is your best option for creating your website. It’s incredibly simple to use and will give you a professional site at a very low price. It’s perfect for small businesses.

Squarespace will try to convince you that they can handle everything. That’s not true.

They’ve created the simplest and easiest website builder out there. Truly, it’s a joy to use.

However, they completely lack all the advanced features that an online business needs. The ecommerce functionality is extremely limited, and I don’t know any serious online marketer that uses Squarespace for a content site. If your business an online business, Squarespace isn’t a legitimate option. You’ll hit the limits of its features too fast.

If you know that you want an ecommerce store from the beginning, start on Shopify and skip Squarespace. And if you know you want a blog or are planning on doing lots of content, start on WordPress.

Squarespace makes the most sense when you just need a clean, professional-looking site that gives some basic info on your business. It’s perfect for small businesses, freelancers, and artists.

Here’s another way to think about it: If you’re building a business that doesn’t live and die on its website, it just needs a website in case anyone looks for it, like a business card, then go with Squarespace. But if you’re website is your business, use one of the more tailored platforms.

Ecommerce Sites

If you’re planning on building an ecommerce store for your site, don’t use WordPress. We have an entire post here on when to use WordPress for ecommerce and when not to. The short story: it rarely makes sense to use WordPress for ecommerce.

The best option, by far, is Shopify. There used to be more competition in the ecommerce tool space but Shopify got too far ahead. Now they’re really the only option and they have an incredible reputation. You won’t regret using them for an ecommerce site.

If you’re going this route, we have a 9-step guide on how to create an ecommerce website. We also have a guide on how to start a store that drives real sales. Both of those guides will get you pointed in the right direction.

Blog Sites

If you want to create a blog with a bunch of content, you need to use WordPress. We have a detailed guide on starting blogs here.

WordPress powers over 30% of the entire internet. So it’s the only real option for starting a blog these days.

What about Joomla or Drupal? Or Typepad?

WordPress left all those other platforms in the dust about a decade ago. They’re not even legitimate options at this point. Pick WordPress — there isn’t a single situation where you’ll regret it.

When I originally started with this online thing, Drupal sites were still pretty common. I partnered up with an engineer friend of mine and we did a lot of freelance work migrating sites from Drupal to WordPress. Even back then, WordPress was a clear winner.

Now when I come across a site on any of these other tools, it’s kind of exciting. It’s like finding an ancient artifact. “This still exists!? How fascinating!”

Don’t use any of these other tools, stick to WordPress.

Everything Else

If you’re not sure or have another vision for your site outside the categories above, use WordPress. It’s the most flexible platform out there. It will do ecommerce, it’ll do simple portfolios, it’ll do massive content sites, it’ll do Fortune 500 marketing sites, it’ll do it all.

You might have to customize it more than other platforms in some situations but you can make WordPress do whatever you want it to. And just about anyone in online marketing knows their way around WordPress so you’ll be able to find plenty of people to help you when the time comes.

Whether you want to build your site by hand or you have an online marketing agency to do it for you, you should still build on top of WordPress. It’ll shortcut a lot of the programming work and give you the ability to edit basic items on your site without having to edit any code. I’ve managed marketing sites of venture-backed tech startups that employed dozens of engineers — we still had our marketing site built on top of WordPress. It’s the standard choice.

Step 4: Get a Host for Your Website

For the rest of this guide, I’m going to assume that you’ve picked WordPress to build your site. If you want an ecommerce site, skip the rest of this guide and follow our guide on creating an ecommerce site.

WordPress is the tool that you’ll use to build your website. But you also need a host that will store your site and make it available to anyone who visits.

We have an entire guide here that goes through all the best web hosts.

Hosting plans usually start around $5/month.

Step 5: Install WordPress

Just about every website host has a 1-click install of WordPress. It’s usually under a section called Tools, Website, Software, or Content Management Systems (CMS). It’ll look something like this:

If you have trouble finding it, contact support at your host and they’ll be able to walk you through it.

Step 6: Point Your Domain to Your Host

Let’s do a quick recap.

• You bought your domain using a domain registrar.
• You signed up for a hosting plan.
• You installed WordPress on your host.

Now you’re going to connect all that stuff together by pointing your domain to your host. Then when people go to your domain, they’ll end up on your site.

There are a few technical settings you need to apply. This involves configuring a few nameserver settings on your domain registrar for your domain. Your host will give you the correct settings; you’re looking for their nameserver settings.

If you get stuck, contact your host and they’ll give you all the info you need.

Once you have the nameserver info from your host, go into your domain registrar and configure those settings for the domain that you want to point at your site. Once you’re done, it’ll look something like this:

Step 7: Install a WordPress Theme

Think of WordPress as the guts of your site, it’s all the pumping that makes your site work.

WordPress uses themes to determine how your site looks. This makes it really easy to change how your site looks without having to rebuild your site from scratch. Swap out your old theme for a new one and ta-da! Your site will look completely different.

These days, I purchase all my themes from StudioPress.

Heads up, WP Engine bought StudioPress and now includes all the StudioPress themes in its hosting plans. WP Engine is more expensive but it’s perfect for serious bloggers. It’s a great way to save money on your theme if you are planning on building a large site to begin with. WP Engine is our recommended host if you’re looking for the best. The downside is that WP Engine tends to be more expensive than other hosts.

Back to themes, are there other options?

You betcha. ThemeForest has a marketplace of WordPress themes. There are literally tens of thousands of themes to pick from. They’re usually in the $30–60 price range. When looking for theme, I rank them by the most popular or the highest rating. Then I pick one I personally like.

After you’ve purchased a theme, go to the WordPress Theme settings and upload your theme. The Theme settings are under Appearance in the WordPress sidebar menu. You’ll have to click through “Add new” and “Upload Theme” in order to see this option to upload:

Go ahead and upload the .zip file you received when you purchased your theme.

After it’s uploaded, you’ll also have to click “activate” on the theme in WordPress to make it go live.

Step 8: Add Content

Now the fun part — it’s time to create the individual pages of your site.

You’ll do this within WordPress.

WordPress has two types of content: pages and posts.

Think of posts as blog posts that are published under a “blog” section of a site. If you’re not planning on having a blog, then you can skip posts entirely.

Pages are the more permanent pages on your website. Like your About or Contact Us pages. When you’re first creating your site, you want to get a batch of pages live so your site feels real.

Every website has a few standard pages you should create:

• Homepage – Your WordPress theme usually has settings for this page.
• Contact Page – Create a new page and install a WordPress form plugin so you can add a form to the page.
• About page – Tell your story and why you’ve started your business.
• Product or services pages – For the main services or products that you’re offering, it’s a good idea to create a dedicated page for each.
• Blog – If you’re building a blog, make sure all your posts get listed here.

This list will get you started. You can always add more later.

Step 9: You’re Done!

At this point, you have a fully functioning site that looks great.

I’m not going to lie, there’s a lot of extra configuration you can do to your site: you can add WordPress plugins that upgrade your site, build out a blog, add an email list, grow traffic, the list is endless.

You don’t have to do any of this extra stuff — it’s all optional. It depends on your priorities and goals.

When you’re ready, these guides will walk you through the extra stuff that’s worth considering:

• The Best SEO Plugins for WordPress
• The 5 Best WordPress Cache Plugins
• The Best Email Marketing Services
• 5 Easy Steps to Creating a Sitemap For a Website
• Brand New Blog. No Traffic. Here’s What to Do.

Source Quick Sprout http://bit.ly/2GrxchC

These 5 People Added up to 284 Points to Their Credit Scores by Making the Same Move

16 Little Perks I Use To Boost My Mood When I’m Down Without Spending Money

The winter blues strike me hard each year. When the Iowa winter reaches a point where it’s fairly miserable to go outside and the days are short to boot, I wind up spending far too much time inside. This causes me to not get enough sunshine, and even though I have a couple of good tricks for keeping the winter blues specifically at bay (vitamin D and a full spectrum light box), my mood can still be pretty low at times during the winter.

Over the years, I’ve developed a lot of simple little inexpensive tricks that help me lift my mood and I never rely on them more than I do this time of the year. They’re just little things I do that are designed with just two principles in mind. One, they need to be able to quickly improve my mood. Two, they need to cost next to nothing.

Here are sixteen of these tricks; they’re the ones that I think actually have the most universal appeal. Many of these seem to have a “winter” angle, but they work pretty well throughout the year. If you’re finding yourself down in the dumps, try a few of these things and see if they help.

Drink lots of water. This is probably my number one strategy for keeping my mood up. I find that there’s a pretty strong connection between drinking plenty of water and being in a good mood. The more water I drink, the better I feel about my life and the world around me. If I don’t drink much water, my mood slips.

Do some high-intensity exercise for a short time. Do something with enough intensity so that you find yourself panting for breath. Wait until you’re close to breathing normally, then do it again. Repeat a few times. Your blood will be pumping and full of endorphins that make you feel a lot better.

Maintain a playlist of uptempo songs that you like and play it when you need a boost. I maintain a playlist of Youtube videos consisting of uptempo songs that make me want to jump around, and when I’m feeling the winter blues, I’ll turn it on. I’ll often start doing household chores while the music is blaring and I find that my chore tempo gets faster and faster while my mood lifts. (The playlist has a lot of Queen in it.)

Eat a lot of eggs, milk, yogurt, and fish. These foods are strong sources of natural vitamin D, which is something your body is missing out on in the winter months. Sunlight’s interaction with your skin is a powerful source of vitamin D, but if the weather often drives you indoors, make sure that eggs, dairy, and fish are a part of your diet.

Stretch. One of the best things I do throughout a given day to simply feel better is to spend several minutes stretching. I stretch out my arms, my legs, my shoulders, my sides… basically every muscle group in my body. Stretching simultaneously dumps a bunch of endorphins into your bloodstream while also improving blood flow to the muscles in your body, which leaves you feeling great.

Read books you’ve missed out on, preferably in a spot with lots of natural lighting. I’m an avid reader and there are definitely times when I slow down with my reading during the summer months, leaving me a backlog of titles I want to read. During the winter, I get caught up (to a degree). Since we’ve done some minor home renovations, there’s a wonderful sunny spot to read during the day in our home and I’ve been taking advantage of it to catch up on some books I’m excited about.

Do social things. Find as many opportunities as possible in your life to spend time with other people, particularly people who make you feel good about yourself and the world. Go to community events. Spend time with friends who bring some positivity to the table. You’ll feel better simply being around other people.

Have a big “winter project.” Each winter, I try to select a “major project” of some kind that I want to complete by the end of the winter, and I make it my goal to spend at least some time each day moving forward on that project. This winter, for example, my goal is to set up a new office for myself in a different room in our home, move into that new office, and transform my old office into a bedroom. Many winters, my goal has centered around reading a particular book series. Just choose a project that you’ll have to knock off in little bits over the course of months.

Keep warm. One of the best ways to feel the winter blues is to feel cold at home, so I try to avoid that as much as I can. I dress warmly and comfortably at home all throughout the winter – layered clothing, hoodies, wool socks, and so on. Even when I want to go outside, it’s just a matter of putting on shoes and a coat most of the time. Feeling cold tends to equate to feeling down to me, so I try to keep it at bay.

Install and use some full spectrum lighting. In several rooms in our house, particularly ones that I spend significant time in, I have light bulbs installed that provide full spectrum lighting. These lights subtly fool your brain into thinking that you’re in a sunny area, even when you’re stuck inside working on a project.

Eat a lot of fruit when snacking. Rather than snacking on candy or unhealthy savory snacks, just keep a lot of fruit around for snacking. When you have the munchies, grab an apple or a banana or some berries from the fridge instead of some candy bits. You’ll be surprised how much better you feel over time.

Plan out and schedule your summer vacation. Whenever I’m feeling trapped inside by winter weather and a bit down about the seemingly endless winter, I spend some time plotting out my summer vacation. Envisioning fun in the summer sun in great detail is a pretty solid mood lifter, especially when that translates into taking action and setting plans in motion to make that fun a reality.

Turn on the fireplace if you have one. This ties into the “keep warm” strategy, but there’s something primal and valuable about looking into a fire. Get cozy near the flames and let yourself get warm and you’ll find your mood lift (even if you get a little sleepy, because fires usually make me think of nighttime and getting ready for bed).

Do some volunteer work, even if it’s super small scale. Just do something for someone else without any compensation or reward for yourself. It can be a big effort if you want, but it doesn’t have to be. You can spend a day working at a food pantry, or you can simply help someone load their groceries so they can get out of the cold a little faster. Just do something for someone and it will lift your mood.

Get close with other people. I mean this both in the physical sense and the emotional sense. In the physical sense, I mean cuddle up with a loved one. Touch each other. Hold each other close. In the emotional sense, I mean have a meaningful conversation with someone. Listen to what they’re saying. Get on their wavelength and try to help them with what they’re feeling. Both of those things are powerful mood lifters.

Start your meal off with a salad. Whenever you’re about to eat lunch or dinner, start off with a small salad of some kind, ideally centered on a mix of different vegetables. This puts something quite healthy in your belly right at the start of a meal. I find that eating healthy is a great way to lift one’s mood and a salad at the start of a meal lets you still enjoy whatever you want but makes sure that you don’t eat excessive amounts of unhealthy stuff later in the meal.

All of these tips have very little cost associated with them and are quite effective at elevating one’s mood. I use these methods to get through cold winters where I have to spend a lot of time indoors and other periods of my life where I feel a little melancholy. That being said, these are not a good substitute for treatment of mental health conditions; if you find yourself feeling blue for an extended period or find yourself feeling so down that it’s difficult to get through the day or get out of bed, contact a mental health professional.

The post 16 Little Perks I Use To Boost My Mood When I’m Down Without Spending Money appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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4 of 5 Drivers Saw Car Insurance Rate Hikes Last Year. Here’s How to Get a New Quote

It’s easy to let some of your bills go on autopilot. Like your car insurance.

Honestly, have you looked at your car insurance bill lately?

Go ahead. We’ll wait. It’s probably gone up. In fact, four out of five drivers in the U.S. saw their rates go up this past year, according to research by insurance search engine The Zebra.

The worst part is that it has nothing to do with you or how you drive, but things like the weather in your state, your gender or even your credit score.

Don’t settle for rising car insurance costs. Do something about it. Not all insurance companies are alike — and by comparing quotes you can find out if there’s a more affordable match out there for you.

Compare Rates, and Beat the System

The Zebra, an online car insurance search engine that offers “insurance in black and white,” compares your options from 204 providers in less than 60 seconds.

Here’s how it works:

1. Head over to The Zebra’s search platform. Enter your car’s year, make and model, and your ZIP code. Continue on to answer questions about your driving habits, your car and your life.

On the right sidebar, you’ll watch rates increase or decrease based on your answers. For example, if you’ve gotten into an accident — that was your fault — in the past three years, your rates will kick up. It’s interesting to see what effect your answers might have.

2. After answering some questions, it’s time to compare. The Zebra gives you an “Insurability Score,” which is similar to your credit score except it’s for car insurance, and it  teaches you how to get better rates. The site also gives you different options for coverage.

When you’re ready to consider your options and select a quote, you can also receive a phone call from The Zebra for additional support.

A nice representative (a real, live human) on the line asks if you want to speak with a specialist. If you’re truly interested in car insurance and want to ask all the questions, this could be the perfect time.

The study says four out of five drivers saw their rates go up. You can be that fifth driver. Don’t get trapped into a high premium, just keep shoppin’ around and weighing options through The Zebra.

Tyler Omoth is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder who loves soaking up the sun and finding creative ways to help others. Catch him on Twitter at @Tyomoth.

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

The Penny Hoarder Promise: We provide accurate, reliable information. Here’s why you can trust us and how we make money.

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Dear Penny: I’m Retiring Soon. How Do I Protect My 401(k) From a Downturn?

Dear M.,

Economic ups and downs are inevitable, but sometimes it’s hard to think beyond the downturns.

We seem especially sensitive to the condition of the stock market, since we’ve just passed the 10-year anniversary of the start of the Great Recession. Those memories of turmoil and heartache bubble right back up, and suddenly, we’re checking our retirement account statements with a bit more interest than usual.

To calm your nerves about the state of our economy, I called upon Bridget Todd, head of client strategy and development at New York-based coaching firm the Financial Gym.

“I usually tell clients to think about the 2008 financial crisis, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost more than 50 percent of its value,” she explained by email. “In the nine years since, it is up about 200 percent.”

While there are periods of discomfort, she said, the market will always recover. “The most important thing to remember is not to sell when things get bumpy,” she said.

Your 401(k) is a place to hold your investments. You can make decisions about what’s inside that account — stocks, bonds, mutual funds, derivatives, exchange-traded funds — depending on the level of risk you’re comfortable with.

If you’re at least 10 years from drawing from your 401(k), Todd recommends allocating 90 percent of holdings to stocks and the remainder to bonds.

“Stocks are the riskier asset,” she said, likening them to a roller coaster. But that fluctuation is OK. It will all settle out eventually, helping you earn that average stock market return of 7 percent per year that you hear about.

If you’re closer to retirement and nervous about the health of the market, you can pull back on how much you allocate to stocks to reduce your risk. But you still want some of your investment to be in stocks to help that nest egg grow.

In short: Hold on and enjoy the ride. Even if the economy takes a temporary dive, your contributions will still have value to carry you through to retirement.

If only we had that crystal ball in the meantime. Wait. That would probably be insider trading. Maybe skip the crystal ball.

Worried about managing your money in trying times? Write to Dear Penny at https://www.thepennyhoarder.com/dear-penny/

Lisa Rowan is a personal finance expert and senior writer at The Penny Hoarder, and the voice behind Dear Penny. For more practical money tips, visit www.thepennyhoarder.com.

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

The Penny Hoarder Promise: We provide accurate, reliable information. Here’s why you can trust us and how we make money.

source The Penny Hoarder http://bit.ly/2SCp5VK

Best WordPress Calendar Plugin – (Review Updated for Winter of 2019)

WordPress is the most popular content management system. Period. If you have a WordPress site — which you should if your site is a content site — you know how many plugins are available on this platform. There are thousands, literally thousands. I did a search today to see how many WordPress plugins there are. The number? 54,681. It can be a bit overwhelming. With so many plugins to choose from, how can you know which ones are the best?

What you do know is that you want to add a calendar feature to your website. Being able to simply add dates and times is crucial for some businesses. Not every calendar plugin is the same. Some of you will need more advanced calendar features than others. You may need a calendar to keep track of tasks — pretty basic. Or, you may need a more advanced calendar for managing events, bookings, and integrating with ecommerce platforms.

I took the time to find the best WordPress calendar plugins available. So regardless of your situation, you can use this guide to find the one that best suits your needs.

1. The Events Calendar

As the name implies, The Events Calendar WordPress plugin is ideal for any site that’s managing events. There are so many different uses for this feature.

It’s great for musicians who want to showcase their upcoming performances, as well as venue owners who need to display shows coming to their location. If you have a restaurant, church, or nonprofit organization, this plugin is perfect for you. If you’re an author and traveling to promote your book, or speaking at any seminars and conferences, you can benefit from the events calendar. As you can see from these examples, the possibilities are nearly limitless.

Here’s how the plugin looks once you implement it:

In addition to this month view option, you can also organize the calendar by day or list of events.

The microformats will help boost your SEO, and the plugin offers caching support as well as debug mode. It’s compatible with Google Maps, Google Calendar, and iCal as well. So events can be exported and added to other platforms.

Users who are looking at the calendar even have the option to browse for certain events. They won’t have to scroll to find something specific.

The design is fully responsive no matter what device the calendar is being used on. So you won’t have to worry if visitors are browsing from desktops, smartphones, or tablets. This is extremely important since accommodating the needs of mobile users can boost sales.

One of the reasons why The Events Calendar is so popular is because it’s easy to use right out of the box. You’ll be able to figure out how to navigate and use everything in minutes.

You can install this plugin for free, but it does have a few paid options as well. The premium upgrades are very affordable — they cost $89, $149, and $299 per year for personal, business, and agency use, respectively.

2. Booking Calendar

The Booking Calendar is one of the first booking systems ever developed for WordPress. It was originally released back in 2009. Over the last decade, it’s been installed on WordPress sites more than one million times.

It’s safe to say that this plugin has gone through its fair share of updates and changes over the past ten years, which has helped it keep its spot as one of the best WordPress calendar plugins in 2019.

This plugin makes it easy for website visitors to view the availability of something, such as an apartment, hotel, or service, and book directly from the calendar.

Here’s how it works: Let’s say you own a carpet cleaning business. Rather than taking appointments over the phone, which can be inefficient, it’s easy for you to add a user-friendly calendar to your WordPress site. Website visitors can select the day and time for an appointment and fill out form fields to book the cleaning. This is much more user-friendly than requiring them to pick up the phone and going back and forth about possible dates. I know I’d much rather book online. If you make me pick up a phone, I’m a lot less likely to follow through with the booking.

As you can see, the functionality of this plugin can be applied to so many different websites and businesses. From the backend, it’s easy for the admin to view, manage, and customize all of the bookings. Booking Calendar lets you set limits to avoid double bookings. Dates and times will automatically become unavailable once your limits have been reached. This calendar plugin can manage an entire year in advance.

The administrative features give you the option to approve or deny bookings as well. You can set it up so you receive email notifications when something gets added to your calendar. That way you can plan your schedule accordingly, and won’t have to keep manually checking WordPress to see if anything has been changed.

3. Simple Calendar – Google Calendar Plugin

I don’t mean to be redundant, but the Simple Calendar – Google Calendar Plugin is as simple as it gets. The reason why it made my list is because it’s so easy for anyone to use, even if you don’t have any technical experience.

This plugin has more limited features compared to other calendars, but sometimes too many elements add unnecessary complexity. For those of you who don’t need all of the extras and frills, the Simple Calendar – Google Calendar Plugin is perfect.

Once you install the plugin, you’ll be able to display any event from a Google Calendar, which means you won’t need to re-create any events manually in WordPress.

You can use tags to customize your events without having to do any coding.

It’s easy to integrate this plugin with other tools to turn your calendar into a format that’s easy to distribute as a newsletter. This feature allows you to share the calendar with your email subscribers without requiring them to to visit your website.

Like most options, this plugin lets you view calendars in a monthly grid or a list view. The advanced settings will automatically adjust for time zones, as well as the date and time formats, depending on where your site visitors are located.

I’d recommend this plugin to anyone who doesn’t needed too many advanced features in a WordPress calendar. For lack of a better word, I’d describe this plugin the same way it does — simple.

4. EventON

As you probably guessed, the EventON WordPress plugin is made for managing events.

The design of this calendar is what makes this plugin stand apart from other options. If you want a sleek and beautifully designed calendar that fits with your pages and themes, this will be a top choice for you to consider. With this plugin you can customize the look to match with the trending color schemes on your website.

There’s a lot to like about it as well. It’s easy for users to search for events or navigate from month to month. It readily handles events lasting for multiple days, months at a time, or even all year. And, you can highlight featured events that you want to promote more and jump off of the page. Each event has a title, date, time, address, and photo. You can also add a description of the event, as well as an additional image showing the location.

People can even get directions to the location directly from the event listing on your website. All they need to do is type their address into Google Maps, which is integrated on the screen.

EventON lets users buy tickets to events with Woocommerce support. But you’ll need to pay extra for that add on.

EventON is arguably the best WordPress calendar plugin for managing and promoting events on your website. It’s not free, but there is a demo for you to try if you’re interested. All of the premium features are purchased separately, so you can customize the plugin to meet your needs.

5. All-in-One Event Calendar

All-in-One Event Calendar is another one of my favorite WordPress plugins. I like it because it’s so easy to use within WordPress. Just look at how simple this new event page is to configure.

Everything is so straightforward. All you need to do is fill out the form fields, add the dates and times, and you’re good to go. There are settings for the location details, contact information, as well as a section for purchasing tickets. The plugin automatically helps optimize your events for SEO purposes. You can embed Google Maps into each event as well, so it’s one less step for people who need directions. They can do this directly from your website.

You can sync All-in-One Event Calendar with other platforms, including:

• Google Calendar
• iCalendar
• MS Outlook

Site visitors can view the calendar by month, week, day, or poster board and it’s easy to filter events. I especially like the color coding feature for grouping events in certain categories. For example, let’s say you own a restaurant. You can add different colors for things like karaoke, trivia, or happy hour, so it’s easy for people to find what they’re looking for. (For me, that’d be a hard no on karaoke, and a hearty yes on trivia and happy hour.)

The basic version of All-in-One Event Calendar is free. The pro version starts at $9 per month, but there are more advanced options for $29 and $99. But I think the majority of sites will have their needs met with the free version or the $9 pro version at most.

6. My Calendar

My Calendar is likely the best option for adding multiple calendars on your WordPress website, or if you have multiple sites that need to display the same calendar. My Calendar is multi-site friendly, so you can add calendars to a network of sites that you’re managing directly from a single WordPress install. So you can essentially share events within the network by fetching them from a remote database. Unlike other plugins that we’ve seen so far, My Calendar has a mini-calendar view, which is ideal for a compact display on your site or sites.

Once an event has been created, you can automatically have it posted to Twitter, set up email notifications whenever a new event is scheduled, and you can easily schedule and manage recurring events.

You’ll also have the option to create custom templates for your calendars. If you’re a designer or developer, this plugin will give you lots of flexibility to create custom calendars for your WordPress site.

Conclusion

There you have it. These are the top six WordPress calendar plugins of 2019.

Use this guide to determine which plugin is the best for your website. Not all of these plugins offer the same options and functionality. So you’ll want to make sure that you find one that covers your needs.

At the same time, you don’t want to get a WordPress calendar plugin that’s too complex. If you need something that’s simple, you can find an option that’s more on the basic side. Like I said earlier, one of my business mantras is: No unnecessary complications. Keep it simple. Whizbang features you don’t need can slow you down, instead of speeding you up.

There are tons of other WordPress calendar plugins, but in my experience, these are the best ones.

Source Quick Sprout http://bit.ly/2GJqLWk

Worried You Won’t Qualify for Life Insurance? This Company Has You Covered

Nobody’s perfect. Maybe you’re interested in getting some life insurance, but you’re worried you won’t even qualify for it because of your health.

Maybe you have diabetes or heart disease. Maybe you’re a smoker. Maybe you’re a little heavy. Maybe your family history is littered with medical landmines. Or maybe you’re… welllllll, just not as young as you used to be. That happens to all of us.

If that’s the case, how can you get life insurance without paying through the nose for it?

The short answer is to shop around. Here’s the tricky part: Life insurance companies have radically different ideas about what constitutes a health risk.

“Not all companies treat health conditions equally. Some may offer better rates for people with diabetes, while others are cheaper for baby boomers,” advises Policygenius, an online insurance marketplace. “Make sure you’re going with a company that gives you the best possible price.”

Policygenius would know. It’s a digital platform that offers you instant quotes from competing insurance providers.

Even if you’re not in picture-perfect health, you can still get life insurance, and this company can help.

First, you type in your information and answer a series of questions. Policygenius uses its algorithms and its search engines and works its magic to find your best options for you to compare side-by-side.

Specifically, you can see how much money they want to charge you.

It’s a smart way to find out what insurers like Prudential, Lincoln Financial or Transamerica really think about your particular health issues, whatever they may be.

It Doesn’t Cost as Much as You Think

Don’t be afraid. No matter what, life insurance probably isn’t as expensive as you think it is.

For instance, nearly half of millennials overestimate the cost of life insurance by about five times the actual amount, according to a 2018 study by the life insurance industry group LIMRA.

The fact is, most people who use Policygenius can get covered for less than $30 per month.

Now, if you really have health issues, you may have to pay a bit more.

Policygenius spells this out in its “Life Insurance Shopping Guide,” which it emails to you upon request. “The older, unhealthier or riskier you are to insure — for instance, if you scuba-dive — the more expensive your policy will be,” it says.

That’s why you’ll need to answer a few questions about your health and take a free medical exam. That takes about half an hour, and it can take place in your home or office, if you want.

“The healthier you are — and the less likely you are to die while the policy is active — the cheaper your life insurance will be,” Policygenius says.

Ultimately, it pays to shop around.

Mike Brassfield (mike@thepennyhoarder.com) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. He likes to comparison-shop for pretty much everything.

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

The Penny Hoarder Promise: We provide accurate, reliable information. Here’s why you can trust us and how we make money.

source The Penny Hoarder http://bit.ly/2Syyk9M

Making a Long Term Committed Relationship and Finanical Success Go Hand in Hand

Today is Valentine’s Day and for millions of couples around the world, it’s a day spent finding ways to share in some form of romantic bliss. It can be deeply meaningful for some and stressful for others. Sarah and I will celebrate today in a pretty low key style, not ignoring it but not going all out in any way. I stuck a note in her car and am making a dinner I’m sure she’ll like; she’ll likely come up with something similar for me.

For many couples, however, Valentine’s Day is just another day, another step on the long journey that is a long term committed relationship. Such relationships offer a lot of challenges, especially over an extended period of time. Stresses, changes in each person, little issues that can grow over time into big ones – they all add up to major obstacles for a successful long term relationship and/or marriage.

One of the biggest irritants in such a relationship is money. Money is often cited as the most common reason that couples fight. Financial shortfalls cause individual stress on both members of a relationship and can easily translate into blaming and intense disagreement. Even issues like agreeing on financial goals and plans can cause intense disagreement.

Early in our marriage, Sarah and I often disagreed about financial issues. We found ourselves walking a financial tightrope and struggling to keep our bills paid. This often translated into disagreement, as we would blame each other’s individual spending habits for our financial issues.

While that was an easy “surface” issue to disagree on, the real causes of our financial pain were much deeper. Those real causes are ones that I often see popping up in the money and relationship issues I notice with other couples, both in my own life and in messages from readers.

Figuring out how to resolve and fix these issues made our relationship far stronger. We’ve been married for fifteen years now. I can’t even recall the last time we had a financial disagreement that wasn’t quickly settled by a calm and rational conversation. We have no debts – not even a mortgage – and are well on our way to retiring early, ideally around the time our youngest child leaves the nest.

Here are some of the key strategies we’ve used to build our financially successful long term relationship.

Strategy #1 – Check the Blame Game

Blame for financial problems is virtually always the result of different values. If you see your partner spending money foolishly, that’s because you view financial success as having a higher priority than what your partner spent money on, whereas your partner likely views that situation in the opposite way. When you bring it up in a confrontational way, what your partner actually hears is “the things I care about are more important than the things you care about!”

Ladies and gentlemen, that is never, ever going to end well.

In a healthy relationship, there tend to be three different groups of priorities. There are the things you care about, the things your partner cares about, and the things that are of mutual concern. All three of those areas deserve respect and attention, but none of them should completely dominate the other two.

Almost all financial disagreements occur when someone sees their partner prioritizing something that’s important to just the partner over the other groups, and that can hurt. Then, if there is a problem with the things that should be a shared priority, that quickly translates into blame. “You spent money going out with your friends and we can’t even pay off the credit card bill!” That’s just another way of saying “You put a higher priority on something important to just you than something of shared importance, and that frustrates me greatly!”

Most of the time, your partner is not trying to be harmful to your relationship or to your financial state. They’re simply acting in accordance with something that they see as a high priority for themselves. They really value a particular hobby, or they really value their relationship with a few key friends. That’s part of what makes them who they are, and that should be respected.

If you want someone to respect what you care about, you have to respect what they care about and come to a balanced arrangement. You can’t simply buy into the idea that they’re somehow at “fault” for you not achieving your high-priority goal when it’s not necessarily their high-priority goal.

In other words, the very first thing you need to do is stop the blame game. If you’re in a situation where things like this are happening, both of you are struggling and you need to step back a little bit and get things in better shape.

Strategy #2 – Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

Many couples who are struggling financially avoid financial topics entirely and then blow up into an angry screaming match because of the stress of the problem and the many unresolved smaller issues underlying the financial struggles. No one will say anything for months, and then a big credit card bill comes in and we’re off to the races.

That’s an incredibly unhealthy approach to a financial partnership.

A much better approach is to openly discuss any and all financial concerns and bills and other matters as soon as they occur, before they have a chance to develop into real problems. If you have any uncertainty at all about spending money, you should talk about it with your partner, sooner rather than later. If you’re uncertain about goals or about how to progress toward a goal, you should talk about it with your partner, sooner rather than later.

These conversations are often skipped because they’re uncomfortable or they seem so minor as to not worry about it. In both cases, however, those minor bumps in the road grow into major problems that can turn into very uncomfortable and often difficult and painful conversations and arguments where both people are so emotionally invested that they can’t resolve things in a sensible way.

The trick is to not make a mountain out of a molehill, but not let a molehill fester and grow into a mountain, either.

So, how do you even do this? One good strategy is to consciously check emotions at the door. If you find yourself getting angry, defensive, or upset with any financial topic, then everyone should take a 24 hour timeout. Very few financial issues are so urgent that they can’t afford a brief break. During that timeout, think about why you’re so upset. What caused you to feel that way? Consider not just blaming others, but also your own faults. What did you do to get things to that situation?

Another solid approach is to simply review any and all bills together. This can be a very defensive thing at first, especially if you’re walking through a credit card statement where you’ve been doing some overspending, but not only does this serve as a good check on each person’s behavior, it also provides a regular window to talk about finances. There’s nothing wrong with having one person “in charge of the bills,” but both people should be involved in examining the spending.

Sarah and I used these approaches, and over time they trained us both to consider our spending choices in light of each other. If I’m about to spend money that I don’t want to show Sarah on a credit card statement… why exactly am I doing this? It’s obviously not helping our future, and thus it’s probably not helping my individual life either. Simply knowing that everything is so out in the open and available for conversation makes me second guess my own worst impulses. I don’t feel bad about spending money on things I want; I just feel bad about spending money excessively on things I want when clearly some of that money is being spent on things that are less important to me.

So, communicate frequently. When there’s something on your mind regarding finances, talk about it now when it’s minor rather than later when it’s grown into a crisis. Review bills together in an open fashion, even if it’s a bit uncomfortable at first. If you feel upset, don’t let that emotion translate into words you’ll regret – rather, take a break and reflect before you respond (this is actually a great tactic with any relationship disagreement). Over time, doing this nudges you into considering how your spending choices affect both partners, which is a vital step for financial success.

Strategy #3 – Openly and Frequently Talk About Goals and Priories and How You’ll Get There

One big thing that keeps people from making smart financial moves is the lack of some kind of concrete vision for the future, especially a shared vision. If you have an idea of what you’re working for and you know someone else is working for that very thing, it becomes incredibly powerful. You’re drawn to want to put forth effort to make that thing happen.

This is particularly true in relationships. If you and your partner have figured out what you each want out of your future and, more importantly, the things where those visions overlap, you’re going to find it much easier to make strong financial choices. Not only are you working for things you want, but your partner is, too, and you’re working for things that your partner holds dear.

One big thing to watch out for here is to make sure that the visions and goals aren’t one-sided. If they are, then the person in the relationship who wasn’t involved in really developing that vision for the future isn’t going to be invested in it. They’re going to feel like they’re being told to work hard and sacrifice for something someone else wants. That’s going to (a) build resentment and (b) result in that person not putting forth much effort toward that goal.

The best way we’ve found for overcoming this is to talk about our goals frequently, both our individual ones and our mutual ones. The thing that works best for us is that we’ll each on our own come up with a list of things that we want for our future, then we’ll sit down together and talk about them. We try to focus on the things that overlap, and then we try to figure out which of the things that don’t overlap are of the greatest importance.

Here’s a good practice for you to try if you’ve never done this. Each of you should take a week or so and individually spend some time thinking about what each of you want out of your future, both together and individually. What does your ideal life look like in ten years or twenty years? Each of you should spend some time really thinking about that question.

Then, come together and figure out what overlaps on your lists. Those should be central to your focus going forward. Beyond that, you should each identify a thing or two that’s individually important to each of you – a career goal, maybe, or something else that’s very focused on what you want out of life as an individual.

Those goals – the shared ones, your primary individual ones, and your support of your partner’s primary individual goals – should be your main goals. They should undergird a lot of what you do going forward. Knowing that you’re working with your partner on those same goals – and that your own missteps directly costs your partner – imbues them with a lot of power, especially if you talk about them frequently and keep each other updated on how those goals are going.

Strategy #4 – Pay Yourself First

One aspect of being in a relationship where you’re financially accountable to your partner is that it can feel like you’re working hard but you have no financial freedom whatsoever. This is especially true if you’re the partner who is not handling the day-to-day financial mechanics of paying bills and so on. You work hard, then your money just vanishes and you’re left with little sense of fulfillment.

One great way around this is to set up a system of “paying yourself first.” What this means is that money is directly set aside from paychecks to go toward life goals before it’s used for the everyday stuff. You’re “paying yourself first,” for example, when money is taken out of your paycheck and put into your 401(k). You’re “paying yourself first” if the first thing you do when you receive a paycheck is to make a big extra payment on a debt (without adding to that debt with your spending habits, of course).

If you set up a system of paying yourself first, preferably an automatic one, having a financial conversation with your loved one about your shared goals is a source of pride. There will be money set aside for those big goals you shared. You will be closer to a down payment or to retirement or to whatever your goal is. It doesn’t matter what else is going on – you will be closer to your big goals, and that will feel tremendous for both of you.

If you use this approach, the remaining money in your checking account should mostly be used to pay the required bills – utilities, food, insurance, basic household items, housing, basic clothing, and so on. Anything beyond that merits a conversation.

Strategy #5 – “Me” Money Really Works

While you’re “paying yourself first,” it’s well worth considering the idea of funding a small “financial freedom” account for both of you. A “financial freedom” account is a small pool of money for each of you to spend freely, without question or anger from your partner. It gives you the ability to do things that you enjoy without worrying that it’s going to upset your partner or disrupt your financial future in any way.

Doing this allows people to have their cake and eat it, too. If you’re “paying yourself first,” you know you’re working towards your own financial goals and your shared ones. If you’re also putting aside a little “financial freedom” money for both you and your partner, you’re also able to spend money occasionally without having to worry about how it will affect your partner or your goals. It works extremely well.

My wife spends her “financial freedom” money on a wide variety of things – books, sometimes, or coffee or things like that. My money usually goes toward my hobbies and for gifts for others. It’s nice having money that can be spent without worry, and as long as you keep a cap on it, it’s not financially disruptive at all.

Final Thoughts

Don’t blame each other for failure. Communicate. Check your negative emotions. Share goals. Pay yourself first so that those shared goals happen. Allow each of you some financial breathing room. Automate as much of this as you can. Make what you can’t automate into a routine.

If you’re celebrating Valentine’s Day today with your loved one, give each other a truly loving gift and sit down together and talk about those principles. Start by setting goals together over the next week, and then figure out how you’ll achieve them together.

Let today’s bit of romance turn into a strong relationship that lasts.

Good luck.

The post Making a Long Term Committed Relationship and Finanical Success Go Hand in Hand appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

Source The Simple Dollar http://bit.ly/2tqm4c5

4 Factors to Consider When You’re Choosing a High-Yield Savings Account

So you’ve made a budget, cut out unnecessary spending and found ways to earn extra income. You finally have money to set aside. Great work!

Now the question is: Where will you stash that cash?

If you just let it pile up in your checking account — or worse, stuff it under your mattress — your money won’t be working to its highest potential. You want your savings to grow!

And depending on your savings goals, there are different ways you should save. You’ll put your money in a 401(k) or an IRA if you’re saving for retirement. If you’re looking to contribute to your kid’s future college tuition bill, you might want to stash your money in a 529 savings plan.

But if you’re saving for a rainy day or trying to bulk up that emergency fund, a high-yield savings account is the perfect place to store your coins.

What Is a High-Yield Savings Account?

As of Feb. 4, 2019, savings accounts earned an average interest rate of just 0.09%. But high-yield savings accounts can earn you over 2% interest — more than 20 times what that traditional savings account might earn.

Two percent interest may not sound like a lot, but let’s take a look at a real-life example.

If you had $1,000 in a savings account that earned 0.09% interest, you’d have $1,004.51 at the end of five years, assuming the interest was compounded once annually.

If you had the same amount of money in an account earning 2% interest compounded once annually, you’d have $1,104.08 at the end of those five years. That’s $100 more to pad your savings.

How to Choose a High-Yield Savings Account

Making sure you get the highest return on your savings is a smart money move, but you’ll want to consider other factors when opening a high-yield savings account. Here are four things to think about.

1. Online vs. Traditional Bank

One of the first things to decide is whether you want to save your money at a traditional bank or one that’s online only. In the past, online banks offered better interest rates, but traditional banks have stepped up to compete.

You may prefer being able to go into a brick-and-mortar location to speak with a banker in person. Or perhaps you prefer the 24/7 convenience your online bank offers.

If you choose an online bank, find out if it belongs to an ATM network that lets you use another bank’s ATM to deposit or withdraw funds for free. If it doesn’t, you need to figure out how you’ll be able to deposit or withdraw your money. If you plan to make electronic transfers from your checking account, make sure the two accounts will link.

2. Are Your Savings Are Insured?

In December, fintech startup Robinhood announced it would offer savings and checking accounts with an industry-leading 3% interest rate. But the company had to backtrack the next day, once it was discovered that the accounts weren’t properly insured.

No matter where you open your account, make sure the money you keep in that account is insured.

If you open your account at an FDIC-insured bank, the federal government will insure your money up to $250,000. If your account is with an NCUA-insured credit union, the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund will insure your money — also up to $250,000.

3. Minimum Balance and Account Fees

Before opening your account, you should know if your account requires a minimum balance. Some accounts only apply the interest as long as you hold a certain balance, and others may charge a fee if you drop below that minimum amount. You’ll also want to check if the account issues regular maintenance fees.

And while the purpose of putting your money in a high-yield savings account is to, well, save, there is going to come a day when you’ll need to tap into those funds. Find out if your account has rules outlining how often you can make withdrawals or transfer money out of the account.

4. How Much Interest You’ll Earn

When comparing interest rates, you may notice two different percentages — the APY (annual percentage yield) and the APR (annual percentage rate).

The APY is the number you really want to know when you’re opening a savings account. It factors in how often the interest is compounded in a year — whether that’s daily, monthly, semiannually or annually — and therefore, shows the total amount of interest you’ll earn in a year. The more frequently the interest is compounded, the more you’ll earn in returns.

Nicole Dow is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder.

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

The Penny Hoarder Promise: We provide accurate, reliable information. Here’s why you can trust us and how we make money.

source The Penny Hoarder http://bit.ly/2DE0eXt

Airline Miles or Points About to Expire? Here Are Eight Easy Ways to Keep Them

Airline miles, hotel points, and flexible travel points make it easy to see the world at a discount — and sometimes even free. Unfortunately, the devil is often in the details since points and miles can be difficult to use. If you’re using airline miles in particular, you must find an award seat on the flight you want before you can redeem them. That can be pretty easy or extremely difficult, and you may not know which until you’re actually ready to book.

But worst of all are those pesky expiration dates. If you don’t use certain types of points and miles within a specific length of time, your loyalty program will simply take them away — poof!

For example, did you know that American AAdvantage miles expire after 18 months of inactivity? The same is true for United Airlines miles, Hawaiian Airlines miles, and others. Meanwhile, Southwest Rapid Rewards points expire 24 months after your last account activity.

Eight Ways to Keep Your Airline Miles and Rewards Points Alive

If you bothered to earn airline miles or hotel points, you shouldn’t let them wither away. But what if you’re not ready to travel yet? Fortunately, most loyalty programs allow you to “reset the clock” with certain types of activity. Here are seven ways to ensure your points and miles live another day.

1. Join a dining club.

If you don’t have any plans to travel any time soon, but want to keep your stash of rewards alive, a dining club may be just what you need. Airline loyalty programs like American AAdvantage, Southwest Rapid Rewards, and Delta Air Lines all have their own dining programs that let you earn miles each time you dine at a participating restaurant.

These programs tend to have “signup bonuses” you can earn right away, usually in the 1,000- to 3,000-mile range if you dine at three participating restaurants within a few months. You may only earn a few miles per dollar you spend after your bonus posts, but that’s not the point. Earning even 10 miles will count as “activity” that resets the clock for your miles to expire, so dining clubs are an easy way to buy more time.

2. Use a shopping portal.

Another way to earn easy points or miles is something you should be doing anyway — starting your online purchases by way of a shopping portal.

Most airlines and many hotel brands have their own shopping portals, as does Chase Ultimate Rewards, and each time you click through the portal to make a purchase at a participating store, you can earn additional loyalty points on stuff you’d be buying anyway.

You may only earn 1-3 miles for each dollar you spend, but these rewards can add up in a hurry. Plus, each point you earn resets the clock on your balance and buys you more time until you’re ready to redeem your rewards.

3. Pick up a co-branded credit card.

If you want to boost your point haul in a hurry, consider signing up for a credit card that lets you earn rewards in your favorite program. There are airline credit cards, hotel credit cards, and flexible travel cards to choose from, so make sure to explore your options.

Many of the best travel credit cards offer big signup bonuses worth $500 or more after you meet a minimum spending requirement within a few months. On top of that, you’ll earn points or miles for every dollar you spend.

Fortunately, these miles will serve another purpose, too: Each one you earn will start the clock over and extend the time your points remain intact.

4. Transfer points.

If you do pick up a flexible travel credit card that lets you transfer points to airline and hotel programs, keep in mind that transferring points is another way to keep your stash of rewards alive.

Let’s say you have United miles about to expire, and you have the . In that case, you could easily transfer the minimum of 1,000 Chase points to your United account to reset the expiration clock.

If you don’t have a flexible rewards credit card that lets you transfer to hotel and airline programs, now is a great time to get one! Make sure to compare travel credit cards and look for options that let you redeem in more than one way, including point transfers.

5. Take a survey.

Some rewards programs allow you to complete simple tasks to earn more points — things like tweeting a specific post on Twitter with a specific hashtag, or sharing something else on social media. These initiatives are usually a one-time thing, though, and you usually have to follow the brand on social media to find out about them.

Some programs also let you earn points or miles for completing surveys. This includes Southwest Rapid Rewards, which allows you to earn small amounts of points and miles for completing surveys through eRewards or Rewards for Opinions. You may not earn a lot of points for these surveys, but they can help you keep your balance from expiring.

6. Redeem some points.

Also note that you can keep your points alive simply by redeeming some of them. While cashing in a chunk of points for airfare or hotels will of course qualify as account activity, you may also be able to redeem fewer points for merchandise or gift cards.

Make sure to check with your program to see which options are available to you. Many airline programs allow you to redeem points for inexpensive merchandise, which can be a smart move if you need to prevent points from expiring in a hurry.

7. Make a charitable donation.

Also remember that some loyalty programs, including American and United, allow you to donate miles to a charity of your choice. You usually need to do so in increments of at least 1,000 miles, but this can allow you to restart your expiration countdown while helping others.

8. Buy points or miles.

As a last resort, many airline and hotel programs allow you to buy points or miles for their programs. These offers are generally a bad deal, since you’ll normally pay 2-3 cents per point this way (and potentially more). However, it can be money well spent if you’re otherwise about to lose a big cache of miles. You can restart your timeline for the minimum purchase, which is usually 1,000 miles.

The Bottom Line

With so many ways to keep your rewards alive, there’s no reason to let them expire. Make sure to learn about your loyalty program and know the rules so you can take steps to prolong your points until you’re ready to use them. If you forget and let them expire, you could live to regret it.

Holly Johnson is an award-winning personal finance writer and the author of Zero Down Your Debt. Johnson shares her obsession with frugality, budgeting, and travel at ClubThrifty.com.

Related:

• Six Credit Card Rewards Strategies for Family Vacations
• Chase Travel Portal Moves to Expedia: Now What?
• Five Reasons Everyone Should Get the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

The post Airline Miles or Points About to Expire? Here Are Eight Easy Ways to Keep Them appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

Source The Simple Dollar http://bit.ly/2N6KWPt

Online Dating Scams Are on the Rise — How to Save Some Heartache (and Cash)

Just when you thought dating couldn’t be any more annoying.

Last year, people reported losing $143 million to romance scams — that’s more than any other type of scam reported to the FTC. And the number is only expected to increase.

I know what you’re thinking; online dating is expensive enough, and now we have to worry about being scammed?

Don’t move to a convent just yet. There are ways to spot a romance scam and even get your money back if it happens to you.

How to Spot Online Dating Scams

Your first red flag is if they can’t meet you in person.

If someone says they’re abroad and can’t meet, you should tread carefully. If they continually make excuses about why they can’t meet, it’s best to move on.

Scammers will use excuses like memberships that are about to end to get your phone number or email address so they can communicate free from scam monitors. While even the best dating sites can miss scammers, they still have systems in place to block suspicious behavior, so don’t be fooled.

That’s how one woman lost over $50,000 in an online-dating scam. The 2.5-month relationship included over 10,000 text messages, 400 phone calls and zero first dates.

Do a Google image search for their profile pictures to see if they’ve been used anywhere else. Scammers will post well-groomed pictures with nice things in nice places. It makes you think they’re wealthy, so when they ask you for money, you trust they’ll pay you back.

If their speech reads like a bad Google translate, then it probably is a bad Google translate. And a sudden emergency is always a telltale sign of a scammer. Even if they don’t ask for money, scammers have guilted victims into giving to not-so-worthy causes.

What to Do If You’ve Been Scammed

First, don’t be embarrassed.

FTC reports of romance scams jumped from 8,500 in 2015 to more than 21,000 in 2018, so you’re not alone.

If you’ve given your banking information to anyone you believe may be a scammer, call your credit card company or bank and file a fraud victim statement with the three credit bureaus.

If you received any attachments from the scammer, update your computer’s anti-malware software and do a virus scan.

Money-transferring services are making every effort to protect victims of fraud. The BBB recommends reporting scams from as far back as 2004 to the FTC.

Jen Smith is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder and gives money saving and debt-payoff tips on Instagram at @modernfrugality.

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

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source The Penny Hoarder http://bit.ly/2EamtWB

Best WordPress Security Plugin – (Review Updated for Winter of 2019)

You wouldn’t buy a brick and mortar business without getting a lock for the front door, right? I imagine you’d probably even get an alarm system and install some cameras.

These security measures are taken to prevent break-ins, from losing money, sustaining property damage, or putting sensitive information at risk.

Your internet business is at risk for these very same things. It may even be at greater risk — the Internet makes it possible for cybercriminals to break into your website without having to leave their couch: On average, 18.5 million websites are infected with malware at any given time. The average website gets attacked 44 times per day. Of the roughly 90,000 websites that get hacked each day, 83% of them are using WordPress.

That’s why you need to take as many precautions as possible when it comes to properly securing your website.

Don’t have the “it won’t happen to me” mentality. Nobody is immune to vicious attacks. Even retail giants like Target have had data breaches that affected more than 41 million customers. That one security breach cost the company over $18 million in settlements. Something like this can be extremely damaging to your company’s online reputation.

I could go on and on all day about why your website needs to be secure, but I think I’ve made my point.

So how can you do install the security you need?

To start, WordPress has some built-in security features. It’s also crucial for you to choose a secure web hosting company — with a host like WP Engine a lot of the security features are built into your hosting plan. Beyond these steps, you can take additional measures to beef up your protections with a WordPress security plugin.

There are so many different security plugins available for your website. How can you know which one is the best WordPress security plugin?

Rather than taking weeks to go through and research all of them, you can just review the ones that I’ve listed in this guide. I’ve identified the top five WordPress security plugins of 2019. Use this information to increase your WordPress security and add credibility to your website.

1. Wordfence Security — Firewall & Malware Scan

With over two million active installs, Wordfence Security — Firewall & Malware Scan is one of the most popular WordPress security plugins available. It fights spam, malware, and other threats in real time. Unlike other plugins, Wordfence Security offers a dashboard that’s extremely user friendly. You don’t have to be a tech wizard, have a background in IT, or study cybersecurity to use this plugin.

One of my favorite parts of this plugin is the ability to see data about your overall website traffic trends. These reports will show you any attempted hacks on your site. You’ll be able to tell if traffic is coming from humans, Google crawlers, or potentially malicious bots.

Another great feature of this plugin is the country blocking option. You can block attacks that come from specific geographic regions known for high rates of cybercrime.

The free version of Wordfence Security offers plenty of features that will keep your website safe. They definitely give you more out of the box than other free security plugins. You’ll get firewall blocks and brute force attack protection.

Premium pricing starts at $99 per year. The premium version comes with added features like two-factor authentication, direct customer support assistance, and real-time IP blacklisting. The real-time IP blacklist feature blocks requests from any IP address that has attacked another WordPress website that is also using Wordfence Security. When it comes to the safety and security of your website, that’s a pretty good deal in my opinion.

2. Sucuri Security — Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening

The name of this plugin alone shows all of the extensive security features it offers. When you install Sucuri Security, you’ll benefit from things like:

• Firewall integrity monitoring
• Malware scanning
• Blacklist monitoring
• Security audits
• Security hardening
• Notifications
• Post-hack security procedures
• Website firewall

All of these features, except for the website firewall, come with the free version of Sucuri Security. If you’re looking for a cost-effective way to protect your WordPress website, Sucuri Security is a top choice. For most sites, you don’t necessarily need the website firewall offered in the premium version.

In the event of a hack or attack, Sucuri Security offers actionable steps to help you proceed with repairing any damage. Now, some of you might not love the idea of hearing something like this. But in all reality, it’s nearly impossible for any website to be 100% impenetrable. There is always the chance of something going wrong. When something goes wrong, you’ll instantly receive a notification about it so you can act immediately.

Sucuri Security is upfront about that. They aren’t going to sit there and promise that the plugin is 100% effective. Rather than making false promises, this plugin has added a feature to assist you if your site is compromised in any way. I really like that.

The security hardening provided by Sucuri Security is exceptional. It’s easy to go through and check the status of the different elements of your website to add additional security.

If you have questions, problems, or run into any trouble when you’re using the Sucuri Security plugin, you can reach the customer service team via live chat or email.

3. iThemes Security

Formerly known as Better WP Security, the iThemes Security plugin is another popular choice for WordPress users. Unlike the other plugins we’ve looked at so far, iThemes Security doesn’t offer as many free benefits, so it’s in your best interest to upgrade to the pro version if you’re going to install this plugin. The free version comes with basic security, but you won’t have access to the pro features, such as:

• Two-factor authentication
• Scheduled malware scans
• Google reCAPTCHA
• User action logs
• WordPress security keys
• Importing and exporting capabilities
• Dashboard widgets
• File comparisons
• Password security and expiration

As you can see from this list, it’s definitely worth upgrading to iThemes Security Pro, which starts at $52 per year.

With iThemes Security, users will automatically be banned after attempting too many invalid logins, which will help prevent a brute force attack on your site.

There is also a scanning feature that will identify any potential vulnerabilities for an attack. Once those areas have been identified, the plugin shows you how to repair the problems in a matter of seconds. iThemes Security even helps strengthen the security of your server. The plugin forces SSL for admin pages, posts, and other pages on supporting servers. The plugin will hide the most common WordPress security vulnerabilities that are usually targeted by hackers. You’ll receive a notification via email anytime there is a problem or potential security threat on your WordPress site.

This plugin fully integrates with your WordPress dashboard as well, which is a nice touch. It doesn’t feel like it’s intrusive, and you don’t need to navigate to any third-party platforms to add security to your site. iThemes Security also offers extensive video tutorials, which I found to be extremely helpful.

4. All In One WP Security & Firewall

All In One WP Security & Firewall is packed with free features. The interface is extremely easy to use, and you don’t need to be a technology or security expert to figure things out.

One of the reasons why this plugin made my list is because of the visual elements on the dashboard. You can get reports with graphs that explain all of the metrics related to your website’s security. Furthermore, the plugin tells you which actions you can take to improve the security of your WordPress website.

Each security feature is segmented into three categories:

• Basic
• Intermediate
• Advanced

You have the ability to apply certain firewall rules progressively in a way that won’t hinder the functionality of your website. As a result, the speed of your website won’t be slowed at all.

The plugin scans your WordPress website for vulnerabilities. After these vulnerabilities have been checked, the plugin will assist you in implementing changes to enhance your security. Everything is measured by a grading system. The grades are based on different levels of security for each element on your website.

Another top feature offered by All In One WP Security & Firewall is spam security for your comments section. Getting lots of comments on your blog posts or other website pages can be extremely beneficial for SEO purposes, but not if those comments are spam. Instead of manually checking all of your comments and deleting spam on your own, this plugin can do the work for you. It automatically detects IP addresses that are known for producing spam and blocks them from commenting. If certain addresses have exceeded a specific number of spam comments, they will even be blocked from accessing your site altogether.

I haven’t even mentioned the best part of all. This plugin is free. That’s right, 100% free. Unlike free versions of other plugins, All In One WP Security & Firewall doesn’t withhold top features and pitch upsells. It’s completely free to all WordPress users.

5. BulletProof Security

The BulletProof Security WordPress plugin isn’t necessarily as popular as some of the other plugins out there, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider it as a top choice for your website.

It claims that in the last seven years, none of the 45,000 websites that installed BulletProof Security Pro have been hacked. Impressive, though this number has some contingencies and doesn’t account for things like server hacks.

This plugin is extremely easy to install and get up and running in just a couple of clicks. The free version of BulletProof Security gives you access to features like:

• Security logs
• Security monitoring
• Malware scans
• Database backups
• Database restores
• Anti-spam tools
• Anti-hacking tools

I really like BulletProof Security’s maintenance mode. It will keep your site secure while you’re going through front-end as well as back-end updates and maintenance, times when your site would normally be more vulnerable to hacks or breaches.

While the installation and setup wizard is easy for anyone to do, overall I’d say this security plugin is geared more toward advanced WordPress developers. BulletProof Security allows you to customize so many different security settings. So, I’d say start with that version before you decide if you want to upgrade. That will at least give you a feel of the interface and navigation. If you go with the paid version, BulletProof Security offers a 30-day guarantee, so there’s no risk there either.

Conclusion

What’s the best WordPress security plugin?

It’s tough to name one as the definitive best, but I’ve been able to narrow down the top five for you to consider in 2019. It all depends on what you’re looking for.

Some of these plugins have more advanced features than others, which aren’t always necessary for all websites. Some plugins are easier for beginners, while others are better for advanced developers.

Do you want a free WordPress security plugin? Or do you want a pro version with annual charges?

All of this needs to be taken into consideration when you’re picking the best security plugin for your website. I’m confident you’ll find what you need on the list above.

Source Quick Sprout http://bit.ly/2Gu0gVV