True to his word, Skancke leaves alliance after short stint

When Tom Skancke was appointed the first president and CEO of the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance, he told the board members who hired him that he wasn’t in for the long haul. He was true to his word.

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How girl, 8, became mini-mogul

SHE’S only eight years old, but young entrepreneur Lyla Black is taking New York by storm, creating a range of stuffed toys only a kid could imagine.

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10 Things You Should Never Buy Used

It’s tempting to accept a secondhand crib from relatives or friends, but beware: Many of them have been recalled or discontinued because of major safety issues, even as recently as 2011. Photo: Cody Long

Whether you’re trying to save money or be less wasteful in general, shopping at secondhand stores, garage sales, and flea markets is a good strategy. Not only do you get to save an item from the landfill, but you can usually pay a fraction of the retail cost.

Of course, some items work better than others when it comes to a second life. Used gym equipment, tables, and dishes make great secondhand buys, for example. Not only can you clean them up easily, but a quick wash can leave them in “like new” condition. Likewise, used clothing can also be an excellent value. After paying pennies on the dollar for your new shirt or skirt, all you need to is throw it in the washer.

10 Items You Shouldn’t Buy Secondhand

But some items aren’t meant to be bought, used, and resold. Sometimes there’s a safety issue or hazard, other times it’s the unknown that poses the greatest risk. Here are 10 items you should never buy used unless you understand the risks:

Baby Cribs

After multiple baby and toddler deaths, the Consumer Product Safety Commission banned drop side cribs in 2011. Meanwhile, many other crib bans and safety recalls have taken place due to hazards such as lead paint, strangulation, or other dangers. If you’re unsure of whether a used crib has been recalled, you can conduct some research on your own at CPSC.gov.

Car Seats

Although used car seats can be bought for pennies on the dollar, that doesn’t always make them a good value. Not only do car seats have an expiration date or “shelf life” you should pay attention to, but there is often no way to know if a car seat has been damaged or compromised.

The fact that safety technology improves every year is another reason to just buy new if you’re in doubt. If you do choose to buy used, you should at least buy from someone you know who can verify that seat has never been involved in an accident.

Mattresses

Good mattresses are very expensive, so buying one used might seem like a good deal, but it rarely is. Although you’ll save a bundle upfront, a used mattress will almost always have bodily fluids, dust mites, and pounds of dead skin embedded deep in the fabric. Even worse, a mattress infested with bed bugs could easily cost you thousands of dollars in extermination fees. The Environmental Protection Agency lists some telltale signs you can list for when checking for bed bugs, but they certainly aren’t foolproof.

Makeup

While it’s generally okay to buy unopened makeup from an individual, you should never buy makeup that has been used in any capacity. Why? Because used makeup harbors all kinds of bacteria that you don’t want near your ears, eyes, and mouth. Yuck. 

Vacuum Cleaners

Have you ever heard of someone unloading a vacuum that still works great? Yeah, me neither. Most people sell their vacuums and get a new one when their old one stops doing its job. Plus, you never know what that vacuum was used for, and how many dust mites and bacteria are lurking inside. If you’re looking to save money on a vacuum cleaner, try a factory refurbished or reconditioned model or check the scratch-and-dent section.

Shoes

Although it might be fine to purchase lightly worn used footwear, experts warn against buying used shoes that have been worn on a regular basis. Since shoes mold to their owner’s feet, a heavily used pair could cause you pain or even health problems over time.

Baby Bottles

While “newer” used bottles might be fine after you sanitize them, experts caution against stocking up on bottles that are more than a few years old. Why? Because many older bottles contain BPA – a chemical that was banned for use in baby bottles by the FDA in 2012. If you’re unsure whether a used bottle is BPA-free, you’re better off buying new.

Worn Cookware

While sturdy pots and pans may be an exception, you should never buy a piece of cookware with a flaky or worn non-stick coating. The chemicals contained in non-stick coatings such as Teflon can leech out into your food while you’re cooking. In other words, the savings you earn by buying used cookware might come with a side of unsavory chemicals and potential carcinogens.

Upholstered Furniture

Similar to used mattresses, used furniture is often home to dust mites, bacteria, and even bed bugs. And since you can’t throw a used sofa in the washer, you may never get it 100% clean. The bottom line: Only buy upholstered furniture from someone whose cleanliness you trust – not from strangers!

Hats

Although used hats can cost pennies on the dollar compared to new, that doesn’t make them a good bargain. The fact is, used hats may have never been washed – and may even be impossible to wash. Therefore, a used hat will usually contain someone’s hair, dead skin, and sweat — not to mention the potential for head lice. Ewww.

If you’re shopping secondhand to save, you’re definitely on the right track. Still, there are times when buying used presents a huge hazard or risk that makes the savings a moot point. The next time you’re shopping for a secondhand item, ask yourself these questions:

• Will this item fit in my washer?
• Can I clean and sanitize this item thoroughly?
• Can I verify its history?
• Do I know this item is safe?

If you answer “no” to any of these questions, you’re probably better off sucking it up and buying new. Because sometimes, the savings just aren’t worth it.

What items would you add to the list? What items do you refuse to buy secondhand?

The post 10 Things You Should Never Buy Used appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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What Growing Up in a Korean Household Taught Me About Money

Are you familiar with the term TCK, or third-culture kid? It’s a term used to describe people who were raised outside of their parents’ culture for a majority of their lives.

My father is Pakistani and my mother is Korean. We lived in Korea until I was three years old, and then we moved to Hong Kong. My father was happy for my mom to raise my brother and with Korean values and ideals, so our household was largely dictated by Korean traditions. My mother had seen a lot of TCKs grow up to feel indifferent towards their home cultures, or even worse, have a confused sense of identity, so she made sure I grew up with a sense of belonging and commitment to Korean culture.

Out of all the important things my family has taught me, it’s their approach to money that I find myself relying on regularly. As I learned in my travels, Koreans look at money in a totally different way than people in other countries. The attitude towards money in Hong Kong is very similar to that in Korea, so I didn’t realize that my money habits were different than those of others I met until I moved to India for high school. It was an international boarding school, so I met people from all over the world and with completely different ideals. And when I came to the United States for college, I finally figured out how much my upbringing shaped my views on money.

The money habits my mom instilled in me wound up defining my entire approach to personal finance. Here are the rules I’ve always lived by — rules that anyone can apply to help save money.

1. Never Waste Food

Want to really annoy my family? Have a meal with us but don’t finish it.

Wasting food was a sin in our household, and we were expected to eat everything on our plate, down to the very last grain of rice. While this was sometimes frustrating, I’ve kept this mindset throughout my life. I cringe whenever I see a friend fail to finish a meal or – even worse – throw out good food.

It’s funny because some of my friends always made it a point to joke about how I ate like a starved child. But to me, it was pretty much second nature. My mom once told me that even leaving a spoonful of food on my plate would accumulate to a massive amount of waste if I did it constantly. Hearing this made me feel guilty enough to never waste food again, as long as it was edible.

2.  Save as Much as Possible

Going back generations, my family always strived to save everything we could to make enormous purchases and prepare for possible emergencies. Most other Korean families were the same way. We were all expected to save for the future while forgoing some of the minor luxuries other people might be enjoying.

In fact, saving money in Korea is so important that Savings Day is a national event marked on Korean calendars. Although economic uncertainty has dropped the national savings rate from a high of nearly 25% in 1988 to 3.4% in 2012, savings is always at the back of our minds. And there’s almost a sense of guilt when we spend instead of save.

As a kid, this was frustrating because my mom used to take away all my birthday money and new year’s blessing money. Even when I worked during college, she used to make me save 80% of my monthly income. I used to complain that she was cutting down my expenditures as if she was a professional cost auditor, because she really was ruthless when it came down to minimizing our spending.

This is mainly because she was born in the ‘50s, when Korea was still one of the poorest countries in the world (the per capita income during those days was even lower than Iraq, Liberia and Zimbabwe). It’s funny because, now that I’m an adult, I’m glad I was taught this. It took a good two decades for me to finally understand why she was so adamant about saving as much as possible.

Family is the center of life in Korea. With these close ties, it’s common for several generations to live together – including adult children. In the West, living at home after college often has a negative stigma, but that doesn’t exist in Korea. By living with our families, we’re able to scrimp and save enough for the future, thinking long term and toughing it out in the short term.

3. Only Use Cash

Growing up, if we didn’t have cash for something, we didn’t buy it. By not using credit, we were able to live within our means and only buy the essentials. Not all debt is bad, of course, but that’s how we chose to live.

This aversion to debt has stayed with me to this day, despite my expensive but rewarding decision to study in the U.S. I was lucky enough to not need any student loans, but as an international student, my application process required financial statements as proof to show that I had access to at least a year’s worth of tuition up front — in cash.

Korea has had a number of financial crises in my lifetime, which saw many heavily in-debt companies fail spectacularly. Each one of these crises seems to scare people away from using credit for a while. That’s beginning to change, as younger Koreans have recently become more accepting of debt. My mother, however, still believes cash is king. I now have a credit card for convenience, but I always make sure to pay off the balance in full, and on time.

4. Bargain for Everything You Possibly Can

The art of haggling is a skill that most Koreans pride themselves on. Prices aren’t always set in stone, and if there’s a chance we can save some money, we’re going to at least make an attempt.

Most streets in Korea are lined with street vendors, and there is an abundance of market-style shopping complexes where you can haggle for anything from clothes to electronic gadgets. In addition, it’s not uncommon for people to negotiate their rent or even phone service plans. And every local Korean knows that you can haggle with restaurant servers for extra food or karaoke establishments for extra hours.

Outsiders might find this whole ordeal stressful and possibly even offensive to the seller, but it’s nothing like that. It’s a good-natured discussion where both the buyer and the seller try to come away happy with the deal. There are some theatrics involved, with fake pouting and feigned shock about the initial price quoted, but it’s all part of the game, and I’ve played it many times before.

5. Always Live Frugally

You might be surprised considering the flashiness of some of our K-Pop stars, but Koreans as a whole like to live frugally regardless of the size of their salaries — especially for older generations. My parents taught me to be humble and always save for a rainy day. Most of my friends were brought up the same way.

As tempting as it is to buy fun — yet frivolous — things, this lesson from my family made a huge impact on me. Discipline is an important part of our culture. In the 1990s, the government even launched a nationwide frugality campaign to steer people away from buying expensive luxury goods. The movement was so successful that it drew complaints from the U.S. and Europe, who produced most of these products.

That goes to show just how much we value frugality.

Lessons Learned

I’ve carried these lessons from my family with me across the world, and they’ve never done me wrong. They’ve helped me take care of myself and my money. For that, I want to give a big thanks to my family for everything they’ve taught me. I can’t imagine where I’d be — financially or otherwise — without them.

Your Turn: What money lessons did you learn growing up? How have they helped you manage your finances as an adult?

Anum Yoon started and maintains Current on Currency, where she shares her hard-earned insights on money management. You can follow her on Twitter @anumyoon.

The post What Growing Up in a Korean Household Taught Me About Money appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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At SLS Las Vegas, things may worsen before they get better

As SLS Las Vegas nears its one-year anniversary in August, it’s become clear the north Strip hotel is having trouble finding its niche in the resurgent Strip market.

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Observers watching strict new construction-defect rules

Real estate observers said they’re watching how strict construction-defect rules that took effect in February will shape the market for condominiums and townhomes.

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PMED helps shepherd $3M in LSA funds to Monroe

The Pocono Mountains Economic Development Corp. is widely recognized for ardently recruiting businesses into the area and Chuck Leonard has worked with Middle Smithfield Township toward getting a a Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistant program, an abatement toward business improvements and expansion.But it also has worked toward getting funding for businesses with grant writing under PMED Marketing Director Michele Bisbing to the Commonwealth Financing Authority that led to half [...]

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Leonard getting more inquiries from companies

As Kalahari Resort with its $200 million hotel and indoor waterpark in Pocono Manor officially opened this past week and Aquatopia indoor waterpark at Camelback Mountain opened with an accompanying new hotel complex in May, optimism has risen in the commercial sector for more business growth and job creation in the Pocono Mountains region.It has helped generate new interest from corporates toward the Pocono Mountain Economic Development Corp offices in Mount Pocono where executive [...]

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East Stroudsburg BoroughHuseyin and Zeynep Cagatay to GAC Realty LLC, Property South Courtland Street, containing 850 square feet, same premise as Pocono Gas Stations, inc., $245,000Middle Smithfield TownshipMark Walter and Teresa Ann Lazor to Angela Lynette Logan-Smith, Lot 262, Phase II, Big Ridge, $249,900Mount Pocono BoroughMillet 21st Century Ventures L P (By Gen Partner) Millet 21st Century Ventures L [...]

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Lending manager: Prime time for homebuyers

At the time of filing this column, it remains uncertain whether the Fed will end the long hold on the prime interest rate hovering in the low 3 percentile (with a consumer’s good credit history) for home mortgages. But ESSA Bank and Trust Lending Services Division Manager Chuck Hangen says it’s business as usual for homebuying with his division despite that uncertainty for the second half of the year.“It has not affected the real estate market,” said Hangen, [...]

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Great at Planning, Terrible at Executing: Ten Strategies for Becoming a Doer

Most people are pretty good at coming up with ideas for the future, and many of us are pretty good at developing plans to achieve those things.

I know I certainly am. If you were to take a look at my pocket notebook, many of the things in there are ideas for things I want to do followed by a page or two of details on how I could do it.

In just the last ten or twelve pages of my pocket notebook, I have plans for a novel, a nonfiction book, a video series about board games, a complete revamp of my home beer making process, an exercise routine, and an improved DIY home security system.

Will I ever do those things? Most likely, I won’t.

Yet when I step back and look at the big projects I’ve actually executed in my life, the number is relatively small. I built The Simple Dollar out of nothing. I paid off all of our debts – a total that added up well into the six figures. I completed a few additional large-scale professional projects, each taking a year or more of my professional life. I’ve also completed several quite large but comparatively smaller projects, both personally and professionally. And… that’s it.

Like almost everyone else on Earth, I’m good at planning and relatively quite awful at actually executing those things.

Over the last few years, though, I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on the big projects that I have achieved in my life and what set them apart. How did I take those great plans and execute on them then and then fail to execute on plans now?

Along the way, I came to realize several things about the most successful plans in my life. And, recently, I’ve been trying to use these steps to accomplish a goal I’ve had for a long time. I’m essentially self-educating myself through a college major, using all of the same books and readings and lectures one would need to go through to major in philosophy (using a pastiche of materials from different universities available online). It’s going slowly, as it’s a very big project, but it is moving forward with a progression that makes me very happy.

These ten strategies seem to be working in my own life. Hopefully, they’ll work in your own life.

Strategy #1 – Commit to At Most Two Central and Important Goals at a Time

We all have busy lives, with lots of responsibilities and interests of various sizes. Those things pull us in a lot of different directions at once, keeping us from bearing down on anything with a strong central focus.

Often, whether we notice it or not, we are working on several big projects at once in life. Whether it’s maintaining our job, being a good spouse, being a good parent, executing a community responsibility, or even something as simple as watching through the entirety of a lauded television series or reading a book series, we often have several projects going on at the same time in our lives.

It is that splitting of our focus that keeps us from hitting a home run with whatever additional projects we add to the mix. It’s like adding yet another scoop of ice cream to an overflowing bowl. Eventually, you’re going drop one of those scoops and it’s going to be messy.

Instead, I encourage you to take a much different approach to the problem. Choose at most two of the big projects in your life and make them the central focus of your time and energy. Yes, you have other responsibilities you’re going to have to take care of. That’s fine. View those other responsibilities as supporting your main goals.

So, let me give you an example from my own life. Right now, I have two major projects that are central in my life. One is my immediate family – my wife and kids – and ensuring that they are truly happy and taken care of and have good relationships with everyone else. The other one is my aforementioned study of philosophy, which I’m engaging in because it is improving how I think.

The other responsibilities I have in my life are all subservient to those two main projects. I take my writing responsibilities with great seriousness because they provide income to support my family and they sometimes let me put some of those philosophical ideas into my own contexts and writings. I take care of our home and possessions and make meals, but, again, those are all connected to taking care of my family. I have a few community responsibilities, but they’re related to my family, too. I try to keep myself in good health so that I have energy and lasting health for my family and for what I’m learning.

What have I thrown away? Aside from a few minor hobbies that simply provide a “release valve” for me – home beer making, board games, and reading things besides philosophy – I don’t really do anything else with my spare time. I don’t watch television other than a rare family program or something I watch late in the evening with Sarah. I don’t play computer games or video games with the exception of ones I play with my children (which is a huge turnaround from my substantial play of League of Legends a few years ago).

Those two projects really are the focus of my life at this point. Almost everything I do is related to one or the other of them.

Strategy #2 – Break Your Plan Down to Tiny Tasks

So, what’s my plan with each of those goals?

With my family, it’s simply to ensure that they are happy, they have a strong relationship with me that they can rely on, and that my children are raised to be thoughtful, intellectually curious, and independent people.

With my studies, it’s simply to study enough philosophy to be roughly equivalent to a college degree in the area.

From there, I can start breaking down those big goals into plans. The philosophy study is easy – I’m just following a degree plan that I synthesized by looking at the course catalogs of several universities. The family plan is a bit trickier as much of it involves around consistently doing a bunch of things like keeping care of the house, providing an income, spending time with everyone, engaging in educational activities with them, encouraging personal growth, having fun with them by doing simple things like playing kickball, and so on.

The thing is, those tenets are still far too big and nebulous. They don’t really mean anything at that level.

They need to be broken down into tiny, tiny actions that I can take on right now. We’re talking pieces that are half an hour or less in length.

For the study goal, I can break it down into a single reading and add that to my to-do list. I figure out what class I’m taking, what session of that class I’m on, and what readings and other materials are required, and then I just bite off that chunk. If the reading is big, I break it down even further.

With my family, it involves things like basic housework tasks, but it also involves things like doing something with each family member one-on-one each day (like reading my youngest child a book or playing a game with my oldest child). It also involves getting some exercise.

Those are specific next steps that I can take to move forward on these goals. I try to keep them very small so that I can knock them off of my to-do list with ease.

You can essentially do this with any goal. How can you move forward today in terms of paying off your debts? Well, you can take on a frugal project, you could negotiate with your credit card company, and so on. Almost any big goal or project you have can be broken down like that.

Strategy #3 – Eliminate Distractions

Life is full of distractions, from cell phone games to interesting websites, from enjoyable television programs to idle conversations with friends, from the best restaurants and snacks to simple daydreaming.

Every time we allow ourselves to get caught in a distraction, we take away from the things we really want to accomplish in life.

I struggle with this myself. I often get caught up in interesting websites and online discussions that really aren’t very productive at all. I often catch myself playing with my cell phone when I shouldn’t be, taking my focus away from whatever is going on in front of me. Those distractions – and many others – take me away from my goals.

The best response I’ve found? Cut out any and all distractions from whatever it is you’re focusing on.

I often turn my cell phone completely off when I’m trying to focus on something. Yeah, I might miss a notification or a text. So what? I can check them later.

I often close my office door to focus on things. This reduces the sounds that might distract me and keeps people from coming in when I’m trying to blow through a particular task.

I have a program that blocks time-wasting websites so that I don’t get sucked into a black hole of Facebook or discussion forums (I find the “nuclear option” to be really, really useful).

I’ve deleted virtually all computer games from my computer.

You get the idea. I’ve simply cut out a lot of the things that distract me. That enables me to put my focus on the things that actually matter, and it makes a tremendous difference. I get things done much faster and actually have time and focus for the important things in my life.

Strategy #4 – Set Up “Triggers” for Positive Behaviors

At the end of each day, I spend a bit of time thinking about some of the stuff I want to do the next day to move forward on my projects and the specific tasks I want to execute (as discussed in Strategy #1).

For each of those, I try to find a way to “trigger” those things.

For example, let’s say I need to read a section in Plato’s Republic and take notes on it. I’ll set out the book, bookmark the places I need to start and finish, and put my notebook and a pen out next to it.

Let’s say I want to play a particular board game with my oldest son. I’ll set that game out on the table right now.

That way, during the next day, those pieces are already in place, making it really easy to just jump into those things.

In fact, this whole process has been really useful for me in terms of moving forward with my two big central projects. I just sit down the evening before, come up with the things I want to complete the next day, and set things up to make those tasks easy to start (and thus complete).

Let’s say your task for tomorrow is to make four pans of homemade lasagna and stick three of them in the freezer. One way you can “trigger” this is by setting out all of the non-refrigerated ingredients and equipment you’ll need on the table and stovetop right now so that it is ready to go in the morning. You’ll see it and already feel like some of the effort is done, so you’re much more likely to dive right into it and get it done.

Strategy #5 – Block Off Time for Your Project

If you’re focused on one or two singular goals in your life, it shouldn’t be too much of a stretch to block off significant parts of your day for each of those singular goals.

Make it happen. Go to your calendar and literally block off some of your day for direct progress on those goals.

I block off two hours a day right now for philosophy reading and study. It’s what I do during those hours. I shut off distractions as much as humanly possible and either watch a lecture, do some reading, or do some thinking and formulating responses to what I’ve read or heard.

I block off two to three hours a day in the evening for family time each and every day, and some days I devote most of the day to it.

Those types of devoted time blocks might be difficult for you, but if they are, it’s a sign that you have a bunch of other things in your life that you’re assigning a higher priority to than your supposed “priority” projects. If you’re finding it difficult to devote real time each day to the one or two things you really want to succeed at, then you’re not really interested in succeeding at those things.

Find the time. Cut out other distractions and other things that aren’t related to those things. Yes, this might mean eliminating other things you find “fun.” It’s worth it. Few things are more “fun” than nailing it at something you’ve really wanted out of life.

Want to really get in shape fast? Block off two hours for exercise each day and maybe one hour for healthy meal preparation. If you do that and actually follow through for a while, you’re going to be an animal. Why don’t people follow through? They don’t block off the time.

Strategy #6 – Set One Specific Micro-Task to Complete Each Day

Here’s the thing: I can block off all the time in the world, but that still doesn’t guarantee that I’ll actually do the thing I want to do. Simply devoting time doesn’t guarantee success.

Another problem: sometimes life just throws things at you that you don’t expect. Those new challenges can sometimes throw all of your plans for a loop, cutting right into the time you’ve set aside and disrupting everything you want to do.

Yet another problem: it’s often hard to really determine whether a block of time has been successful or not. Did you really achieve something there? Or did you just waste time?

For me, I’ve found a lot of success in addressing all of these things at once by defining one small thing that’s the key criteria for success. Usually, that small thing puts me in a position where it is incredibly easy to do more than that – and usually I do far more – but it’s that tiny thing that really defines success.

For my philosophy study, the one thing that defines success each day is whether I spent time reading and taking notes on one single page of a book or one single minute of a lecture. That’s it. If I managed to do that, then today is a success. Naturally, if I’m already in position to do those things, it’s really easy to do more – and I often do a lot more.

For my family, it’s as simple as this: did I spend one minute one on one focused with each other member of my family and one minute focused on a family need? That totals five minutes – one for my wife, one for each child, and one for some sort of household or family care task. Naturally, it’s really easy to do much more than that once I’m already doing it.

Maybe your goal is different. Maybe your micro-goal is to simply choose not to spend money once today during a time when you would normally have spent that money. Maybe it’s something as simple as setting foot in that gym where you have a membership.

Whatever it is, make that your threshold of success for today. Then, try to build a chain of those successes. I actually use a wall calendar for this, marking each day I succeed at one goal with a purple X on that day and a red X for the other goal. Once I start building a long chain of X’s, I don’t want to break that chain. That motivates me to at least achieve the minimal amount each day, and that minimum amount virtually always encourages me to do more.

Strategy #7 – Be Extremely Clear on the Reasons for the Project – and Keep Those Reasons in Focus

Why do I want to do this?

That’s my question that I think about with my big projects. What is my reason for even wanting this.

The family goal is easy to articulate. I want very strong relationships with each person there. I want my wife to have a wonderful life. I want my children to grow into thoughtful, independent, intellectually curious, and self-reliant individuals.

The study goal is a bit different and more difficult to articulate, but it mostly comes down to clarity of thought. I want to be able to understand the world a little better and have better approaches for thinking through the problems of life.

Those reasons remain front and center all the time when I think about those goals.

With my family, I think about the people I hope my children become. I think about the strong moments in my relationship with Sarah. And I also reflect on potential bad outcomes if I don’t follow through.

With my study, I think about those big moments of insight and discovery I’ve had, and I also think about those moments of frustration where some idea is almost within my grasp but it slips away.

I try to keep those thoughts in my mind as much as possible. I reflect on them each day as I’m thinking about what I achieved today and what I hope to achieve tomorrow.

Strategy #8 – Couch Your Efforts in Positivity

Whenever I succeed at whatever threshold I’ve set for success for myself, I intentionally pat myself on the back for it. I intentionally think positively about it.

I often look back at how far I’ve come and what I’ve achieved in my goals. I look at the good side of the relationship I have with my family members (and it is almost entirely good). I look at the progress I’ve made in my studies and the things I’ve learned.

And I’m proud of it. I let myself feel very proud of it, and that feels good.

I relish that good feeling. I don’t want it to go away at all, and I know that the best way to keep it going is to keep moving forward on the projects at hand.

I dig into those positive feelings whenever I cross that minimum threshold for the day. I dig into those positive feelings whenever I finish a block of time devoted to a project. I dig into those positive feelings at the end of the day when I reflect on what I did that day and what I’ll do tomorrow.

It makes the whole project feel much more positive and uplifting and often helps carry me through when it becomes a struggle.

Strategy #9 – Allow Yourself to Plan Other Goals, But Set Those Plans Aside without Execution

Like many people, I often make plans for big goals and ideas I might have. I’ll draw up a great plan for redoing my home brewing system, or sketch out ideas for a board game design project, or come up with an exercise plan, or so on. I’ll often sketch these out in my pocket notebook.

However, once I’ve done that a little, I intentionally set them aside as “someday” projects. I don’t even really allow myself to move forward into execution, even a little bit (unless it’s a very small project).

Why? It’s going to end in failure. I know that it is.

That new project would simply mean that I’m splitting my time more than before and trying to squeeze more into what amounts to an already full day. That’s not going to add up to success over the long haul.

So, I commit these things to a “someday/maybe” notebook that I have. It includes sketches for many, many different projects that I’ve thought about but not really committed to.

At some point, my focus might change. My children will grow up, after all, and at some point I will either finish out the philosophy studies or decide a different direction is more urgent.

At that point, I may then take up one of those “someday/maybe” plans and do my best to run with it. I’ll flesh it out using many of the strategies described here and elevate it to one of my major focuses in life.

Until then, I’ll make plans, enjoy the process of planning, and then intentionally put them aside. After all, it’s really the doing that matters, not the planning.

Strategy #10 – Share Your Plans with a Trusted Circle and Ask for Suggestions and Reinforcement

Once you’ve committed to a major life project, share that project plan with a trusted circle of family, friends, mentors, and advisors.

Before you do that, think it through. If you’re going to devote a couple of hours a day to something, what are you giving up to make that happen? Where is the time coming from? Why is this goal important to you? How exactly will you execute it? Write all of that stuff out before you share your plan.

There are two big reasons for sharing your plans with this trusted circle.

One, they will help you see holes in that plan. Some of the criticisms might be strange and not worthwhile, but many of the criticisms will be. They’re worth thinking about and they will help you strengthen whatever it is you’re trying to pull off.

Two, they can become a source of inspiration and forward motivation. Lots of people you value and care about now know about your goal. This simple fact alone can be a motivator, but it can go beyond that, too. You have people to talk to when you need advice or suggestions or when you simply need encouragement. They know the struggle you’ve chosen to take on. Plus, you’ll know which ones are positive about it and those are the ones that are likely to offer positive support.

My family provides a lot of encouragement for almost any goal I work on. Beyond that, I have several friends who are very positive about both of my goals. In particular, I have a friend of mine who is a philosophy professor who has been incredibly positive and encouraging about my self-study of philosophy. Those people make my goals achievable and exciting.

Final Thoughts

I use these strategies together on the big projects I’m facing right now in life, but I can also see them at work in my own past on the projects I’ve succeeded on before. All of these things were present to some degree in my professional successes, my success in starting The Simple Dollar, and my personal finance turnaround.

On the other hand, when it comes to the things I’ve failed at, many of the pieces above were missing from the picture. I didn’t think positively or set daily goals for myself or block off devoted time or set triggers or have people to motivate and encourage me.

If there’s something you want to achieve in your life, whether it’s a big professional success, turning around your personal finances, getting in better physical shape, or whatever it may be, use these strategies. In fact, use as many of them as you can, all at once. Make it happen for yourself.

You’ll be glad you did, both today and in the future.

The post Great at Planning, Terrible at Executing: Ten Strategies for Becoming a Doer appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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The Miracle Morning: Interview With Author Hal Elrod

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Smack snooze button.

Back to sleep.

10 minutes later….

Rise and repeat.

This was my typical sleep routine every morning.

Most people assume that since that I was in the military that I’m naturally a morning person.

#notevenclose

I’m a bonafide night owl. I usually get my second and sometimes third wind after 9pm.

In fact, when I started my blog this is when I did most of my blogging. I was up many a night writing and hammering out blog post ideas. I used to be super productive in the evenings.

That was, however, before kids. Especially, after our 3rd son.

I started noticing that my blogging activities were turning into mindless Facebook and Buzzfeed sessions. I was wrongfully convincing myself that I was being productive but the truth was finally coming out.

I needed a change and that change happened when I read the Miracle Morning.

 

MY MIRACLE MORNING EXPERIENCE

There are only a handful of books that I can say have honestly changed me for the better.

A few that come to mind are the Bible, Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Rad, Poor Dad, Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover, and Tim Ferriss’ 4 Hour Work Week.

Now added to the list is Hal Elrod’s The Miracle Morning.

Before reading Hal’s book I would usually roll out of bed at 7am.

Now I typically get up around 5am.  And one some of my more crazing Miracle Mornings I’ve woken up at 3:30am.

Yes, #craycray.

But the craziest thing is that the mornings that I wake up before 5am are usually some of the most productive mornings and days I’ve had in my life.

I’m hooked!

I was elated to have Hal on the podcast to share his journey and what inspired him to start a morning routine.

I promise you’re going to love this interview.

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• HalElrod.com
• The Miracle Morning
• The 5 Minute Journal

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County to auction land near Laughlin for solar development

Clark County officials hope to spur solar energy development on thousands of acres of county-owned land near Laughlin, after a larger effort to boost development fizzled.

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17 creative ways to save money at Disneyland

The “happiest place on earth” is a top destination on many families’ bucket lists, though admittedly, it’s not the most budget-friendly vacation spot. However, if you plan ahead, this magical, unforgettable destination doesn’t have to put a large dent in your budget.

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Confederate flag controversy has rebel-themed items flying off shelves

As national debate swirls around the Confederate flag, Las Vegas business owners say products with its emblem are suddenly hot sellers.

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Investing AND Borrowing Through Prosper

Want to know how to avoid your bank? If so, read on…..

Founded in 2005, Prosper is the first peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace in the US.

Since it began, it has funded loans totaling more than $3 billion to more than 250,000 members.

As a P2P platform, Prosper brings borrowers and investors together, in a lending arrangement that eliminates the middleman from the transaction entirely.

That “middleman” is the banker.

By taking that function out of process, Prosper allows both borrower and lender to come together to create a mutually beneficial financial arrangement.

Borrowers can take loans ranging from $2,000 to $35,000, and for terms of either three years or five years. Individual investors can invest as little as $25 in any one loan, which enables them to diversify their holdings over many different loans.

Prosper acts as the servicing agent on the loans, handling the technical details of each loan, collecting payments, and remitting repayments to investors. Legally known as Prosper Funding LLC, Prosper is a wholly owned subsidiary of Prosper Marketplace, Inc.

Is Prosper Legit?

In one word YES!  Prosper has been around for ten years now.  In the world of the Internet that is an eternity.  As we cover the reviews of Prosper for borrowers and lenders you will see that this is a well maintained and viable way to invest and borrow money.  Prosper is subject to state and federal regulations, just like any loan producing organization is.  To put an even more legitimate light on the company, all loans that are originated through Prosper.com are made by WebBank.  This is an industrial bank that is chartered in Utah and a member of the FDIC.

On a more personal level, I have personally been investing in Prosper for several years now.  A couple of years ago I started a comparison of Prosper vs. Lending Club and had very good results from both companies on my investments.  Lending Club is the number one competitor to prosper in the peer to peer loan market.  I have had very good luck with them and you can use my Lending Club review to do a full comparison of the two.

Investing Through Prosper

Borrowers come to the platform and choose a loan amount and a loan purpose, and then post their loan listing on the site. This gives investors an opportunity to review the loan listings to determine if it meets their criteria. Once a lender (or more likely, a group of lenders) agrees to fund a loan, the loan is formally created.

As an investor, your participation is very simple. You determine your investment criteria, choose the loans that you want to invest in, and borrower payments are then direct deposited into your Prosper account. You will have an opportunity to earn returns on fixed income type investments that are much higher than what you can find on fixed income investments like certificates of deposit or Treasury bills.

Open an Investment Account with Prosper

Investor Requirements

Prosper requires you to be a US resident, at least 18 years of age, and to have a valid Social Security number.

There are also various state requirements, that vary depending upon which state you live in. Typical requirements include a minimum income of $70,000 per year and/or a minimum net worth of $250,000. It’s also typical for states to require that you need to purchase notes in an amount that is no greater than 10% of your investment net worth.

Prosper IRA

You can use your Prosper investment account for an IRA, just as you would any other type of investment vehicle. You can either fund the account directly, or you can transfer money from another IRA into your Prosper IRA. You can accomplish either simply by completing the Prosper IRA input page.

Choosing Notes to Invest In

This process is made easier with Prosper’s Quick Invest feature. Using this tool, you can establish your specific investment criteria and in which you define what type of loans are acceptable to you. Quick Invest will sift through the list of potential loans, and identify those loans that most closely approximate your criteria.

Once the narrow list of loans appears, you will have the opportunity to either confirm the entire set of loans to invest in immediately, or you can do a deeper review of each individual loan and choose them one by one. This gives you complete control over which loans you will invest in.

To give you a good idea as to the types of loans that are available, you can check out the Browse Listings page and see what’s available.

Collecting Investment Returns

There’s one important aspect in which P2P loans are different from traditional fixed income investments, and that is that they are self-amortizing. While you will receive monthly payments on each loan that you hold in your Prosper portfolio, it’s important to understand that each payment comprises both interest and principal, and will pay off the loan completely in either three or five years.

What this means is that if you invest $1,000 into a single five year note, at the end of five years, the loan will be completely paid off. Unlike a certificate of deposit, the payments are not exclusively interest, and you will not receive your original investment back at the end of the term. Since it is paid off, the loan no longer exists.

This will also affect your rate of return. Unless you reinvest your loan repayments into new notes, your interest income gradually decline as the loan portfolio you’re invested in slowly amortizes. Reinvestment will be a priority if you want to keep your rate of return high.

Loan Types and Loan Grading

Loans are graded based on credit grading and loan term. AA is the highest grade, while HR is the lowest. Loan pricing is also based on the term of the loan, which is either three years or five years. A five-year loan will be considered to be higher risk than a three-year, and will require a slightly higher price.

Rates charged can vary from a low of 5.32% for a AA grade for a three year loan, to 35.97% for an HR grade on a three year loan. But just keep in mind that these rate ranges are the extremes, and not the averages.

Trading Notes Before they Mature

Prosper does offer you an opportunity to trade your notes before their respective maturity dates. You can do this through Folio Investing. For a fee of 1% of the face amount of each note, Folio Investing will handle the purchase and sale of existing notes.

In order to take advantage of this function, you’ll have to open up a brokerage account with FOLIO Investing through which you will handle your transactions. Folio Investing will return any money or notes that result from transactions, to your Prosper account.

This feature will enable you to adjust your portfolio position at any time you like, even after investing in a given set of loans.

Risks

When you invest in loans through Prosper, or any P2P platform, there is the constant risk of loan defaults. At virtually all loan grades, at least some loans will not perform. There is no FDIC insurance to cover loan losses at Prosper either. But nowhere is the correlation between risk and reward more apparent.

You can get a solid idea as to the performance of each loan grade level by checking out Prosper’s Marketplace Performance page. As you will see, the returns vary widely from one credit grade to another, in order to make a generous allowance for loan defaults.

As you can see from the first chart on the page:

• Seasoned Returns as of September 30, 2014 – For Loans Originated July 2009 – November 2013
• Actual Effective Yield (center column) averages 15.94%, with a range of between 7.09% and 26.81%.

But see also that the Actual Loss Rate in the next column averages 6.62% across all loan grades, with a range of between 1.61% for the highest loan grade (AA), to 16.04% for the lowest loan grade (HR).

The actual return that you will get on your investment is found in the Actual Return column – that’s actual effective yield, less the actual loss rate. This represents your true return. The average across all loan grades is 9.33%, but there’s a big spread between the highest credit grades and the lowest – and it favors the lower credit grades.

Notice that while the actual return on AA rated loans is 5.48%, the actual return on E rated loans is 11.35% – the highest net return of all credit grades, and more than twice the return on AA loans.

The moral of the story is that it f you plan to maximize your investment return, you will need to invest generously in the lower grade loans. Yes, there’s a greater risk of loan default, but rates are much higher to compensate, and will provide a much higher net yield to you.

Minimizing Investment Risks

Risk grades aside, there are ways that you can reduce your overall investment risk in a portfolio of Prosper loans. The first most obvious way to do this is through diversification. Since the minimum investment per loan is just $25, you could spread a $5,000 investment across as many as 200 different notes. That will minimize the fallout of any single loan going into default.

You can also set more conservative criteria in your loan selection. One way to do this is by favoring notes that represent the refinance of existing debt, rather than new loans taken for acquisition purposes. You can also establish criteria for employment that requires that a borrower has more time on the job. Debt-to-income (DTI) ratio is still another possibility. By setting it below 30% or even 25% of stable monthly income, you can greatly reduce the chances of loan default.

The lower than your default rate is on your loan portfolio, the higher your net return on investment will be.

Investor Fees

Prosper charges no upfront fees in order to join the platform as an investor. They do charge an annual loan servicing fee equal to 1% of the outstanding loan principal balance of the loan prior to the applying the current payment.

In addition, in the event any of your loans becomes past-due, and a collection agency must be brought into the picture, the investor will be charged for the collection fee, but only in the event that the past-due loan proceeds have been recovered.

Overall, Prosper offers investors an opportunity to earn fairly stable rates of return that are much higher than what you can get with other fixed income investments, such as money market funds, certificates of deposit, or Treasury securities.

Borrowing Through Prosper

Just as you can lend on Prosper, you can also borrow. You may find that the rate and fees that you pay on a P2P loan is less than what you will pay with a traditional loan.

How the Loan Process Works

Applying for a loan is a simple multi-step process, that looks something like this:

• Create your loan listing – you provide basic information, then Prosper will obtain your credit score and determine your rate and terms.
• Based on your credit score and other information Prosper will obtain, you will be assigned a credit grade, from AA to HR.
• You then create a loan listing which is your request for a loan. You will add a description of your loan purpose and financial situation. It will appear on the platform to be reviewed by investors.
• Once the loan listing is fully funded and your information has passed Prosper’s verification process, you will receive your loan.
• The listing will stay active for 14 days, or until the loan funds.
• Loan funds are deposited directly into your bank account within days.
• You begin making your monthly payments.

Open a Personal Loan Account with Prosper

Loan Terms and Rates

As mentioned earlier, loan amounts range from $2,000 to $35,000, with terms of three or five years. All loans are fixed rate, fixed monthly payment, and no prepayment penalties. That part’s pretty simple. More complicated are loan rates, since they are based on your credit grade.

Credit grades can run anywhere from AA – the highest – to NR – the lowest. There are 26 levels within the range, and there is a rate associated with each level. Pricing can also be determined based on the term of the loan, as well as the number of previous Prosper loans that you have had in the past.

At present, the lowest rate on a AA loan grade with a three-year term is 5.32%. The highest rate on an HR loan grade with a three-year term is 35.97%. You can check out the rates for each credit grade on the Personal Loan Rates and Fees page.

Origination fee. When you borrow through Prosper, you will be subject to an origination fee. The fee is based on your risk grade, as well as the term of your loan, and look something like this:

• Risk grade AA – 1% to 2% for a three year term, 3% for a five year term
• Risk grade A – 4% for a three-year term, 5% for a five-year term
• Risk grade B – 5% for either a three-year or five-year term
• Risk grades C through HR – 5% for either a three-year or five-year term

Prosper Loan Types

Prosper offers loans for the following purposes:

• Debt consolidation loans – combine credit card debts into one, single fixed rate loan
• Get a home improvement loan – loan is not secured by your home
• Short-term and bridge loans – short term funds for any purpose
• Auto and vehicle loans – unsecured, and with no vehicle eligibility requirements
• Small business loans – these can even be used to start a new business
• Baby and adoption loans – borrow up to $25,000, unsecured, to cover expenses
• Engagement ring financing – get loan funds without using the ring as collateral
• Special occasion loans – for weddings, graduations, or even a birthday party
• Friends and family loans – use Prosper to set up a loan between you and a friend
• Green loans – use to install solar panels for heating, hot water, or electricity
• Military loans – use the proceeds for any purpose, and you don’t need to apply in person

While these are specific purposes for loans, the basic loan set up remains the same. Each loan is fixed rate, unsecured, payable over three or five years, and has no prepayment penalties.

If you’ve been having difficulty getting a loan from banks or other traditional sources, check out Prosper, and see if you can’t do better. I’m betting that you can.

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Love Vintage Clothes? Here’s How One Vintage Etsy Seller Turns a Profit

What if you could shop for a living? No, we’re not talking mystery shopping, or even working as a personal stylist. This job entails shopping at thrift stores, garage sales and even other people’s closets.

Vintage has long been back in style, especially because every piece is so unique. If you find a piece of vintage clothing from the ‘50s, ‘60s or ‘70s, there’s a good chance you’ve found the last one on Earth. And if you learn how to find those one-of-a-kind, highly sought-after vintage pieces in the wild, you can resell them online to make a profit.

Sound easy? That’s not entirely the case. Selling vintage clothing on Etsy isn’t a way to make a quick buck. But when you have a passion for paying homage to fashion of decades past, the work doesn’t (always) feel like a job.

That’s exactly the case for Lora Conrad, the owner of Hungry Heart Vintage. Over the past few years, she’s built her Etsy shop into a profitable business. Conrad sells about 20-30 pieces a month through her shop, as well as a few more through private purchases.

She gave us some insight into how she got started, how she finds and prices her pieces, and how she’s built her Etsy business into a job she loves going to every single day.

Scrounge High and Low

When asked how she finds her pieces, Conrad says, “Lots and lots of scrounging!” Estate sales, flea markets, garage sales, antique malls in the middle of nowhere, you name it.  Conrad is always on the hunt for new pieces she can breathe new life into and sell.

One surprising way she acquires new pieces is through private appointments. “People don’t realize that, much of the time, I get my inventory because someone has just passed away,” she said.

“Private buying appointments are by far my favorite ways of acquiring vintage,” she said. “I love taking the time to sit down with people as we go through their old clothes, or more often, their late loved one’s clothes. I get to learn all about the women who wore them, and when I leave I feel like I’m leaving with more than just dresses. I’m leaving their homes with bits of their family history that will live on through others.”

When she first started selling vintage, Conrad didn’t anticipate this would be part of her job. “But it makes me happy when I can help people through that time, even in such a miniscule way,” she said.

Embrace Seasonality

Swimsuit season arrived a couple months ago — including in Conrad’s shop. She constantly keeps her shop fresh and lists what’s in season.

That means swimsuits and party dresses in the summer, cardigans and scarves in the fall. If she finds a stellar vintage coat on a summer thrifting adventure, she won’t post it until cooler weather arrives. It’s not just that she can get more money when an item is in season. It also keeps her selling costs as low as possible.

Etsy charges $0.20 for each listing. If it doesn’t sell within four months, it costs another $0.20 to relist the item. By posting in-season pieces that will likely sell within four months, Conrad only needs to pay the listing fee once.

She also runs promotions, especially during holidays like Black Friday. Running a 20% off promotion during the already high-shopping holiday season brings more customers to her shop and moves more product off her virtual shelves. While this entails much more work — more shipping, more back and forth with customers, and more time to keep her store stocked — Conrad finds the extra revenue she makes during this time provides a nice buffer for the post-holiday shopping slump.

Build Your Brand

Conrad doesn’t spend all her time on her Etsy shop. She’s also active on Facebook and has 1,700 Instagram followers, where she shares not only new listings, but also sneak peeks of what’s coming soon and behind-the-scenes photos of her workday and “shop assistants” (a dog and two cats.) This puts a face on Hungry Heart Vintage, so her customers can get to know the woman behind the shop.

Though it’s more difficult to track the value of the time she spends building the Hungry Heart brand, Conrad does occasionally make sales through Instagram.

Conrad also blogs about how to blend vintage and modern style. She’s kind of like a vintage clothing advisor. “Vintage clothing isn’t just for vintage enthusiasts, and just because something is old doesn’t mean it has to be styled that way,” Conrad said in a recent blog post.

Dedicate Yourself to the Details

Glowing reviews attract more people to your shop. And on the other side of the coin, a bad review can turn someone away. The best way to acquire those happy customers, then entice them to leave you a five-star review? Go above and beyond their expectations.

To begin with, Conrad spends a great deal of time preparing clothes for sale. Cleaning and repairing is time consuming. “Some pieces need to be soaked and hand washed several times to get the decades of dirt out,” she said.

Then Conrad gets extremely detailed in how she describes each item. She includes measurements as well as information about fit, material, brand and condition. She always lets customers know about any imperfections and provides a range of photos for each item.

After the sale, Conrad artfully packages her orders and writes notes to thank her customers.

“Packing takes quite a bit of time, but that’s on me,” Conrad said. “I love packing up orders and making them look pretty, so I’m happy to spend a lot of time on that.”

With review after review from her customers thanking her for a pleasant shopping experience, Conrad has built the trust that will bring new customers to her shop.

Develop a Pricing Formula

One of the trickiest parts of selling vintage clothes is pricing. Some pieces are more rare than others, so are worth more. Some pieces Conrad finds for cheap, others she has to pay more for up front. Many require a great deal of time and money (dry cleaning, new zippers or buttons) to bring up to selling condition.

So how much does she make on the stuff she resells?

“It’s hard to say from piece to piece,” Conrad said. “Sometimes you find a treasure on its way to someone’s dumpster or in your neighborhood thrift. Other times, between the cost of purchasing the items, plus the cost of cleaning supplies or having it professionally cleaned, repairs, the mark up is fairly slim.”

Since so much wildly varies in how much she pays and invests in each piece, Conrad doesn’t aim for a certain margin every time. And she doesn’t even bother with trying to factor in her own labor hours. “The only formula I use to mark up items is, L=0. That’s ‘Lora pays herself no money per hour for her labor.’ “

Just like other successful Etsy sellers, Conrad does not deny how much work she puts into finding, preparing and selling her pieces. “I’ve never tracked the hours it takes to see a piece through from start to finish, but I know I’m done when my lower back hurts.”

But as a self-defined “independent, stubborn, loner workaholic,” she wouldn’t have it any other way. “Starting a business from nothing is totally terrifying, but the moment I made my first sale I knew I did the right thing.”

Your Turn: Do you sell vintage clothing online? What advice do you have for new Etsy sellers?

Betsy Mikel is a Chicago-based freelance copywriter. She loves biking all over every city she visits to find its best taqueria.

The post Love Vintage Clothes? Here’s How One Vintage Etsy Seller Turns a Profit appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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10 ways to save money in July

Climatologists agree that July 24 is the hottest day of the year, but the tenth of every month during the summer feels the hottest to me … that’s the day our electric bill arrives in the mail. Follow these tips to stay cool and save some cash this month.

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Protection for savers to fall by £10,000

Mark King

savingsjar.jpg

The safety net enjoyed by savers in the UK is to be cut back by £10,000, the Bank of England has announced.

The safety net enjoyed by savers in the UK is to be cut back by £10,000, the Bank of England has announced.

Currently, an individual saver's money is protected by the Financial Service Compensation Scheme (FSCS) to the tune of £85,000 should the bank or building society they have their deposit with go bust.

Protection for savers to fall by £10,000

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The safety net enjoyed by savers in the UK is to be cut back by £10,000, the Bank of England has announced. Currently, an individual saver's money is protected by the Financial Service Compensation Scheme (FSCS) to the tune of £85,000 should the bank or building society they have their deposit with go bust. But that level is to be reduced to £75,000 from 1 January 2016, the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority has announced. The FSCS says savers therefore have, "six months to spread their money around to keep within [the new limit]". The change comes under an EU ruling (known as the European Union Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive), the FSCS said, which is making a compensation limit of €100,000 (or local currency equivalent) standard across Europe. This itself comes as a result of a huge depreciation (16% at the time of writing) of the euro, largely brought about by the crisis in the Eurozone due to the Greek debt situation. Absurd decision Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the Treasury Committee, blasted the decision, calling it "absurd". He added: "It makes no sense to fix deposit guarantees, which need to be stable to win public confidence and which should be providing certainty and predictability for ordinary savers, to a volatile variable like the exchange rate. "In this respect, the EU Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive is defective. It has been designed without adequate consideration for the requirements of those, like the UK, in the EU but outside the Eurozone. By one means or another, the Directive needs to be injected with a dose of common sense." Rhydian Lewis, founder and chief executive of peer-to-peer specialist RateSetter, said the FSCS was no longer fit for purpose. "Moving the goalposts in this way with a lower level of protection and higher charges while offering no improvement to the pitiful returns for savers only strengthens the case to refresh the FSCS," he said. "RateSetter is of the view that the one-size fits all approach of the FSCS is no longer fit for purpose and results in poor value. This is why we have put in place our own bespoke, self-sufficient system - a Provision Fund which has ensured that nobody investing in our market has lost a penny whilst allowing them to enjoy healthy returns." The FSCS did, however, announce that people with higher balances will be protected up to £1 million for up to six months, giving them a chance to better spread their cash around different institutions to achieve a greater degree of protection. Tyrie welcomed this announcement. The FSCS also said that large companies and small local authorities (such as parish councils) will now benefit from FSCS protection from 3 July 2015, up to the new limit of £75,000.

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7 Low-Cost Ways to Throw an Awesome Kid’s Birthday Party

My boys are still young enough — they’ll be one and three years old this fall — that birthdays don’t have to be a big deal. In an age where parents often spend hundreds of dollars (or more!) on birthday parties and elaborate, Pinterest-inspired themes, though, I feel pressured to put on a big to-do for the little guys.

Unfortunately, our budget doesn’t allow for extravagant cakes or expensive locations. Instead, I have to get creative. Here are seven ways I’ve found I can save money and still throw awesome birthday parties for my boys.

1. DIY Your Invitations

You don’t need to be a creative genius to make your own adorable invitations. Etsy shops offer a number of printable birthday invitations for just a few dollars that fit just about any theme.

Want to save even more? Use a site like Evite to send electronic invitations for free.

2. Find an Affordable Location

We have a tiny house and the idea of entertaining a dozen or more people in our limited space makes me want to cry. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have a great party!

Community spaces, like firehouses, local farms and petting zoos, community centers, the library, and even pools and parks, offer affordable options for parties. Make some phone calls, ask around and find a location that fits your budget.

3. Cut Your List

It’s normal to want your entire family to be there when you celebrate your baby’s first birthday. And your social five-year-old may think she needs her whole kindergarten class at her party. But one of the easiest ways to reduce birthday party costs is to keep your guest list short.

Celebrate with your immediate family and make it a special, intimate party. Or let your child choose five to 10 friends to celebrate with. If you decide to splurge on an older child’s special event party like go-cart racing or bowling, limit the number of guests based on your budget. Tell the child to choose his two or three closest friends to share his special day.

4. Make Your Own Cake

Whether you make it from scratch or from a box, making your own cake can save you a lot of money. Those of us who aren’t professional bakers can find a lot of simple decorating ideas on Pinterest.

If a cake seems too hard, cupcakes are perfect solution! They’re just the right serving size for little ones, and they’re easy to decorate in most themes just by changing the frosting color and adding some decorations from the dollar store.

5. Skip the Goody Bags

These birthday party staples usually end up cluttering the guests’ houses with cheap plastic toys. Instead, give each child a small gift (bonus points for linking it to your theme) that you can find (or make) for a couple of dollars per guest. Some ideas: coloring books and crayons, matchbox cars, play dough or homemade cake pops.

6. Time It Right

Time the party between meals so you’re not obligated to provide lunch or dinner. Instead, offer a few fun finger foods as snacks.

If you’re the creative type, you can make snacks that follow your party theme. If not, cheese and crackers, a fruit plate and some veggies and dip will make most kids just as happy as a fancy spread.

7. Make It Quick

The longer the party, the more you’re going to need to spend on food, activities and entertainment. So keep things short and sweet to save yourself money — and headaches. Younger kids get overstimulated and overtired quickly. Keep their parties to a maximum of two or three hours. For older kids, four or five hours is a good limit.

This year, I’m putting these tips into action for our birthday celebrations. We’re planning a joint party for our boys, since their birthdays are only a month apart. We’ll have a few family members over for cake and ice cream after lunch. There will be balloons to bounce around, maybe a few streamers and some gifts from the guests for the boys to open. Then it will be time for everyone to head home.

It will be a short and sweet, but it’s still a celebration for the kiddos to enjoy! And as a bonus, I won’t be worried that we’ve busted our budget by splurging on unnecessary decorations or food for a huge list of guests.

If you keep these tips in mind when planning your next birthday party, you’ll be able to stick to your budget, too. Which means you’ll also be able to relax and enjoy the celebration instead of stressing about how much you’ve spent!

Your Turn: What tricks do you use to save money while still throwing awesome birthday parties for the kids?

Ami Spencer Youngs is a freelance writer and yoga teacher, raising her career alongside two boys under three. Learn more about her life and her writing at writingherlife.com or on Twitter at @writingherlife.

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