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The Magic Math of Paying Yourself First

When my husband and I first started building a life together in our 20s, we treated our money the way too many young couples do: We bought what we wanted, made an unenthusiastic effort to save, and crossed our fingers that everything would work out for the best.

Not surprisingly, things didn’t always turn out that great. While we were never poor and always earned more than enough to get by, our lack of planning led to less-than-stellar results.

Every month, we spent haphazardly then hoped and prayed we would have money left over to save or pay down debt. Over time, however, we realized our “strategy” was nothing but a sham. Because we didn’t make saving and debt repayment a priority, it mostly fell to the wayside.

Our Journey Into Zero-Sum Budgeting

The revelation that we weren’t living up to our potential is what led us into zero-sum budgeting. (I’ve become so passionate about it ever since that I even authored a book on the subject).

Zero-sum budgeting gives you the tools to improve your finances by teaching you how to a) live off last month’s actual income instead of income projections, b) make actionable decisions regarding your money, and c) reduce waste. Best of all, to get started, you only need a pen, paper, and the drive to succeed.

If you’re struggling with money, I highly suggest you give zero-sum budgeting a try. You have nothing to lose, and you don’t need to buy anything to at least give it a shot.

• Related: How and Why to Use a Zero-Sum Budget

The thing is, if you hate the idea of the dirty “B word,” you don’t even need to budget to make progress. One lesson from zero-sum budgeting is so powerful that it can transform your finances on its own if implemented right away.

While zero-sum budgeting teaches you to cut wasteful spending and make better decisions with your money, its main goal is forcing you to prioritize your spending goals. As a result, zero-sum budgeting requires you to pay your savings, investments, and debts as if they were regular bills.

Instead of treating your savings and credit card debt as an afterthought, to be paid with whatever’s left at the end of the month, you pay them first.

The Magic Math of Paying Yourself First

I call this the “magic math” of paying yourself first. It’s not rocket science, and I certainly didn’t invent the idea, but I am totally obsessed with the results of this single budgeting tip.

When you pay yourself first, you don’t have as much money left over to waste. Your savings, investments, and debt repayment obligations were paid already, so you’re forced to actually “live” on the rest.

Here’s a good example of how this magic works:

Let’s look back at me in my old life! Back in 2007, my husband and I were earning around $75,000 per year combined.  That’s a lot of money, but not enough to keep us clear of foolish financial mishaps. After paying taxes and insurance and throwing money into retirement, our take-home pay was around $4,000 per month.

We spent all of that and more easily. Not only was our house payment around $1,200 at the time, but we had $800 in car payments every month.

With about half of our income left to spend, we paid around $400 to our credit card bills each month and spent around $1,000 on food and dining out. That left $600 monthly to blow, which we did on all sorts of things – home remodeling projects, gas, entertainment… you name it.

At the end of each month, all of our earnings were gone… and sometimes we actually added to our credit card balances, too. Here’s an approximation of how our finances might have looked during a month we broke even:

• Mortgage: $1,200
• Car payments $800
• Credit cards: $400
• Food and dining: $1,000
• Cable and internet: $100
• Gas, entertainment, miscellaneous: $500

Total: $4,000

And keep in mind, there were months when we spent a lot more than what we brought in, causing our credit card balances to balloon over time.

Then we learned about zero-sum budgeting, and what a transformation it was. All of a sudden, we were forced to give our bills and savings the respect they deserved, and then try to live on the rest.

For us, that meant a few things:

• We needed to cut our food spending in half because it was outrageous, so that’s what we did.
• We needed to get on a bare-bones budget and cut all extra spending from our lives for a while. For us, that meant cutting cable television and staying home instead of going out.
• We needed to make debt repayment and saving a priority and quit treating them as optional.

Once we learned these painful truths, we set out to create a zero-sum budget that would help us reach our goals. It wasn’t much fun for a while, but we managed to make it work. Here’s how our first few zero-sum budgets looked for a while:

• Mortgage: $1,200
• Car payments $800
• Credit cards: $1,000
• Food and dining: $500
• Cable and internet: $50
• Gas, entertainment, miscellaneous: $200
• Savings: $250

Total: $4,000

Keep in mind, this is just an estimate of how things went. But, you get the point. Zero-sum budgeting forced us to reconfigure our spending in a way that helped us reach our goals. During this time, we also quit using credit cards for spending. That way, our huge monthly payment was going directly toward our balances without us adding a dime.

Since we were paying so much cash toward our credit cards, it didn’t take long – less than six months – to pay them off. After that, we redirected that $1,000 toward paying off our cars early and boosting our cash savings.

Also notice that we started actually saving money right away – even while we were paying down debt. This was huge for us because it meant we could start building a much-needed emergency fund.

After another year, we paid off the remaining balances on our cars and became entirely debt-free, aside from our mortgage. From there, we were able to save a lot more, boost our retirement savings, and continue living a debt-free, stress-free lifestyle.

Years later, we’re still doing the same thing. The only difference is, our primary residence is almost paid off and we save a ton more for retirement, college savings, and other goals. Of course, it helps that we earn more now, too.

The Bottom Line

This is the magic of paying yourself first. When you make savings and debt repayment a priority, you have to learn to live on the rest — forcing you to make hard choices and prioritize your spending on what truly matters to you.

Zero-sum budgeting demands that you spend less money and save more over time. But, even if you don’t want to budget, the magic of paying yourself first can work. Pay your savings and credit card bills first, then learn to live on the rest for a while to see how it goes.

When you put your future and your financial goals first, you have no choice but to rethink everything and get your butt in gear. We have this one life to live, and we have to make it count. By paying yourself first, you can make sure the life you have is free from debt and stress, and full of hope for the future.

For us, this simple change has meant the difference between a life of struggle and the life of our dreams.

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 Articles:

• The Upside-Down Reason So Many Americans Are Broke
• Money Management 101: Why You Should Track Your Spending
• Does Budgeting Seem Too Complex? Five Simple Alternatives That Can Yield Real Results

Do you pay yourself first? Why or why not?

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Have a Story About Modern Love? The New York Times Will Pay You $300 For It

We all relish true stories about love and redemption. And if you write one, The New York Times might buy it.

Here’s the scoop: The wildly popular Modern Love column, in the Fashion & Style section, is seeking deeply personal essays about contemporary relationships, marriage, dating, and parenthood. And, believe it or not, you don’t need a Masters in Journalism to be published.

If your story is selected, The Times will pay you $300.

Run by editor Daniel Jones, the column features essays from dozens of first-time writers, such as Dominick Zarrillo, as well as essays from previously published authors.

Jones doesn’t care about an impressive list of writing credits but he does care about good writing.

“I judge a submission solely on the writing before me. So don’t feel like you are being pre-judged if you submit without writing credits,” Jones notes in the Modern Love submission guidelines, a 36-page document on how to submit to Modern Love. (An abridged version is available here.)

What’s important is that essays “spring from a some central dilemma the writer has faced in his or her life,” emphasizes Jones.

Insider Tips from Two Modern Love Columnists

To give you an inside perspective, we tracked down two Modern Love columnists, Ada Calhoun and Amy Sutherland. Both women shared their experiences about writing for Modern Love and offered great advice for pitching an essay.

Amy Sutherland has written two essays for Modern Love: “What Shamu Taught Me About Marriage,” and “Opening the Heart’s Floodgates With a Paw.” She currently has a standing column, “Bibliophiles” for the Boston Globe and recently published “Rescuing Penny Jane” in February.

Ada Calhoun has published three essays for Modern Love: “The Wedding Toast I’ll Never Give,” “To Stay Married, Embrace Change,” and “You May Call It Cheating, But We Don’t.” Ada is currently completing a book tour for “Wedding Toasts I’ll Never Give,” which is based on her Modern Love essay and magazine freelance writing.

Both columnists’ essays led to book deals, and the writers have been featured on the popular “Modern Love” Podcast, a radio show produced by WBUR NPR that’s based on selected Modern Love essays.

What is it like writing for Modern Love?

Amy Sutherland: Dan Jones, the editor, is a really great guy and the best editor I’ve ever worked with. We went back and forth with my essay. It was one of the better editing experiences I ever had. He gave me really good pointers and pushed me a little bit in a good way. He helped tease out a stronger point on what this had to say about Modern Love.

Ada Calhoun: I think the Modern Love column is an amazing platform. So many people read it around the country. It’s about our most personal stories, so I think it’s one of the best ways to connect with people on an emotional level as a writer.

How did you choose your Modern Love essay?

Ada Calhoun: I had this argument with my husband, and I thought what better thing to do with my feelings than to write an essay about it and send it to The New York Times, not to get revenge, but to make something good out of an annoying situation. I’ve written on and off as a freelancer for The New York Times, and I had been a reader of the Modern Love column. It seemed to be the best fit for this essay.

Amy Sutherland: My essay was about how I used a technique I learned from a dolphin trainer so my husband wouldn’t be on my nerves all the time. I read Modern Love and put two and two together. I thought no one else would write that exact column. It was a pretty safe bet. I studied Modern Love and hashed out my piece and submitted it via The New York Times website.

What do you think makes a good Modern Love story?

Ada Calhoun: I think honesty is the most important thing. I think that people want others to be real with them about the beautiful things and the horrible things about love. One thing the Modern Love column really works to do, and that I admire about the editor, is he looks for essays that tell the truth about people’s experiences.

Amy Sutherland: You can’t just have a good story. You have to have a broader point or message about the meaning of love. It has to be really fresh, something they never thought about. In my sense, my central point was we can love our spouses and they can drive us crazy. That’s nothing new, but the way I went about writing it was completely fresh. If you want to write for Modern Love, you should sit down and probably read six to 12 of them and you’ll get a sense of what the editor, Dan Jones, is looking for.

Word has it, your Modern Love essay led to a book deal. Can you talk about that for our readers?

Ada Calhoun: The second Modern Love I wrote, The Wedding Toast I’ll Never Give went really viral. I heard from so many people, couples who have been married a long time telling me they liked it. A lot of people said they thought there should be more talk about what it’s like being married for your whole life. So my editor on my last book said I should turn it into a book of essays, so that’s what I did and it just came out in May. My husband is quite proud of himself for making that financial error [that was the basis of the essay]. He jokes, “If I hadn’t screwed up, we wouldn’t have this book deal. I need to screw up more often. We’ll be rich.”

Amy Sutherland: I did get a book deal out of the Modern Love column and then wrote a book based on the column, and I also had a movie that was based on the book that was based on the column, if that makes sense. Honestly, I didn’t expect that. I had publishers and film people and also got interviewed by reporters all around the world. It became quite a firestorm. I had quite a strong and quick response to that column. It took over my life for a few weeks.

You’ve heard their stories, now it’s your turn.

15 Tips from the Pros on How to Submit to Modern Love

1. Your essay should stem from a “central dilemma” you have faced in your life.

2. Tell an honest story. Readers and editors can tell the difference.  

3. Write about something meaningful. “For better odds, avoid exploring topics of death, grief, and loss,” the guidelines say.

4. Modern Love has a contemporary slant, so it’s recommended to write about new angles of love or how things are different today ( eg: Facebook, Twitter, Tinder, social media, online dating).

5. Set the story close to present times, although you can reflect back in the past for backstory and context on occasion.

6. Don’t begin at the beginning. Consider starting your story with dialogue or in the middle of the action.

7. Decide what scenes you’ll use to move your story forward or push it through the dramatic arc, similar to how a short story or novel is written.

8. Have a story no one else can tell or tell it from a fresh perspective.

9. Don’t give everything away at the start such as “I met my husband in college.”  Your story should unfold in a dramatic arc. How you met can be told in the third paragraph.

10. Your story should stem from a conflict. Conflict makes good writing.

11. Use mystery and surprise to arouse the reader’s curiosity. Make the reader wonder what will happen with each line you write.

12. Your story doesn’t need to have a happy ending. What’s important is that the person learns something by the end of the story they didn’t know before.

13. Use killer verbs. Don’t worry about adjectives.

14. Keep an open mind as to where the piece can go — it could go in a different direction than what you thought originally.

15. Spend a lot of time revising your essay.

Is writing a story about love and redemption on your bucket list? Why not submit it to Modern Love? You could be $300 richer, and who knows, it might land you a book deal.

You can visit Modern Love on Facebook or find the book, “Modern Love: 50 True and Extraordinary Tales of Desire, Deceit, and Devotion,” where books are sold.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. By checking out this featured content, you help us bring you more ways to save!

Stacy Sare Cohen is a freelance writer who writes stories about personal finance, travel and tourism. She’s addicted to Modern Love and reads the column religiously every Friday.

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, one of the largest personal finance websites. We help millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. In 2016, Inc. 500 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the No. 1 fastest-growing private media company in the U.S.

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Ways to Make Money from Home Proofreading

By Holly Reisem Hanna Are you a stickler for grammar? Do you pick out typos when you read publications? If you’re great at editing and catching grammatical mistakes and inconsistencies, a work-from-home proofreading job may be a great fit for you. Not only that, Proofreaders are in high demand, particularly for online businesses. And because you […]

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Homemade Kombucha Recipe: How to Make This Trendy Drink Cheap

Kombucha, a fermented tea beverage, has become both a buzzword and a health fad. An essential part of a certain kind of trendy lifestyle, it’s that fizzy drink you might have seen someone sipping as they left Whole Foods on their way to a SoulCycle spin class. It’s also the fastest growing segment of the “functional” beverage market, with sales in 2016 that eclipsed $600 million.

Kombucha was first made popular over 2,000 years ago by the Tsin Dynasty in China, where it became known as the “Tea of Immortality.” The tea was being hyped up in ancient times, and it’s getting the same treatment today. It’s the latest drink to have the “superfood” label applied to it.

While that moniker is overused, kombucha certainly has health benefits. It’s renowned for its ability to increase energy, improve digestion, and heal the gut. When properly made, kombucha is loaded with healthy probiotics, polyphenols, and micronutrients. Plus, it’s really tasty. What’s not to love?

Well, for one thing, it’s expensive. Even at Walmart, a 16-ounce bottle costs between $4 and $5. The fancy brands can be quite a bit more than that.

Fortunately, it’s simple to make your own kombucha at home — though it does take about a week to ferment. That will bring the cost down to roughly 50 cents per 16-ounce serving. Much like making the switch from store-bought coffee to brewing your own at home, heavy drinkers will see some serious money savings.

Here’s how you can enjoy this tasty drink for a fraction of the retail cost.

How to Make Kombucha: The Materials

First, you’ll need a 1-gallon jar with a lid. I prefer to use glass, but it makes no difference. There is a persistent internet rumor that you should never use stainless steel as part of a fermentation, but I have found no evidence supporting this. Just use whatever jar you have on hand. If you need to buy one, this $11 jar has never let me down.

Next, you’ll need eight bags of black tea. If you have some in the back of your pantry, those will work fine. I like to get them in bulk so that it brings the cost down. You can find 100 bags for $10 or less. You can also use loose tea, which will drive your costs down even further.

The third component will be 1 cup of plain white sugar.

Finally, and most importantly, you’ll need a scoby. SCOBY is an acronym that stands for symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast. It sounds weird and gross, and honestly, it kind of is. A scoby looks like a slimy, semi-translucent pancake and feels like a wet sponge. But once you’ve handled one, you get used to it. I now look at mine much the same way a baker sees their “starter” dough. It’s a living thing that, with a little nurturing, will turn into a delicious treat. Pretty cool!

Scobys are inexpensive and will last as long as you feed them. The fun part is that they grow every time you use them, so they can be split up and given to friends. You probably shouldn’t bring a dripping wet scoby to a dinner party in lieu of wine, but if you have a health nut in your life, they will surely appreciate the gift. I’ve sent a scoby through the mail to a friend on the opposite coast, and it arrived without issue. If you don’t have a friend willing to share a scoby with you, you can buy this one for eight bucks.

Kombucha Recipe

Once you’ve got those required materials, use this simple kombucha recipe:

1. Bring a gallon of water to a boil.
2. Pour in one cup of sugar and stir it to make sure it dissolves. (Keep in mind that this doesn’t mean your final product will be sweet. The sugar acts as food for the scoby to eat. Without it, there will be no way for the scoby to produce the byproducts necessary to create kombucha.)
3. Toss in eight tea bags and turn off the heat. Let the tea bags steep for about four minutes and remove.
4. Allow the tea, sugar, and water combination to cool to room temperature. This can take quite a while, so you can speed up the process by placing the pot in an ice bath if you’re in a hurry. It’s necessary to cool the water down so that it doesn’t burn the scoby when it’s added.
5. Transfer the liquid to a one-gallon jar.
6. Add in your scoby.
7. Wait. Seven to 10 days should do the trick. When it tastes like it has a nice balance of tartness and sweetness, you know it’s ready.

One thing to note is that the scoby will do some seemingly bizarre things during the fermenting process. It might sink, for one. It will also start forming a second scoby on the surface after a few days. Brownish strands will come off the scoby, and bubbles will appear. Most of it is normal. However, it you see anything that resembles white or black mold, the scoby will need to be tossed.

When the waiting period is over, the kombucha is ready to serve as is. But if you want to make it extra fizzy, you can pour it into 16-ounce bottles for a second ferment. Be sure to add a little bit more sugar or fresh fruit so that the yeast has something more to eat (though not too much, or you risk an over-carbonated, exploding bottle). Leave about one inch of space from the top of the bottle to allow a bit of room for carbonation, and screw the cap on as tightly as you can. Leave those on the counter for another couple of days so that the carbonation can build up, then transfer them to the fridge. You now have fizzy, fresh, delicious kombucha!

The Alcohol Component

I’m not referring the adventurous among us who like to “weaponize” their kombucha by adding spirits once it’s done brewing (although that can be fun sometimes). I’m talking about how the final product will contain trace amounts of alcohol. Not enough to impair you, by any means, as your average kombucha clocks in at below 0.5% alcohol, on par with a non-alcoholic beer like O’Doul’s.

I’ve never even felt the slightest buzz after consuming a serving of kombucha, for what it’s worth. But if you’re a strict teetotaler, pregnant, or simply trying to avoid all alcohol for whatever reason, be aware that kombucha does typically have a small bit of alcohol in it.

Summing Up

You won’t achieve immortality if you start brewing your own kombucha, but you just might get a pep in your step and some healthier gut bacteria to boot. With such a low price and minimal time requirement — aside from the waiting — it’s an easy drink to try your hand at making. And if you’re already a kombucha addict, switching to a home brew will save you quite a bit of money in the long run.

Related Articles:

• Six Steps to Brewing Great Tasting Coffee on the Cheap
• Homemade Broth: A Healthy and Frugal Winter Treat for Body and Soul
• My 10 Favorite Healthy and Inexpensive Foods (and a Great Recipe for Each)

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6 Ways We Keep the Budget and Survive Our Long Distance Marriage

Less than a year into marriage, my husband and I found out we would have to spend 10 months living 2,000 miles apart. My husband was offered his dream job in our home state of Minnesota late last summer. As a teacher in California, I couldn’t break my contract two weeks before the beginning of the school year, so our only option was to live apart.  

This idea seemed crazy to me, but my husband was used to the long-distance marriage concept. His parents have lived apart for six years and counting due to his father’s job transfer and his mother’s desire to stay in the state where they built their life. Since they were nearing the end of their careers, they decided to make a long-distance marriage work until they retire.

Overall, long-distance marriages are not uncommon. Based on 2005 census data (the latest data on this topic), The Center for the Study of Long Distance Relationships found that 3.6 million married people were living apart in 2005 for reasons other than marital discord. Since living apart, my husband and I have met multiple people who were in long-distance marriages at one point or another.

No matter how normal it might be, we crunched the numbers and long-distance living had the potential to be expensive. We also had some significant financial goals for the year, including saving for a down payment on a house, paying off student loan debt and purchasing one of our vehicles after the lease matured.

We are currently seven months into our 10 months of living apart and are thankful we found ways to save money despite our living situation. Below are seven ways we are spending a year living apart while still meeting our financial goals.

1. Budget as a Couple

A budget is an essential part of meeting financial goals. Without a budget, you don’t know where your money is going, and it is easy to overspend.

We use a zero-based budget — where your income minus outgoing funds must equal zero — and EveryDollar helps by providing a digital budget we can access at any time. Our budget talks, which we have at the beginning, middle and end of each month, help remind us of what we are working toward: paying off $10,000 in debt and saving $24,000 for large purchases.

Budgeting will not necessarily save us any money, but it ensures we are on the same page with spending and saving each month.  

2. Be Realistic About How Often You Will See Each Other

Be honest about how long you can go without seeing your spouse. Plan your trips in advance and, of course, make sure you are getting the best deals on travel expenses. Don’t underestimate how often you will see each other and end up paying more for last-minute airfare.  

Living in Minnesota and California, our only option has been to fly to visit each other. We find huge savings by flying in and out of various airports and taking voucher options.

If you have time to be flexible with your travel plans, most airlines will give you vouchers worth $400 to $1000 for giving up your seat on an oversold flight. So far, I have racked up $800 in travel vouchers — that’s two free trips to my husband.

Seeing each other one to two times a month for 10 months, our flight costs will be about $2,900 — an average of $250 per trip.

3. Don’t Live Alone

Having two living spaces is a huge expense when living apart. It’s best to figure out a way to save on your rent or mortgage by having roommates, living with family and friends or renting out your space.

Prior to living apart, we were spending $830 per month on rent. In an effort to keep our housing costs the same, my husband lives rent-free with his parents in Minnesota. We looked into reasonable renting options for him but decided the $900 each month was better spent elsewhere.

I lived in our apartment in California until our lease was up. At that time, we had to decide if I would pay the month-to-month rental rate of $1,160 a month or find different housing. I found a coworker to stay with until the end of the academic year. We pay her $500 a month, saving more than half the apartment’s month-to-month rate.

Our living situation will save us close to $10,000 while living apart.

4. Use Your Time Apart Wisely

Being apart has allowed us to spend more time on our careers than we probably would have if we were together. This additional time allowed me to take on more career-advancing opportunities, like tutoring and coaching, which earned us an extra $4,000 during the school year.

Moreover, my husband’s extra hours in the office earned him the maximum salary increase after his probationary period. This refocused time has gotten us that much closer to our goals. This will look different for everyone, but we figured if we can’t be together, we might as well make money.

We estimate we’ll earn about an extra $6,000 while living apart.

5. Don’t Go All Out When You Are Together

Figure out what makes your relationship feel as normal as possible and spend your time together doing those activities. We found doing normal things like going to the grocery store, Target, budgeting and doing laundry together were more meaningful than lavish dates or mini vacations with hotel expenses.

Not splurging on fancy dinners, hotel stays or all-out dates has saved us about $200 per month together, which will end up saving us $2,000 over the full 10 months.

6. Make Sure You Are Insured

This one might not seem obvious at first, but different states have different insurance requirements and policies. You want to be covered! Ensure both parties are covered with health and auto insurance that follows the state requirements, and don’t forget to have homeowners or renters insurance in both locations.

We found health insurance that covered us in our respective states, but we had to choose our plan carefully. We also changed the insurance on the vehicle that would no longer be in California, saving us $300 for the year.  

Long-distance relationships can create many hardships, but don’t let finances be one of them.  Communication and planning are essential to ensure that the long-distance life doesn’t create a headache when it comes to money.

Courtney Ramirez is a teacher and wife living in California. She is passionate about budgeting and finding ways for her family to be financially responsible. She loves learning, road trips and food truck tacos!

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, one of the largest personal finance websites. We help millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. In 2016, Inc. 500 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the No. 1 fastest-growing private media company in the U.S.

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Louisiana billboard company buys Philadelphia company

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A Louisiana billboard company says it has bought one based in Philadelphia.Lamar Advertising Co ., of Baton Rouge, says it paid an undisclosed amount of cash for Steen Outdoor Advertising .Lamar said in a news release Friday that the purchase adds more than 460 billboard faces, 23 of them digital, to its inventory.It says Steen is the largest independent provider of outdoor advertising in the Philadelphia region and one of the nation's [...]

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Inspiration from Kaia Kater, Jane McGonigal, Billy Bragg, and More

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

1. Ralph Waldo Emerson on being yourself

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

I often have this sense that much of the modern world exists to try to shape all of us in certain ways. Marketers want us to want particular products and to buy certain things. News producers try to evoke emotional responses in us to sway our opinions and views.

In a world that theoretically values individualism, I often feel as though we are all being pushed in very similar directions, to become very similar people. The things that we argue vociferously about are actually tiny differences in the big scheme of things. We all accept so many of the core elements of what it is like to live in the modern world that the differences between us that seem so huge are actually very tiny.

It is hard to be yourself in that world. It’s hard to even find yourself sometimes, let alone let it all out.

I’m finding, more and more, that there is some great power in disconnection. Turn off the computer, the cell phone, the television. Spend time just with yourself, or just with other people who are also consciously disconnecting, and see what there is. See what you think. See what matters to you without all of those hints and nudges about what others think should matter to you.

2. The Radiant Child

This is a documentary about the life of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, who came to prominence in the 1980s as one of the prominent artists in the neo-impressionist movement. A surprisingly good description of Basquiat’s work comes from Wikipedia:

Basquiat’s art focused on “suggestive dichotomies”, such as wealth versus poverty, integration versus segregation, and inner versus outer experience. He appropriated poetry, drawing, and painting, and married text and image, abstraction, figuration, and historical information mixed with contemporary critique.

His art, to me, takes a number of elements that seem very simple and even crude and childlike on their own, but combines them together into something profound and thoughtful. When I see his work, my initial reaction is often of underestimation. I see very simple elements – individual elements that could be produced by lots of people. As I look, though, bigger themes come out. It’s the combination of the simple elements in the purpose of a broader idea is what really makes him amazing.

This documentary of his work, directed by Tamra Davis, is really well executed and is easily the best summary of his work that I’ve seen or read. I saw it for the first time on PBS in 2011, but I failed to record it (and actually missed a portion of it). I am extremely glad that I found it again.

3. Antoine de Saint-Exupery on work and longing

“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery

People ask how I can write on the mechanics and psychology of personal finance every day, but the secret is that most of the time, that’s not really what I’m writing about.

Budgets and 401(k)s and frugal tips – those are just tools. What personal finance really is all about is figuring out the really big things in life that your heart desires, thinking about them and seeing them until your heart longs for them, and then using that dream to pull yourself through the challenges that others aren’t quite willing to match.

I dream of spending an entire summer with Sarah, riding around from national park to national park, camping in each of them, while we’re still young and healthy enough to do so and without a real worry in the world. I dream of having independent children who don’t need me in their life, but sometimes want me there.

It is those dreams that pull me into personal finance. It is those thoughts that convince me to pick up the tools I need to make personal finance work for me. It is those visions that convince me to do the best I can to keep my marriage strong, build independence and self-reliance in my children, and preserve what wealth I have.

That’s the sea I long for.

4. Adam Alter on why our screens make us less happy

From the description:

What are our screens and devices doing to us? Psychologist Adam Alter has spent the last five years studying how much time screens steal from us and how they’re getting away with it. He shares why all those hours you spend staring at your smartphone, tablet or computer might be making you miserable — and what you can do about it.

Why would I share this on a website, you might ask? And how is this possibly “inspirational”?

For me, the research presented here – and other studies like it – have convinced me that I need to spend a significant chunk of time each day completely free of any type of screen. That includes my phone, my work computer, the television, and everything else.

Over the last several months, I’ve moved myself to a daily routine of having at least three hours free of screen time. I spend that time going on walks or bicycle rides, reading books, playing board games with friends, making food… very “analog” things. My cell phone is completely off, as is my work computer, and they’re stored away out of sight and out of mind.

I genuinely think that this change has done wonders for my mental well being.

In fact, I went on a weeklong screen-free period this summer. During that period, I didn’t really notice my mood raising, but afterwards, when I found myself again working in front of a screen and regularly using my phone, I could feel that the screen time definitely wasn’t a net positive in my life. It definitely brought advantages, but it brought subtle but strong disadvantages as well.

Take a break. You’ll be glad you did. The world itself, the one outside of your screen, just might inspire you.

5. 1 Second Everyday

I’ve been using this clever little app for a while to record one second of video each day that captures some key essence of what that day was about. The app then allows you to stitch those seconds together into a video of your life. So, for example, if you recorded one second a day for a month, you’d have roughly a thirty second clip of one second shots of each day, and if you recorded for a year, you’d have a six minute summary of your year.

Not only have I found this practice to be very enjoyable and the videos produced to be wonderful, it gradually becomes really obvious what things are important to me. My clips are loaded with bits that include my wife and my children, along with natural settings, books, and other specific hobby interests (often with friends).

I capture that stuff because that’s the stuff that means something to me. This app doesn’t produce some video for mass distribution (unless you were intentionally creating something to be shared that way). It creates something closer to a video diary for personal consumption. It’s a great way to reflect on your life and see what really matters to you.

6. Billy Bragg and Joe Henry – Tiny Desk Music Concert

From the description:

Earlier this year, Billy Bragg and Joe Henry set off on a journey. They boarded a train in Chicago, bound for Los Angeles. Each time the train stopped for more than 20 minutes in cities like St. Louis and San Antonio, they’d grab their guitars, hop off, find the waiting room and record an old railroad song. The result of this journey is an album called Shine A Light: Field Recordings From The Great American Railroad.

Bragg has been weaving folk and punk with protest music since the late ’70s, when he first started busking around London. You can hear his passion for American songwriters such as Woody Guthrie and Lead Belly on this record. Henry is an American singer and songwriter with 13 albums of his own. He’s also produced so many great records for others, including Rodney Crowell, Lisa Hannigan, Bonnie Raitt — and Bragg himself.

This concept record could be seen as a nostalgia trip, but both Bragg and Henry will emphatically say that it’s not. These songs and this journey celebrate the modern railroad as a major economic engine and a still-vital form of transportation. The songs are filled with mythic poetry and the metaphoric romance inherent in train songs, but the vitality in the performances keeps the songs current. You can hear that behind my desk as well as you might in a rail station.

One of my best friends joked that this album, Shine a Light, is like a checklist of things I like. It’s firmly in the folk and Americana genre, which is my favorite flavor of music. Billy Bragg is involved, one of my favorite musicians. The theme of the album is the classic American railroad.

Unsurprisingly, I love it. This music has been on heavy rotation at my work desk for most of the summer. Their version of Rock Island Line is particularly wonderful.

This type of music – folk, alt-country, Americana, whatever you want to call it – makes me feel connected to the world in a very deep way. Other flavors of music trigger all kinds of emotions and thoughts, but this is the type of music that comes closest to emulating how I feel connecting with new people and exploring new places.

7. F. Scott Fitzgerald on the passage of time

“I didn’t realize it, but the days came along one after another, and then two years were gone, and everything was gone, and I was gone.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald

About five years ago, I wrote a short essay for a parenting site about my then kindergarten-aged son and how one of the highlights of my day was when he would come home from school (the bus stop is right outside our front door) and immediately run up the stairs to find me. He could not wait to tell me about his day at school.

I lamented then that he would grow older and he wouldn’t rush up those stairs like that every single day after school. The thing is, though, he still does, at least some days. On other days, he does his homework or does something with his little sister or little brother.

The thing is, most days after school, at least one of them still runs up to tell me about their day. They want to tell me about something crazy that happened on the bus or something they learned about.

Why do they do it? My best guess is that I just completely stop my work and listen to them with my full attention. I ask them questions about it. I usually follow them downstairs and make an after school snack for them. I’ll usually sit in the same room with them as they’re doing homework and read a book while they do their homework and occasionally answer questions.

To put it simply, the reason my son still runs up the stairs four or five years after I figured he’d stop is that I give him some of myself, day after day. It pays off.

I’m writing this article early in the morning on the day my two oldest children are supposed to arrive home from summer camp. My goal is to be finished with a few days’ worth of writing in advance so that I can be completely in the moment at their camp closing ceremony and when they show me their cabins and introduce me to the friends they met at camp. We’ll go home, have meals together, play a game or two together, and visit some other family members over the next few days.

When you give of yourself, it is repaid. It might not always be repaid tomorrow, or the next day, but it is repaid. It might not be repaid in ways that you ever directly see, but it is repaid.

Give of yourself to others, especially those you love. Don’t worry about what you’ll get out of it. Just give. You’ll find, slowly and steadily, that things are given to you in return.

I do not view this quote as sad, though it may have been intended to be. Instead, I view it as a reminder that life will change, and what I do today shapes what tomorrow will be like. I will blink and five years will have passed. What did I do today to make that future the best it can be?

8. SuperBetter: The Power of Living Gamefully by Jane McGonigal

SuperBetter is a wonderful book about turning life’s challenges into a game. The concepts of the book are stuck in my head these days, and I’m exploring the strategies she outlines here for self-improvement as I write this. I have no doubt that this will inform future posts.

So, why mention it here? SuperBetter is one of those books that comes along that flips some switch in your head. It makes you address elements of your life in a different way than how you addressed them before, simply because it’s a better way for you.

It’s why I write, honestly. The stuff I write about won’t click for everyone, and the voice I use (I try hard to stick to an earnest Midwestern tone with what I write most of the time) isn’t right for everyone. However, I know that it really clicks with some people.

The thought that a person can write down their thoughts and ideas carefully enough that it can shift the thinking and behavior of someone else is endlessly inspiring to me. So, here, I’m doubly inspired – McGonigal’s book seems to be directly impacting my life, and the writing itself inspires me to do better (SuperBetter?) with my own words.

9. Benjamin Franklin on action over words

“Well done is better than well said.” – Benjamin Franklin

Actions speak louder than words. Actions speak louder than promises.

What commitments to others do you have on the table right now? What commitments to yourself do you have on the table right now?

Those commitments mean little if they’re not paired with actions. All of the budgets and the promises in the world add up to almost nothing if they’re not paired with doing something.

The world runs on action. The bright future that you want will only be borne through action.

10. Kaia Kater – Paradise Fell

From the first few notes on the banjo and that opening line, paradise fell and the tenements grew, I fell in love.

She was born of African and Caribbean descent in Montreal, grew up in West Virginia for a while, and plays a mix of bluegrass and Canadian folk music with lyrics that stretch into areas, particularly the types of personal narrative, that are new and fertile ground for music of that style.

In short, I can’t stop listening. This is from her most recent album, Nine Pin, which is great from beginning to end.

11. Warren Buffett on making money while you sleep

“If you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die.” – Warren Buffett

Do you make money when you sleep?

If you’re asking yourself how that’s possible, it’s simple. Do you have investments? Do you own things that grow in value over time with no additional effort from you? Do you have money in the bank that earns interest? Do you have stocks that earn dividends? Do you have properties that earn rent? Do you own things that appreciate in value?

You should be spending some of the money you earn from working on those things, because without them, you will keep working and working and working and working, without end.

12. Tim Ferriss on defining your fears instead of your goals

From the description:

The hard choices — what we most fear doing, asking, saying — are very often exactly what we need to do. How can we overcome self-paralysis and take action? Tim Ferriss encourages us to fully envision and write down our fears in detail, in a simple but powerful exercise he calls “fear-setting.” Learn more about how this practice can help you thrive in high-stress environments and separate what you can control from what you cannot.

This is a really good practice, one that’s surprisingly effective at cutting through some of the fears you have in life.

Basically, just imagine the things you fear actually happening, then think about what you’d need to do to get your life back on some sort of track that you’re happy with. Obviously, some of the biggest fears make returning to your current life impossible, so you’re looking for how to return to a life you’re content with, not necessarily your current life.

Now, what can you do today to make those “getting back on track” steps as easy as possible? What can you do right now so that, if those worst case fears come to pass, you can return to a good life as painlessly as possible?

That’s fear setting. It’s really useful. It causes you to fear the worst case scenarios a lot less than before simply because you see that they’re recoverable, and it also helps you to take action to minimize the impact of those scenarios.

Give it a try. You’ll be glad you did.

The post Inspiration from Kaia Kater, Jane McGonigal, Billy Bragg, and More appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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Keep the Trump Economy Roaring

One expert says that President Trump isn't getting recognition for the positive success of the economy.

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These 5 Tips Will Help You Market and Promote Your Side Gig Like a Pro

The Retail Industry Is Shedding Jobs — With One Major Exception

Call it the Amazon Effect.

The behemoth online retailer’s influence on U.S. jobs surfaced in a big way in the latest jobs report posted Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Mainly, it likely kept the beleaguered retail industry from slipping into negative job growth at a time when the rest of the economy is humming right along with a 4.3% unemployment rate.

Overall, jobs in the retail industry grew 0.2% in July compared to the same month in 2016. Meanwhile, employment at non-store retailers (ahem, Amazon) jumped 5.2% — that’s a heck of lot more than the overall private employment gain of 1.6% in July.

Amazon delivered in other parts of the economy as well. Warehousing and storage jobs catapulted upwards 3.7% last month.

Amazon Has Been on a Major Hiring Binge This Year

The fact that Amazon is killing the hiring game shouldn’t be a surprise if you’ve been keeping up with our jobs coverage.

This month alone, the company aims to add 50,000 part- and full-time employees at 10 fulfillment centers after holding its Jobs Day event earlier this week. That follows Amazon’s promise to hire 100,000 people this year.

And it’s not just warehouse jobs, Amazon is also hiring tons of seasonal customer service associates to help out with holiday orders.

Good for Amazon, But How’s the Rest of the Retail Sector Doing?

Now, Amazon may have been the Atlas to the rest of the country’s retail scene last month, but for the rest of the industry, things were pretty dire.

You had some slight winners in job growth, such as car parts dealers, which added 35,900 over the last year. And gas stations nearly grew with the rest of the economy with an additional 11,800 new jobs.

Still, as you can see in that nifty chart, most retail stores have shed jobs over the last year.

The biggest loser? Electronics and appliance retailers, with their workforce shrinking just under 4% from July 2016 through last month.

Yikes. But not surprising considering Radioshack’s massive corporate auction earlier this year (admit it, you bid on the gold album of trucker songs).

Sporting goods stores and clothing stores didn’t fare well either. And nearly 3,000 well-known retail stores are slated to close this year.

So what should you do if you end up on the unfortunate end of this trend?

First, know your rights if your employer files for bankruptcy. Accrued vacation or sick leave pay might be coming your way, and retirement benefits should be fine.

Next, find a side gig until you’re able to land another full-time job. I hear Amazon is hiring…

Amazon not the employer you’re looking for? Check out The Penny Hoarder Jobs page on Facebook for all sorts (get it? “Sort,” like at a fulfillment center?) of postings.

Alex Mahadevan is a data journalist at The Penny Hoarder.

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, one of the largest personal finance websites. We help millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. In 2016, Inc. 500 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the No. 1 fastest-growing private media company in the U.S.

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Expert Says New Employment Report is Stunning, But Someone Isn't Getting Enough Recognition

Dr. Stephen Moore maintains that the economy is on the right path, and that success is down the road. But he also says there's a key player who the media doesn't want to give credit to.

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FedEx Says it Won’t Fleece You With Holiday Surcharges (Take That, UPS!)

We love to shop online. And when the holidays roll around, we really love to shop online. Who wants to battle the crowds, the cold and that stray shopping cart someone left in the only open parking spot when you can get nearly everything you need right from the comfort of your couch?

This year, FedEx will embrace the spirit of giving by not adding extra surcharges to most packages shipped during the holiday season.

Yay! Wait… what? Does that mean some companies do bump up their charges during the season of cheer?

It does. “Then he got an idea. An awful idea. The Grinch got a wonderful, awful idea.”

In June 2017, UPS announced a set of surcharges it will add to packages shipped during a “peak period.” These surcharges include:

• 27 cents on UPS Ground packaged shipped Nov. 19-Dec. 2, and Dec. 17-23.
• 81 cents on UPS Next Day Air packages shipped Dec. 17-23.
• 97 cents on UPS 2nd Day Air and 3-Day Select packages shipped between Dec. 17-23.

These charges are added to the normal rate UPS would charge during non-holiday times. These peak periods include Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmastime.

Well, that doesn’t seem very full of holiday cheer.

That’s where FedEx comes in. While the company will still add surcharges to oversize items, unauthorized shipments and packages that require extra handling, standard shipments will have no added fees during holiday rush.

Is this just a ploy to get a bigger slice of that e-commerce shipping pie? Maybe, but that’s the beauty of competition: The consumer wins.

If you want to avoid the hassle and still do your shopping online, look for ship-to-store options. Yes, that means you have to go out and grab the stuff, but at least you get your shopping done online and may not have to pay anything at all for shipping.

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, one of the largest personal finance websites. We help millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. In 2016, Inc. 500 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the No. 1 fastest-growing private media company in the U.S.

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Will Easy-to-Digest FDA Labels Help Shoppers Find Cheaper, Healthier Foods?

Soon it’ll be easier to tell if the pricy food you’re paying top dollar for is really any better for you than the cheap stuff.

According to The Wall Street Journal, new Food and Drug Administration rules will require brands to change their nutrition labels to include the calorie count and and serving size in larger, bolder font, and inform consumers how much added sugar is in the product.

The FDA initially expected most large brands — those with at least $10 million in annual food sales — to complete the changes by July 26, 2018, but at the insistence of food makers, it backed off the compliance date. The FDA has not set a new deadline, but the Grocery Manufacturing Association would like it delayed until May 2021.

Some brands, like Campbell’s Soup, have criticized the push for a delay and say they are happy to comply with the original deadline. In fact, Campbell’s Soup has already started placing the new labels on its products.

“This was a philosophical decision,” Campbell Soup Co. CEO Denise Morrison told The Wall Street Journal. “Transparency is the single most important ingredient.”

Coca-Cola will make the switch to the new labels for some products this summer.

Other brands, however, don’t seem too eager to make the switch.

Kellogg, for example, supports a delay. The cereal maker said it needed more information about the requirements before it could comply with the changes, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Other FDA Nutrition Label Changes Could Be Coming

Sugar and calories aren’t the only things the FDA has on its agenda. The FDA also wants to require brands that use genetically modified organisms to say so on their products’ labels.

It lost the battle to make GMO labels a requirement last year when brands fought back, although some brands, including Campbell’s, began voluntarily to disclosing GMO use.

Desiree Stennett (@desi_stennett) is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, one of the largest personal finance websites. We help millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. In 2016, Inc. 500 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the No. 1 fastest-growing private media company in the U.S.

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The Nation’s Smallest State Becomes the Next to Offer Tuition-Free College

Rhode Island just became the latest state to offer free community college to high school graduates.

On Thursday, state lawmakers greenlit a four-year pilot program for the Promise Scholarship, which will allow recent high school grads to attend the Community College of Rhode Island this fall without paying tuition or fees, CNN Money reported.

The new law will save students from paying roughly $2,300 per semester, the current cost of in-state tuition and fees.

The state has earmarked $2.8 million in its budget to cover the first year, CNN Money reported.

Gov. Gina Raimondo’s initial free-college proposal included two years of free tuition at both of Rhode Island’s public four-year colleges, but lawmakers scrapped that idea.

This new law follows in the footsteps of Tennessee, Oregon, Minnesota, New York and San Francisco, where free-college programs have previously been approved or are already in place.

Who is Eligible for the New Program?

All recent high school graduates in Rhode Island can benefit from this program, regardless of family income.

While enrolled in community college, students must maintain a GPA of at least 2.5. Free tuition is only granted to full-time students.

Similar to New York’s free college deal, CNN Money reported the program requires those who benefit from the free tuition to live, work or continue their education in Rhode Island after graduation, though the exact details of the stipulation have yet to be hashed out.

The Community College of Rhode Island expects about 1,200 to 1,300 students to benefit from the Promise Scholarship this fall.

Not a whole lot, but you have to keep in mind Rhode Island is the nation’s smallest state.

So, What If I Don’t Live in Rhode Island?

For the hundreds of thousands of future college students in states not offering free tuition, there are still numerous ways to get a degree without taking on mountains of student loan debt.

At these nine schools, students can graduate debt-free — though each has its own set of requirements.

Grants and scholarships can reduce — or completely eliminate — the financial burden. Here are 100 scholarships that can help.

Taking on a job while in college is another way to pay down your tuition bill. Campus Sherpa hires students to give campus tours to prospective students.

You could choose to forgo a pricier four-year school for a two-year institution — and still graduate and go off to earn a great living. Here are 10 high-paying jobs that don’t require a bachelor’s degree.

And if you skip college altogether — here are 12 hot infrastructure jobs that don’t require a college education.

Nicole Dow is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. Despite a nearly full-ride scholarship, she is still paying off student loan debt.

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, one of the largest personal finance websites. We help millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. In 2016, Inc. 500 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the No. 1 fastest-growing private media company in the U.S.

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This Trick Lets Me Make Money Each Month Surfing the Web Like I Always Do

How This Mom Bought All Her Kids’ Back-to-School Clothes for Less Than $40

Like many parents, I use to have a bad habit of making a mad, last-minute dash for back-to-school clothes.

My procrastination often resulted in spontaneous spending for the closest ensembles I could find and an outrageous bill that left me kicking myself later on. As a single parent, I simply had to monitor my pennies a lot better than that.

My daughters are 8 and 7, and what fits them in August will definitely be too small by December, so spending hundreds of dollars on new clothes is out of the question.

Here’s how I shop secondhand strategically — and how I put together a back-to-school wardrobe for both girls for less than $40.

I Appreciate Hand-Me-Downs and Thrift Stores

Some parents turn their noses up at the idea of accepting used clothing from others because they may feel like a charity case.

However, as a solo parent, I love the concepts of “free,” “discounted” and “BOGO” (buy one, get one). I put my pride to the side for a minute and gave it a try. And when I saw how much money I was saving from thrift shopping, I was proud to call myself a cheapskate!

I Visit Different Thrift Stores

While I love Once Upon A Child, in my small town of Newport News, Virginia, there are a few other stores for children including a Boys and Girl’s Club thrift store, a few CHKD thrift stores and several Goodwills.

I try to visit these different stores at least once to get an idea of what type of items they have. A CHDK thrift store may have way more children’s items than the neighborhood Goodwill store.

Additionally, I pay attention to the sizes they carry. Do they cater to toddlers, school-aged kids or teenagers? This helps me determine which stores are most useful when shopping for my family — and which will help me save the most money.

I Focus on Thrift Stores Close to Wealthy Areas

We all want nice things, especially for our children. I’ve found thrift stores in wealthy zip codes in my area tend to have nicer items.

Wealthy folks have the money to purchase nice items and are more likely to drop their old things at the closest thrift store. Doing a quick Google search of thrift stores near wealthy neighborhoods helps me determine where to shop first.

I Follow Thrift Stores on Social Media and Sign Up for Their Newsletters

Signing up for email newsletters, and following the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feeds of popular children’s thrift stores like Once Upon A Child helps me take advantage of deals.

Recently, I bought all my kids back-to-school clothing at a “stuff-the-bag” sale — everything had to fit in standard shopping bags. I left with two over-stuffed bags of used, well-kept clothes for my girls:

• 14 shirts
• 1 skirt
• 1 dress
• 1 pair of shorts
• 9 pairs of pants

…all for $38.16!

Companies tend to give special coupons and deals to their most loyal followers, so email subscribers and social media fans get first dibs.

I Get Up Early to Take Advantage of Thrift Sales

And when I don’t, I regret it. When I arrived at the store for the stuff-the-bag sale at 9:15 a.m., there was already a line down the sidewalk — and the store didn’t open until 9:30!

Tons of other people want to take advantage of the same sales. Do yourself a favor and get there earlier so you can get your hands on the cutest hand-me-downs first!

I Take My Kids Shopping

While some older children may be less than enthusiastic about thrift stores, I say, don’t hide your thriftiness from your children. Take them shopping with you, and teach them to get excited about finding great deals!

My kids love to dabble in the toy and book sections, and because these items are so heavily marked down, buying them a “new” toy is not a huge money hassle for me. It could even spark a change in money habits for them that could last into adulthood.

These strategies make shopping for my children a breeze. It’s not a decision between clothes and the cable bill anymore!

Monica Leftwich is a working mom and freelance writer who loves to discuss topics like women’s health and single parenting issues. When she’s not working, she’s eating sushi, making spaghetti and meatballs for her kids, or belly dancing. Find her at monicaleftwich.com.

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, one of the largest personal finance websites. We help millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. In 2016, Inc. 500 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the No. 1 fastest-growing private media company in the U.S.

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Job Jump: US Gains 209K Jobs as Unemployment Rate Falls

U.S. employers added 209,000 jobs in July, a second straight month of robust gains that underscore the economy's increasing vitality.

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The Latest SEO Trends You Should Ignore

Given that Google changes its search algorithm 500-600 times each year, it’s not surprising marketers get confused sometimes.

Speculations about the latest SEO trends run rampant and are a breeding ground for many myths.

For this reason, it’s sometimes difficult to tell fact from fiction.

Of course, the Internet provides the perfect framework for misinformation to spread at an alarming rate.

As a result, many marketers waste their energy and resources implementing useless tactics that don’t get any results.

Or worse, some implement harmful techniques that get them penalized.

It’s a bad deal either way.

In this post, I’d like to address some particular SEO trends I see many marketers fall for that are really nothing but a waste of time.

Here we go.

Keyword density is a huge ranking factor

Remember the days when jam-packing content with a targeted keyword phrase would send it soaring to the top of the SERPs?

Kind of like this monstrosity:

It made for some lackluster content and provided very minimal (if any) real value to readers.

Thankfully, those days are long gone.

Panda put an end to that back in 2011.

Since then, any SEO marketer in their right mind made sure they weren’t doing any keyword stuffing.

But here’s the thing.

It left a lot of questions regarding proper keyword density.

Obviously, keyword stuffing is a bad idea. That’s a given.

But many SEO marketers still seem to think that keyword density is a huge ranking factor.

They end up putting a lot of time and effort into getting it just right.

Just hit that perfect keyword density, and you’re good to go.

But this isn’t the case.

While it is true that keyword density is a ranking factor, it’s by no means as important as it once was.

There’s no reason to stress about it.

It’s something that you should be conscious of, but it shouldn’t command all your attention.

In other words, there’s no need to drive yourself crazy trying to reach the optimal keyword density.

This line from Backlinko summarizes it perfectly:

You have to use exact match keywords

There’s another keyword-related myth I would like to put to rest.

And that’s the idea that you should use only exact match keywords.

Let me reference the red apples example one more time:

Beyond the annoying keyword stuffing taking place here, take a look at how every use of the keyword is an exact match.

It sounds ridiculous and unnatural!

That’s not how humans talk.

If it’s unnatural, it’s not adding quality.

And if it’s not adding quality, it’s not contributing to the user experience.

The bottom line is you should use exact match keywords only when it makes sense and sounds natural.

If it makes your content sound clunky, you’ll want to ditch it or use a variation of the keyword.

The concept of always using exact match keywords is extremely antiquated and dates back to when keyword stuffing was acceptable.

But neither has a place in current SEO best practices.

Pop-ups are an automatic deal breaker

In January 2017, Google launched an update known as the “Intrusive Interstitial Penalty.”

Here’s a snippet from the Google Webmaster Blog regarding this update:

The primary purpose was to provide a better experience for mobile users, ensuring their browsing doesn’t get disrupted by ungodly pop-ups like these:

This created an uproar in the SEO community with people being deathly afraid to use any type of pop-up on their sites.

And it’s easy to see why.

Why would you want to risk it?

It was an update for which Google gave a warning several months in advance, which in and of itself is pretty rare.

I even wrote an article in late 2016 called “What Are Interstitials, and Are They Hurting Your SEO?” to give my readers advanced warning.

At the time, it seemed like a very legitimate concern.

But now that some time has passed and the dust has settled, it appears it’s not that big of a deal after all.

Most experts agree:

And I can’t even begin to tell you the number of pop-ups I still get hit with whenever I’m exploring the web or doing research.

In fact, I’m a little disappointed because I hate being disrupted by mindless pop-ups when I’m in the zone and trying to find important information.

Apparently, having pop-ups on your site isn’t the kiss of death.

But if you do decide to use them, be responsible about it.

Don’t go out of your way to interrupt the user experience, and try to make pop-ups as seamless as possible.

It’s all about inbound links

We all know links are super important.

I’ll be the first to say a great looking link profile is a thing of beauty.

But it seems too many marketers are too fixated on just inbound links and forget about outbound links.

Of course, you want authoritative and relevant sites to link to you!

But don’t ignore outbound links:

I mentioned in a post on NeilPatel.com that “outbound links or links that point to external web pages from your own site can actually impact your blog authority. Make sure the pages your links point to are relevant, useful and have good standing with Google.” 

And there are plenty of experts who agree.

In fact, Backlinko listed outbound link quality as #31 of Google’s 200 ranking factors.

That’s fairly high.

But isn’t it a disadvantage when people exploring your site are directed to an external site?

Wouldn’t it adversely affect your bounce rate and average time spent on your site, not to mention your conversions?

Well, as we all know, Google’s top priority is an awesome user experience and great content.

If you include super helpful outbound links that expand on a topic, you’ll be rewarded.

What I’m trying to say here is all links are important.

Instead of focusing solely on acquiring inbound links, you should link out to awesome resources as well.

Make it a habit.

Note: make your outbound links open in a separate tab. This increases the chance that readers will return to your site, and I find it creates an overall better user experience.

Jamming your site with affiliate links is no big deal

Ah…affiliate links.

What website owner/blogger wouldn’t want to cash in on them?

It’s one of the most efficient ways to get a nice payday with minimal energy expended.

Don’t get me wrong, I like affiliate marketing. I really do.

In fact, a lot of people completely crush it with affiliate marketing.

Just take a look at what Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income made in a single month:

This isn’t to say that making over 80 grand in a month is the norm.

But it does go to show the potential affiliate marketing has.

So, of course, some people will go overboard and stuff their content with affiliate links, assuming it’s no big deal.

And this might have been the case a year ago.

But if you’re familiar with the Google “Fred” update that took place in March 2017, you know going crazy with affiliate links is tempting fate.

Barry Schwartz of Search Engine Land took the time to analyze roughly 100 sites affected by the update, and here’s what he found:

I would say experiencing a 50-90% drop in traffic is cause for concern, and you should proceed with caution for the foreseeable future.

This isn’t to say including a few affiliate links here and there will kill your traffic, but it’s definitely something to be aware of.

Having an abundance of affiliate links signals to Google that making affiliate sales is the main purpose of your content, which could negatively affect your rankings.

Conclusion

I’ll be honest.

SEO can be maddening at times.

There are always some kind of adjustments being made to Google’s algorithm.

Some are major; some are minor. But this constant tweaking often leads to speculation.

This speculation leads to rumors, and rumors lead to persistent myths.

That’s why I thought I would clear the air about some of the most pervasive SEO trends that are actually quite useless.

I hope that putting things into perspective for you will help you focus on what really matters and help you avoid investing your time and energy into tactics that won’t bring any results.

It should also reduce your odds of incurring any ugly penalties.

In your opinion, what’s the biggest SEO myth that marketers continually fall for?

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Your Budget Is No Place for Wishful Thinking

Budgets are often presented as being some kind of magical tool that people can use that will transform their day-to-day life from an ongoing slow-motion financial disaster into a debt eliminating and wealth building machine.

Quite often, personal finance books and websites buy into this picture, too. They immediately suggest creating a budget for your spending, setting caps on all kinds of spending areas, and then showing that this budget somehow “transforms” your income into covering all of your needs and leaving you with lots of money to pay down debts and build a great financial future.

It’s exciting. It’s motivating. And it’s wrong.

A strong budget is much like a 1,200-calorie-a-day diet. If you actually manage to stick to it, it’s going to produce great results fairly quickly. If you can’t, it falls apart and becomes useless.

Part of the problem is willpower, of course, but another big part of the problem is that life is simply not fully predictable. You don’t know what tomorrow will bring, and if your budget is so tight that you have little breathing room for the unexpected, your budget will break. Just like a very tight diet sometimes dies when you have unexpected travel or a friend shares a treat with you, a very tight budget sometimes dies when you have to travel for a funeral or your car breaks down.

A super tight, super optimistic budget is doomed to failure, by definition. The simple unexpected nature of daily life is going to force you into very difficult decisions and you will eventually – and surprisingly quickly – find yourself trampling over a tight budget, much like a person quickly finds themselves shoving aside a diet that’s too restrictive.

Why do people have restrictive budgets, then? The simple reason is wishful thinking. If you envision a future where everything goes well and there are no problems whatsoever, then a strict budget will work and it will get you to your financial goals as fast as possible. Thus, the wishful thinking is twofold: Your life will go perfectly with perfect discipline and your financial goals are achievable in absolute minimum time.

The problem with that wishful thinking, as noted above, is that it begs for your budget to fail and quickly become meaningless. Wishful thinking turns budgeting into a flight of fancy rather than a really useful financial tool.

Instead, a good budget is a picture of your real spending with a few good choices thrown in. Think of it as a financial version of a diet that’s going to cause you to lose a pound a week or something realistic rather than a “beach body in 30 days” diet.

The first step in building a good budget isn’t to sit down and start writing down ideal numbers; instead, you should start by simply tracking your spending. If you have receipts and statements for the last month, that’s a brilliant starting point, as you can use that to make a baseline “budget” for the last month… in reality, it’s just a picture of how you spent your money.

In fact, your best move is to make several of these “budgets” over the course of several months. Where did your money actually go each month? This helps with figuring out things like irregular bills, like quarterly insurance payments or annual property taxes or vehicle registration, something that is often overlooked in a tight budget. It also helps you get a grip on irregular expenses, like buying gifts or traveling – these things aren’t strictly bills per se, but they are expenses that don’t pop up like clockwork every single month. Some months have minimal travel costs, while others have significant travel costs. Ideally, you’ll take several of these “spending pictures” and average them to get a picture of a true “average month” of spending.

One area many people struggle with is “categorization.” How does one organize one’s expenses in a sensible way? There are thousands of budget templates out there – here’s my own guide to a simple first budget – but you shouldn’t treat the categories they provide as written in stone. Treat them as a starting point. You can make up new ones, or divide the ones they have into pieces, or even combine pieces. Turn it into something that makes sense for you, so that you intuitively know what category each expense in your life belongs in with minimal effort or thought.

For example, rather than having a catch-all “entertainment/hobby” category, I actually split our family’s budget up into several sub-categories so that I can keep careful track of various flavors of spending there. This allows me to budget my own personal hobby spending and put some light but reasonable caps on the overall hobby and entertainment spending for our family (we’ll get to this in a second). This may make sense for some, while it may not really click for others.

Find categories that work for you. Over a few months, chop up each month’s spending into those categories. It’s then, and only then, that you can make a sensible budget going forward, one that isn’t reliant on wishful thinking.

What do you do when you have those things? Make an “average” picture of your spending. Just average out each of those categories across all of the months.

Let’s say that, in January, you spent $50 on books, and books was a line item on your budget. February had $70 in book spending, while March had $50 again, while April had only $30. You add all of those up – $200 – and divide by the number of months – 4. This gives you an average of $50 a month you spent on books. You do this exact thing for each spending category you have, and what you’ll produce is a true picture of what an average financial month looks like for you.

Now, all you need to do is put some light caps on a few of the flexible categories. In the example above, that person is “budgeting” $50 a month for books – that’s their average spending over several months. That person then creates a budget for the coming month and puts in $40 for books.

Do the same thing for every category that’s actually flexible – in other words, ones where your choice has an impact. Cut it by 10% or so. If you spend $200 a month eating out, make that target number $180 or $175 for the coming month. You get the idea.

Now, what about those less flexible numbers? Just start going through them and see if there’s anything you can trim that won’t really affect your quality of life. Maybe you realize that you almost never watch cable any more and instead you just watch Netflix. In that case, perhaps you can simply cut out your cable service and save $50 a month. Maybe you can call your cell phone provider and switch to a smarter plan. Maybe you can shop around for insurance. Maybe you realize that you’ll start saving $10 a month by buying an annual bus pass instead of a monthly one. When you permanently reduce a bill, you can reduce that matching number in your overall budget.

There are still a few things to do to really make this a worthwhile budget.

First, it’s a good idea to account for emergencies, so include a line in your budget for putting money into your savings account for an “emergency fund” and treat it like a bill. The more you put aside here, the easier it is to handle unexpected disasters. Leave that line alone and continually transfer that much money each month – in fact, automate it if you can. Then, only tap that emergency money if you need to.

Second, it’s also a good idea to add a little bit of “inflation” to irregular bills. Although you calculated an average of many of your bills, it’s a good idea to add a little bit to each of those averages to make sure you come in below budget in those categories most months. For example, if your electric bill averages $200 a month, but your bill varies a lot, it’s a good idea to budget $225 for it. There’s no need to budget the maximum amount, but budgeting a bit above average gives you breathing room.

Continuing on with that thought, when you come in under a budget category, don’t just spend that money freely. Instead, use it to cover other areas of your budget where you may have gone over this month, then bank the remaining amount for overruns in future months. Let this be an addendum to your emergency fund, in other words.

It’s important to note that this isn’t a crutch to allow yourself to consistently go over budget in your flexible spending areas. Rather, you should be making smart choices about your flexible spending areas in your budget so that you don’t go over budget during the course of a month. For example, just because you came in under budget with your electric bill doesn’t mean that it’s okay to choose to go way over budget on your entertainment spending. You should be shooting for your target in every category, regardless of the performance of other categories, and ideally coming in a bit under budget in as many categories as possible.

As you can see, a budget isn’t a place for wishful thinking; it’s a place for realistic thinking. It’s a place where you can get a meaningful picture of your spending for the coming month, see where your money is going, set some reasonable goals for your own money behavior, and plan out your steady march toward your big financial goals!

It all starts with a little realistic thinking!

Good luck!

Related Articles:

• Macrobudgeting and Microbudgeting
• 31 Days to Financial Independence, Day 5: A Living Budget
• Does Budgeting Seem Too Complex? Five Simple Alternatives That Can Bring Real Results
• The Secrets Behind Successful Budgeting

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