الاثنين، 30 أكتوبر 2017
Want a Whole Paycheck From Whole Foods? It’s Filling 6,000 Jobs This Week
Fresh from its recent acquisition by Amazon, Whole Foods is launching a hiring event to tap thousands of new employees across the U.S.
The grocery chain plans to hire 6,000 people during its National Hiring Day event on Thursday, Nov. 2.
That day, you can walk into any Whole Foods for an in-person interview and you might walk out with a job.
Yes, really.
Apply beforehand to save yourself some time at the event. You don’t need to bring a resume, but under the frequently asked questions section of the event description, Whole Foods mentions that it increases your chance of getting a job.
Ditch the suit and tie for the hiring event — Whole Foods says the dress code is casual. Nice.
Study the grocery retailer’s core values and be prepared to talk about why you would be a good fit for the company.
And finally, make sure to call your local store to find out the timeframe of the interviews and which part of the store managers will be conducting them.
So what types of jobs can you expect to find during the event?
Whole Foods Is Hiring for a Variety of Positions
Dozens of types of jobs are available at Whole Foods Market, depending on the location.
Here are just a few of the options you might find at your local store:
- Seafood team member
- Cook
- Barista
- Cashier
- Bakery team leader
- Grocery team member
- Meat cutter
- Buyer specialist
So there you have it. Fill out that application and you’re one step closer to a job at Whole Foods.
If hired, you’ll receive a 20% discount starting on your first day, as well as health and dental benefits.
And you thought Amazon would hire a bunch of robots, didn’t you?
Alex Mahadevan is a data journalist at The Penny Hoarder. He tried to fit in a Whole Paycheck joke, but failed miserably.
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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Questions About Bad Credit, Obligations, iPhone X, Restaurant Reviews, and More!
What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to summaries of five or fewer words. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question.
1. Bad credit and property sales
2. Escaping paycheck to paycheck
3. Wealthy obligation to community
4. Warm everyday socks for winter
5. iPhone X question
6. Dissatisfied with discount grocers
7. Box of old bills
8. Amazon Camperforce thoughts?
9. Cheap popcorn popper
10. Taekwondo question
11. Handling a bad restaurant experience
12. Fall and winter reading recommendations
Winter has come suddenly and quickly to my area. In the last week, seemingly overnight, temperatures went from being in the 60s to being in the 30s. I quickly started to transition to my winter wardrobe, much faster than expected.
This means, of course, packing up a lot of my summer clothes for several months. When I do that, I usually evaluate them and get rid of some of the ones in terrible shape, as I often wear clothes for longer than I should. The ragbag will get a refill very soon.
On to your questions…
Q1: Bad credit and property sales
I have a horrible credit score and dismal credit because when I bought my current house two years ago I incurred about $40K in debt (credit cards) and *believed at the time* that I would “simply” sell my VA home and pay off this debt. Two years later, that was a bad decision. I have a CA house with LOTS of equity that I want to sell but I need a backer who can pay the mortgage while it’s being sold in case the tenants move out, leaving it empty. With such a bad credit score (which will INSTANTLY go up once this property sells and everything gets paid off), to whom can I turn? NO traditional lenders will touch me…my score is lower than my shoe size. Only hope is selling the CA house. Please help.
– Tim
The truth is that without good credit very few financial institutions will talk to you about an arrangement like this. You’re asking someone to take on the risk of your property in exchange for what, exactly? What benefit would your “backer” get out of this arrangement?
You might find a bank that would loan you money based on the equity of the property, but it would require you to have very good credit, which you don’t have.
To put it simply, in order to get your credit back, you have to take on this risk yourself, and the best way to do that is to build up a cash emergency fund so that you could handle a few months of rent if tenants move out on your own. Your other option is to just sell the property as quickly as possible without that type of protection, but you probably won’t make as much on the property.
Q2: Escaping paycheck to paycheck
I bring home $3300 a month. $1000 of that is gone right away to pay off my debts: a car loan, student loan, and credit card. Then after paying rent, the electric bill, the phone bill, car insurance, and a small contribution to my Roth IRA, plus groceries and other necessities, I’m always scraping the bottom of the barrel by the end of the pay period. I’ve tracked my spending and I’ve cut back where I could, but I was already living pretty frugally. I’m tired of living paycheck to paycheck. I already work 40 hours a week and don’t have the energy for a second job. For my field, I actually get paid a higher-than-normal salary, so switching jobs would result in a pay cut, and I love my field so I’m not interested in switching careers. I’m 40 years old and with $30k in debt I feel like I’m going to have to live this way for a long time. It’s pretty discouraging. Any advice?
– Nadine
Without seeing a bigger picture of your finances, it’s hard to give advice. For example, when I see “car loan,” I always ask myself how new that car is. When that loan is gone, are you going to keep driving that car or just get a new car with a new loan? Hint: if you want to get ahead, you keep driving that car for as many years as possible after that loan (and, even better, keep socking away part of that monthly car loan payment so that you can pay cash or mostly cash for your next car).
When I see “other necessities,” I ask myself how much of a “necessity” those things are. I have no idea of knowing that without seeing what those “other necessities” are.
Here’s the truth: to get ahead, you have to spend less than you earn. There is no magic secret other than that. The choices a person has to make in order to spend less than they earn are sometimes hard ones. I have friends who have done things like couchsurf for a year or live in a tent or drive a 20+ year old car with a piece of pine board as a temporary “bumper.”
I can’t tell you how to get there without a much fuller picture of your finances. All I can tell you is that you have to really consider what is actually a necessity.
Q3: Wealthy obligation to community
What do you think of the idea that people who build their own healthy finances are obligated to take care of the community that supported them along the way? Like, if you become a millionaire, you should give back to the schools that educated you, the parks you used for fitness and for thinking, etc.? Is that a real obligation?
– Andrew
This is an idea called “noblesse oblige,” which is French for “nobility obligates.” It’s the idea that “nobility” extends beyond entitlements and extends to social responsibilities.
We don’t really have nobility here – the closest thing we have to it is wealth, as we’re a (representative) democratic capitalist society. The people who have enough wealth to not work for a living are the ones who have adequate resources to give back to the places and people who helped get them there.
I think the idea is a wonderful one, and ideally, I hope it is one that people who achieve financial independence and significant wealth can ascribe to. The question is whether it is a requirement. My feeling is this: if someone takes the rewards life has given them and uses them in a way to become financially independent and then does not replenish those resources (and, ideally, make them even better than before), that person is a person that I have little respect for, but I don’t think they’ve made a choice that should be illegal.
I’ll be the first to admit that one of my biggest biases is against ostentatious displays of wealth, like an obscenely expensive car. When I see things like this, while I appreciate the aesthetic beauty of the car, I see someone that, in my eyes, has violated the general principle of noblesse oblige, and I tend to think less of that person. On the other hand, the wealthiest person I know in day to day life spends most of his time doing community charitable work – he’s the person I probably have the most respect and admiration for out of everyone I actually know, and someone that I’ve actually wanted to interview for this site. That person is living the principle.
So, for me, that idea is one that earns respect, but I don’t think it should be strictly required.
Q4: Warm everyday socks for winter
Been reading your site for many years. Just moved to northern Iowa from Louisiana and it is really cold here! What do you do for keeping warm, esp. socks and shoes?
– Daniel
Most of the time in winter, unless I’m going to be trudging through snow or spending a long time outside, I wear normal shoes or hiking shoes with really good socks.
When the weather isn’t too cold, I usually wear merino wool socks. My preferred ones – and the ones I’m slowly migrating my entire sock collection to – are hiking socks from Darn Tough Socks. These are a perennial entry on my Christmas wish list for the last few years, as I slowly replace all of my socks with them. They’re kinda expensive, but a single pair is usually a very simple gift that people can give me that isn’t too costly and it’s one that I’m usually thrilled with. (Note that I rarely wear socks in the summer at all.)
What do I do on really, really cold days? I double-layer those socks, with an older, slightly looser pair on the outside and a newer, slightly tighter pair on the inside. I don’t particularly like super-thick socks. I try to avoid them, in fact. I’d rather wear a double layer of thinner wool socks if it’s super cold.
On a day when I’m going to be trudging through snow, I do have a pair of winter boots. These are the current versions of the ones I have, which are several years old. I wear a thick Carhartt Arctic winter coat that I’ve had for about fifteen years, similar to this one, that I bought during a going out of business sale. For most of my clothing, I just layer and layer on the coldest days, with a t-shirt and then a long-sleeved t-shirt, and then a sweatshirt, and then that coat. I’m often sweating in there, even when it’s well below freezing. I’ll wear sweatpants under my jeans as well, and sometimes even an additional layer under that.
Right now, in the early part of the cold season, things will be pricy. My suggestion for your first winter is to get through with cheap stuff and layers, and then stock up at the end of the season when things are on sale (March or so).
Q5: iPhone X question
Where is the cheapest place to get an iPhone X?
– Susan
The cheapest place to get an iPhone X is the year 2020 when the price has come down to a reasonable level.
Right now? Don’t buy an iPhone X. Period. It is pretty much a shining beacon of overspending to be an early adopter of something that’s only marginally better than what’s available.
Is it a nifty phone? Sure. Is it worth $1,000 when there are $200 phones available that do 95% of the same things? No.
Furthermore, there aren’t any secret iPhone X bargains unless a particular mobile company is subsidizing the cost to get a new customer, in which case you’re probably switching away from the best phone service in your area, which isn’t worth it.
Q6: Dissatisfied with discount grocers
So I followed your suggestion and tried shopping at Aldi and also at Save-A-Lot. I haven’t gone to those places in the past because of bad reputation and now I know why they have it. At Aldi it was hard to find anything because the products seemed to be put out at random. There were bread items put in three different places in the store. When I got to the checkout the checkout lady just threw stuff that I had bought and tossed a bunch of apples on top of my bread and then said I couldn’t return it and that I should have grabbed the bread if I wanted it to be treated specially. At Save-A-Lot it was really dirty and there was only one checker while the line was 20+ people deep nd I ended up just walking away from my cart. The little bit you save isn’t worth it.
– Angela
Every local store is different. The Aldi nearest my house is really nice and clean and the aisles seem pretty well organized, though they’re laid out in a way I consider a bit strange at first glance. That being said, I’ve had a horrible experience at Aldi in the past.
The key here isn’t that you decided to shop at Aldi or Save-A-Lot, but that you checked them out and tried to judge them reasonably. It seems like you have legitimate issues with the discount stores near you, which would make the choice to shop elsewhere a reasonable choice.
I don’t do all of my grocery shopping at Aldi (or Faraway, the other nearby discount grocer). I do go to other places sometimes, mostly due to selection at Aldi and Fareway, which is sometimes limited. No store is perfect. However, those stores form the backbone of our family’s grocery shopping.
Q7: Box of old bills
I recently came across a box of old bills from 2007-2009 back when I wasn’t very organized. Is there any reason to go through these or can I dispose of them?
– Connie
The general rule for saving old bills is to wait seven years and then dispose of them, so you should be okay getting rid of them.
If I were you, I’d either burn them or find some way to bulk shred them. A box of old bills like that would say “big bonfire” to me – I would take them out in the backyard, fill up our covered fire pit with them, and burn them all on a day with little or no wind.
Why do that? It’s a little bit of identity security, that’s all. It’s all about keeping your private info safe.
Q8: Amazon Camperforce thoughts?
Do you have any thoughts or insight about Amazon Camperforce? My wife and I are retired and live in our camper. We have enough money but are often bored and want to feel productive and wouldn’t complain at having a little more money. We are still very able bodied.
– Jeffrey
For those unaware, the Amazon Camperforce program is a temporary worker program run by Amazon that targets people just like Jeffrey and his wife – “retired” people who are still able bodied and are able to easily migrate, which usually means people living in RVs or campers. The program essentially fills up campgrounds in warm-weather areas with such workers, who provide seasonal help at Amazon warehouses during the holiday season.
There are some advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are that it’s work that pays reasonably well (and covers the cost of your campsite and utilities) and it’s usually done in an environment with a lot of people in a similar situation. The disadvantage? It doesn’t pay a ton and it’s fairly hard work.
From comments from other readers in the past, it often seems to attract people in their sixties who chose a RV/camper lifestyle and found it difficult to make ends meet after making the switch. Their program is often used as a backdrop for stories about people who may never be able to fully retire.
I can’t say whether it’s a good program for you or not, but it’s definitely worth looking into.
Q9: Cheap popcorn popper
We eat popcorn 2-3 times a week when watching TV. We microwave bags of it. I was at the store and looked at the cost of a big container of kernels and its way cheaper. We started using brown paper bags and it works okay but you end up throwing away the bag afterwards so there’s still extra cost. What’s the cheapest way to pop popcorn well?
– Carrie
All you actually need is a microwave-safe bowl and a plate. Just put about a quarter cup of kernels into the bowl, cover it with a plate, and microwave on high for about 5 minutes, until you can count to five between pops. If you want butter, you can microwave it quickly afterwards and drizzle it on top – same with salt.
The only drawback is that you need to be careful when removing this from the microwave as some steam builds up under the plate, and when you remove it for the first time it can be hot. Be careful!
I don’t really know any reason to do it any other way if you have a microwave available.
Q10: Taekwondo question
You’ve mentioned a couple of times that you’ve started taekwondo classes. What’s the scoop?
– Mandy
My children and my wife have been in taekwondo for a while as a family activity. I didn’t join because our youngest son wasn’t old enough, and then when he was old enough, I had a conflict that kept me from the classes. Now that it’s over, I decided to join up and do it with my family, since we already have a family package for classes. (I’m far behind them in belt rank.)
I’m mostly doing it to help with balance and general physical condition. I take the approach that if I’m not breathing heavy and sweating profusely at the end of a session, I’m wasting my time, so I push myself really hard at the start and am usually exhausted near the end.
The interesting part is that it’s actually pretty mentally strenuous, too. They do a ton of simple moves at the start intended to get everyone out of breath, mixing together repeated kicks with things like planks, and then when everyone’s tired, they jump to combination moves that you have to think through a little bit, which is even harder if you’re sweating a ton and panting.
The contact is extremely limited – most of what we’re doing is self-defense and escape oriented. The class isn’t focused on beating each other up. To put it in “Karate Kid” terms, the class is way closer to Mr. Miyagi than Cobra Kai Dojo – perhaps comically so.
The cost is pretty low and you can go to as many classes per month as you want, so the cost per class for our family is actually below the $1/hour mark (I calculated this). I’m pretty happy with that considering that it’s something that’s getting us all in better shape and helping with family bonding through a shared activity.
Q11: Handling a bad restaurant experience
What is the best way to handle a poor restaurant experience? Going online and raging about it seems childish but the restaurant shouldn’t have any kind of good reputation.
– Stephen
You need to figure out what your goal is. What sort of outcome do you want for the restaurant and for yourself? Do you wish for that restaurant to have diminished business? Do you want recompensation for yourself? What is the goal here?
No matter what you choose to do, being calm and unemotional about it is usually the best approach. Online reviews that get overly emotional, at least for me, tend to not be trusted, as the emotional response often seems to exceed the stated problems, so you’re left wondering what things are being unsaid or hidden. Be calm, state the facts, and let the reader make up their own mind about it.
If you’re looking for compensation from the restaurant, talk to them directly about it. Some restaurants will, in fact, try to make things right if there was a truly bad experience.
If that doesn’t work, you can share online reviews of the restaurant, but write them calmly and seriously, outlining your full situation and making sure to note what they did right in addition to what they did wrong. The more rational and calm you are, the more trustful your review seems to many people (myself included).
Q12: Fall and winter reading recommendations
What personal finance / personal growth books are on your reading list this fall and winter? I’m going to be spending part of this winter housesitting in an area where travel is going to be restricted which is going to give me a lot of time to read so I am looking for a few books to take with me and really think about.
– Adam
I don’t really think about recommending the latest and greatest books, but what I can do is look through my library waiting list (books I’m waiting to reserve) and recent ones on my bedside table and point to a few I’m excited to read in the next few months.
The biggest one is probably Principles by Ray Dalio. It’s really a three part book. The first part is a memoir of Palio’s life, through his career as a hedge fund manager and through some interesting twists and turns after that. The second part is a lengthy section on life principles, and the third is a section on professional principles. It’s a long book, but I’ve read excerpts from it and I’m highly interested in reading it. I’d love to see similar books from other leaders.
Another one I’m interested in is Discipline Equals Freedom by Jocko Willink, which looks at the Navy SEAL training program and makes the case that the best way to build a free life is through personal and mental discipline, so that you can make strong choices in everyday life and build the life you want.
I’m also planning on reading The Soul of Money by Lynne Twist, which is about the difficulty of balancing quantitative and qualitative analyses of money. Is it all about the dollars and cents? How much does one’s feelings play into it? Where’s the right balance?
A final one that’s been on my bedside table for a while but I’m hoping to read soon is Unshakeable,/em> by Tony Robbins, a book that wasn’t even on my radar until I heard an incredibly sensible interview with him about the book a few months ago, where he made an extremely effective case for index funds. I’m still not sold on the book, but I think it’s worth a read.
I’m also planning on reading a prerelease copy of Meet the Frugalwoods: Achieving Financial Independence Through Simple Living by Elizabeth Willard Thames, but that’s not really applicable to you since it’s not coming out before the winter kicks in.
Got any questions? The best way to ask is to follow me on Facebook and ask questions directly there. I’ll attempt to answer them in a future mailbag (which, by way of full disclosure, may also get re-posted on other websites that pick up my blog). However, I do receive many, many questions per week, so I may not necessarily be able to answer yours.
The post Questions About Bad Credit, Obligations, iPhone X, Restaurant Reviews, and More! appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
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This App Helps Millennials Start Investing in Causes They Really Believe In
Hey, fellow millennials.
Guess what?
Another company conducted another survey about us and our finances.
In June, the Harris Poll, on behalf of Wells Fargo, polled 1,771 millennials and concluded that they’re hesitant to invest, among other things.
But we did find it interesting that millennials would be more likely to invest if their investments made a positive impact on the world.
Here are a few numbers, according to the survey’s findings:
- Give a millennial a hypothetical $1,000, and 86% said they would like to invest it in a company that positively impacts the world.
- Of those polled, 74% said it’d be a lot easier to deal with the anxieties of investing if their investments played a positive role in the world.
- In general, 86% of millennials consider themselves givers and not takers.
Millennials: Here’s An Easy Way to Invest in Do-Good Companies
Don’t worry, millennials. You don’t have to take your hard-earned money and throw it to the windstocks. (Get it? Not windsocks… And stocks…)
There’s an easy-to-use investing app that lets you dictate what types of companies you choose to invest your money in.
It’s a free micro-investing app called Stash.
All you’ll have to do is fill out some basic information, then choose your investing style: conservative, moderate or aggressive.
Don’t worry: The Stash app explains what these mean, but as a rule of thumb, the younger you are, the more aggressive you should be.
You’ll go on to answer questions about your employment status and citizenship. Heads up: It’s also going to ask for your Social Security number. It won’t check your credit; it just needs to know you’re a real person. Any other SEC-registered investment advisor will ask for it, too.
In “Auto-Stash” mode, the app automatically withdraws a certain amount of cash from your bank account as often as you’d like — from once a week to once a month. Pick whatever you feel like you can handle — even just $5.
You’ll also get to choose what the Stash app does with that money. This is where the whole do-good part comes into play.
Under its “Discover” tab, Stash lists more than 30 investment-fund options, all broken down into three categories: “I Believe,” “I Like” and “I Want”. If you want to help promote good causes, select “I Believe.”
“I Believe”
Here you’ll find portfolios that’ll invest in companies based on your beliefs — whether that’s workplace equality or a cleaner environment. You’ll know what you want because these all come with jargon-free names.
“Clean & Green”
This portfolio is a great option for those who want to help our “mess of” an environment. The Clean & Green exchange-traded fund (ETF) consists of 30 renewable energy companies, including SolarCity, China Everbright International Limited and Vestas Wind Systems.
“Do The Right Thing”
This fund includes companies such as 3M, which has donated billions of dollars to education, communities and the environment.
“Defending America”
Want to help the military in this uneasy time? Look into the this fund.
Whatever you’re into, you’ll likely find a matching portfolio. And yes, it’ll probably help you sleep better at night knowing your money is doing some good.
Your first month of Stash is free, and you’ll bank a $5 bonus when you sign up here.
Each month after, your fee is $1 until your account hits $5,000. After that, Stash charges 0.25% of your account balance per year.
So, you do-good millennials, no more excuses. You’ve got an easy way to invest — plus you can help the world.
Carson Kohler (@CarsonKohler) is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder. She’s a millennial, too.
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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Everything You Need to Know About Generating Leads on Twitter
People don’t always associate Twitter with marketing.
If you’re not using Twitter to improve your business, you’re making a big mistake.
Every year, about 200 billion tweets are sent out.
This number is astonishing.
With so much competition in the social media space, people may assume that Twitter’s best days are in the past.
That’s incorrect.
Twitter has never been more popular than it is today.
Check out these numbers:
Twitter has about 328 million users across the world.
That may not seem like a lot compared to the 2 billion monthly active Facebook users.
Still, 328 million isn’t a number you can ignore.
There are plenty of opportunities for you to generate leads and improve conversions on Twitter.
If you’re not actively using Twitter for business, it’s not too late to change.
Fortunately for you, I’m an expert in this space.
I’ve helped companies increase their Twitter engagement by over 300%.
In this post, I’ll show you how to generate leads on this powerful social media platform.
Recognize why consumers are on Twitter
Before you can start marketing, you have to determine whom you need to target.
Are you trying to engage with every single user with a Twitter account?
That’s not an effective strategy.
Instead, focus on your current customers and target audience.
Find out who is:
- mentioning your brand by name
- following your profile
- engaging with your competition
- tweeting about relevant topics and products in your industry
Market to these people if you want higher conversions.
Roughly 80% of Twitter users have tweeted about a brand.
After seeing the name of a company mentioned on Twitter, 54% of people searched for the business, retweeted the content, or visited the company website.
Why do you think so many people talk about companies in their tweets?
Twitter is a great way for customers to communicate with their favorite brands.
That’s why a third of Twitter users voice their opinions about products and businesses.
As a marketer, you need to embrace this engagement.
Recognize that it’s an incredible opportunity for brand exposure and growth.
When someone tweets at your brand, you’ve got to respond—fast.
According to Sprout Social, it takes an average of 10 hours for brands to reply to users on social media.
You’ve got to do better than that because customers will wait only 4 hours for a response.
If you don’t have time to respond to tweets, delegate this task to someone on your marketing team.
This person can easily respond to people on Twitter within minutes, directly from their smartphone.
Knowing this information is especially important if your target market consists of millennials and baby boomers.
Nearly half of them follow brands on social media.
Based on all the information I’ve discussed so far, it’s obvious that Twitter users want to engage with businesses on this platform.
Now that we’ve established this, it’s time to use this information to generate leads for your company.
Learn how to use Twitter advanced search query
Earlier I mentioned there are over 328 million users on Twitter and 200 billion annual tweets.
Not all these users and tweets are relevant to your business.
The key is filtering out the useless ones to generate leads.
This is my favorite way to get the most useful and significant source of leads: Twitter’s advanced search queries.
Here’s how you do it.
Step #1: Navigate to the “Advanced search” menu
I’m sure you’re familiar with the regular search bar on Twitter.
From your search menu, look at the left side of the screen under “Search filters.”
Click on the “Advanced search” button to proceed.
Step #2: Add keywords relevant to your company
This search field will give you much more accurate results than the generic search bar you’ve been using.
Add words and phrases based on your marketing insights, industry, and target audience.
For example, let’s say you run a website specializing in outdoor sports equipment.
You could add words like hiking, biking, backpack, tent, mountain trails, or surfing to the search bar.
It all depends on the goal of your marketing campaign to generate leads.
If it’s winter, you may want to include terms such as snowboard boots, skis, snowboard goggles, etc.
Don’t go crazy. Stick to a few specific words and phrases to start.
Step #3: Look for relevant usernames (accounts)
Adding accounts to your query can give you even more specific results.
Not sure what to put in these fields?
Here are some suggestions:
- your profile
- profiles of local competitors
- large-scale competitors
- industry experts
Adding your profile to the search may be the only obvious suggestion on this list. But maybe not many people are mentioning your company by name on Twitter.
That’s why the other ones are just as important.
Are people tweeting about your competitors?
Those users are your prospective customers.
What about an industry expert?
Let’s continue with the example about an outdoor sports store.
You could add Sean White’s twitter account to this search query.
He’s a professional snowboarder, so it’s not unreasonable to think that users tweeting about him are interested in snowboarding equipment.
The possibilities are endless.
You’ve just got to get creative to find the most accurate and relevant results to generate leads.
Step #4: Turn on your location
By default, your location services will be turned off for the advanced search query.
Turn it on to enable more relevant results.
For simplicity, I’ll continue using the sports store example.
Let’s say the shop is located in my city of Seattle, WA.
You have an ecommerce store, but you don’t deliver outside the northwest region.
Tweets about hiking equipment in Florida won’t be relevant to your lead-generation strategy.
It’s easier to narrow your search by adding a location now than having to filter through bad leads later.
However, if you have an ecommerce shop with global distribution, you may decide to disable the location feature in the search.
It’s up to you.
However, I’d still recommend focusing on a particular country or region.
That way you can segment these leads and market to them accordingly.
Step #5: Filter the dates
If someone tweeted about your company 3 years ago, it’s probably a little too late to consider that user as a lead.
You want to make sure your search results are recent as well as relevant.
Start with the last few months. If you want more results, you can always expand that to the last six months or to the previous year.
These 5 steps are super easy to follow.
Next time you’re trying to generate leads on Twitter, start with the advanced search query.
Use hashtags to promote your brand
Hashtags are a great way to get your company name out there.
If you can get enough users to use your hashtag, it could potentially go viral and start trending.
Here’s what’s trending in Seattle today:
Come up with a clever and creative hashtag for your company.
Look at the sponsored hashtag at the top of this image from Papa John’s.
#NationalPizzaMonth is much easier to read than #nationalpizzamonth.
Granted, if a user types this hashtag without any capital letters, it will still work.
But you should utilize this capitalization strategy in all of your tweets.
It’s easier to read, plus it can help you avoid potential embarrassment.
Back in 2012, a British singer named Susan Boyle used a hashtag to promote her new album.
She tweeted #susanalbumparty to promote it.
It’s harmless, but the combination of certain letters without any spaces or capitalization could appear inappropriate.
#SusanAlbumParty looks much better and prevents confusion.
But who knows, maybe you want to be sneaky with your hashtags, hoping one of them goes viral.
I just wouldn’t encourage or recommend that.
Tweets with hashtags also have a greater chance of being retweeted.
Retweets will obviously expose your brand to a wider audience.
The more people use the tag, the more likely it’ll go viral or trend on Twitter.
See who used your hashtag. Engage with these people.
It’s an effective lead-generation strategy.
Use Twitter as a customer service resource
If your customers have questions, complaints, or other inquiries, encourage them to contact you on Twitter.
Why?
Because other people will see how responsive your brand is.
It creates exposure and increases your chances of getting more leads.
Customer service interactions are trending upward on social media.
This means customers know they can contact their favorite brands via Twitter and expect brands to respond.
If other businesses are responding to their tweets, your customers will assume you’re going to do the same.
Ignoring your customers’ tweets could end up giving you a bad reputation for customer service.
However, responding to them in a timely fashion can have the opposite effect.
Customers are going to complain. These things happen.
Don’t let a negative tweet throw you off your game. Respond politely, and try to rectify the situation. Do not get defensive or make excuses.
Remember that everyone will see this interaction, so keep it professional at all times.
Look at what happens when a person experiences a positive customer service response:
The customer is likely to do two things:
- share the experience
- recommend the brand
If this interaction happens on Twitter, it’s even easier for the customer to do both of these things.
Providing amazing customer service can do much more than just generate leads.
It could potentially double your revenue.
Using Twitter for customer service can reduce the chances of the customer getting frustrated.
A recent study suggests that Twitter is the least frustrating customer service channel.
So you already have an advantage there.
Engage with your customers
Now that you know how to find leads on Twitter, it’s time to make sure you’re turning those leads into conversions.
If someone’s tweeting about your brand, products, or industry, reach out to them directly.
Let them know you can help.
Think back to our advanced search query.
You may find some users who don’t even know your brand exists.
How do you change that?
Here are a few tips:
- follow their profile
- like their posts
- retweet their content
- reply directly to their tweets
If they didn’t know about you before, they will definitely know about you now.
Make sure your profile is active.
Give your prospective leads a reason to follow your brand.
Getting a discount is the top reason why consumers follow a company on Twitter.
They also want to receive:
- freebies
- entertainment
- updates
- sales
- exclusive content
If your Twitter account isn’t doing these things, your lead-generation strategy won’t be nearly as effective.
Conclusion
Content consumption has grown by 25% on Twitter over the last 2 years.
Users want to interact and engage with their favorite brands on Twitter.
People all over the world are tweeting about things relevant to your business.
The trick is learning how to filter those results to generate leads.
Use the Twitter advanced search queries to do this.
It’s a great way to customize a search based on:
- words
- phrases
- languages
- profiles
- locations
- dates
This information will give you the most updated and accurate results.
Once you find a prospective lead, reach out to them directly. Follow their profile, and try to get them to follow you back.
Run promotions, and offer exclusive content on your feed. This will entice users to interact with your page.
Twitter is also an excellent platform to provide customer service. If a customer has a positive customer service experience with your company on Twitter, they are more likely to share their story and recommend your brand.
Use hashtags as a creative way to get exposure for your business.
All of these tips will help you improve your lead-generation strategy on Twitter.
What hashtag will you create to generate leads via Twitter?
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Fight for your rights: The hotel expects me to pay 150% more for a room
Simon Read helps a reader who was asked to pay more for a hotel booking.
I booked a room at the LLanerch Inn in Mid-Wales for two nights next summer through Booking. com, and received confirmation for £80 a room a night, £160 in total.
A few weeks later, I received a telephone call from LLanerch Inn to let me know that, due to a change of management, it wanted to change the cost of the room to £200 a night.
I am unhappy with this and think it is unfair. I have received an email from Booking.com saying that it could reduce the price of the room to £150 a night, classing it as the middle ground. I have offered to pay £100 a night, but Booking.com has said it will not accept this amount.
Due to high demand for hotels in the area, on the dates I booked there is no alternative accommodation available at a reasonable price.
Where do I stand on this? I have the confirmation stating the room was priced at £80 and I think it is unfair that it can increase the price of the room by such a substantial amount.
RR/Corwen, Denbighshire
I agree with you. The hotel accepted the booking and should honour it. I put your case to Booking.com and said I thought it was unfair if the prices offered by the firm turn out to be meaningless and can be raised on a whim.
Booking.com explained that the problem arose because there had been a change of ownership at the hotel and there was a disparity between the rates the new and old owner wanted to list for the summer of 2018.
The good news is that after our intervention, fairness won out and the new owner agreed that it’s not reasonable to raise the price after a customer has already booked. Therefore, RR will be able to visit at the price he originally booked the room for. Enjoy!
OUTCOME: Reader saves the extra £240 the hotel wanted to charge.
Simon Read is a money writer and broadcaster. He was the last personal finance editor at The Independent and is an expert on BBC1’s Right On The Money.
Have you been let down by a company? Let Moneywise Fight for your Rights.
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How to Save on Holiday Travel
Don’t let the cost of transportation keep you from your loved ones during the holidays.
If you’re like most families, you love to travel for the holidays, but hate the high cost of air travel. This is especially true if you have to make an international flight with a family of four or more. Luckily, there are things you can do in both the long-term and short-term to help offset those costs.
For the long-term
When it comes to air travel, one of the best things you can do to curb the cost is to use a travel credit card. Many of these feature rewards that grant you miles on your everyday purchases. One example of this is the , which helps you gain miles without needing to adjust your spending habits.
Here are some examples of purchases you could make and the miles you’ll accumulate:
1. Gym membership
On average, we spend $40 to $50 a month on a gym membership. For the sake of this exercise (pun intended), we’ll assume the higher end of the spectrum. If you were to use your to pay for that membership, then you would have 1,100 miles in 11 months. This might not sound like much, but keep reading…
2. Daily coffees
Based on a study featured on CBS News, it was determined that the average amount a person spent on coffee reached $65 per month. This was based on the average price of a cup of coffee from Dunkin Donuts, Caribou Coffee, and Starbucks. If you charged 11 months’ worth of coffee to the right travel credit card, you could have 1,430 miles. Hardly enough for a flight, but it’s all starting to add up.
3. Cable TV
A fair amount of people still pay for cable television and if you’re one of them, then you could be paying on average $80 or more per month. If you were to use a travel credit card on those monthly bills, you could come away after 11 months with as many as 1,760 miles.
4. Electricity
According to the United States Energy Information Agency (EIA), the average American electric bill came to $114.03 a month in 2015. While your own monthly bill will vary on your location, weather, and household, let’s use this figure as an example. If we round this estimate up to $115 and pay it all off with a travel credit card, you’re looking at a possible 2,530 miles.
5. Dining out
In our own analysis of Americans eating out, we found that the average person can spend upwards of $232 on meals outside of the home. While this can add up to quite a chunk of change, sometimes it can’t be helped. However, if you were to pay for those meals with a , you’d be banking some major mileage. After 11 months, you’d have 5,104 miles.
6. Pet expenses
It’s tough to put a price on a pet, but there’s no denying the simple truth that owning one – especially a dog or a cat – can be expensive. One particular breakdown for a dog examined food, toys, emergency funds, and even pet insurance before arriving at a monthly cost of $338.61. At about $339 a month for 11 months, you could end up with 7,458 miles.
7. Retail gas
In an exclusive analysis put together by the Oil Price Information Service for CNNMoney, Americans were spending $368.09 a month on average (2011) on gas. While there are so many factors to consider that can either raise or decrease this figure for you, let’s roll with it. After 11 months, paying with a travel credit card, you would have something to the tune of 8,118 miles.
8. Groceries
Which brings us to food, arguably the largest monthly expenditure of any American family. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the average family of four on a low-cost plan could pay upwards of $836.20 a month. Were you to cover those costs with a , that would come to 18,414 miles in 11 months.
The result…
So what does this look like after 11 months of using the on everyday expenses? Well, after 11 months, you would have something close to 45,914 miles, but that’s not all. Many of these travel credit cards come with signup bonuses and, in the case of the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card, you would add an additional 50,000 miles.
In all, you would have 95,914 miles. And after you’ve paid for your flight, you can redeem those miles for an account credit of $959.14. That’s enough money to cover the cost of two or more domestic flights. You could also afford one international flight or, at the very least, shear off a huge portion of the cost.
For the short-term
If you’ve waited until the last minute, don’t worry. There are a few things you can try in order to make your holiday travel a little more affordable.
1. Book flights on ‘off’ days
Booking a flight on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Saturday could make a big difference when it comes to the cost of your ticket. Generally, these are considered to be the cheapest days to travel as they are statistically the least popular among consumers.
2. Break up the band
If you’re a family of four, you might consider splitting up into two groups each with a parent and a child. Sometimes it’s a lot easier to book two cheap seats during the holidays (at the last minute), not four all together.
3. Go by city, not airport
Sometimes you’ll find more options and better variety in prices if you search for flights based on city instead of specific airports. Adjusting your search will often yield a larger listing of airports in the area you can use to compare prices and find the right one for you.
4. Shop on a Tuesday afternoon
We already talked about the “off” days to go shopping for flights and if you need to get more granular, try Tuesday at 3 p.m. EST. This is recommended because many airfare sales are usually filed late Monday evening.
Airline credit cards
In addition to travel credit cards, we’ve also covered the best airline credit cards. These can help you save on holiday travel even when you don’t have a full year to accrue mileage.
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card
The has a signup bonus where you can earn 40,000 bonus miles when you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first three months of opening an account. Based on those earlier estimates of monthly costs, it shouldn’t be any trouble to reach that threshold within a month.
Blue Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express
The features a signup bonus of 10,000 bonus miles after you spend $500 with your new card during the first three months. That’s an easy enough goal to reach within a month and can help lessen the financial blow when putting it toward airfare.
Methodology
These numbers were determined taking the average monthly cost of common purchases, adding them together, and then multiplying by 11 months. We rounded the cents to the nearest dollar for figures that were not solid dollar amounts.
The aforementioned additional 50,000 miles was determined by adding up those monthly costs and multiplying by three. The amount exceeds $3,000 and, based on the signup bonus, you can earn 50,000 miles when you spend $3,000 using the card within the first three months of opening an account.
The bottom line
Whether you’re stuck at the last minute trying to save on a holiday trip or you have an entire year to save up miles, holiday travel doesn’t have to break the bank. There are lots of things you can do to curb the cost, as well as rewards programs you can take advantage of to make holiday travel easier and more affordable. Don’t let the steep costs of travel keep you from enjoying the holidays.
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Job-Hopping Helped Me More Than Double My Salary — and My Skills
In the six years since I graduated from college, I’ve held four jobs — a fact that technically makes me a job-hopper. (For the record, it’s also expanded my network and padded my wallet… but more on that later.)
Job-hopper is a term often synonymous with millennials, as are other flattering descriptors, like entitled. It’s a jab at our generation meant to indicate we won’t settle in with a company that doesn’t recognize us as the superstars we surely are — unwilling to grind it out till 65, when we get a nice cake in the breakroom celebrating retirement.
It’s true that we’re a generation that moves around more often — a 2016 Jobvite survey found that 18% of Americans change jobs every one to three years, compared to 42% of 18 to 29-year-olds — but it’s not because we don’t want to pay our dues.
The business world has changed, too. Companies certainly don’t have loyalty to employees, as evidenced by massive layoffs, shrinking compensation packages and the rarity of pensions. This has contributed to an environment where, to get what we really want, we can no longer afford to be “company men” (or women).
For some of us, myself included, job-hopping is a side effect of trying to find work we’re passionate about. (Hey, if we’re going to be working longer, we might as well enjoy it.) After my first job — a one-year program working as a page for “The Late Show with David Letterman” — ended, I stumbled into a PR job because I knew a guy who worked at a company with an opening. It only took eight months to know this wasn’t a great long-term fit. Not only did I not feel intellectually stimulated, but the pay was (extremely) low compared to the hours.
So I hopped. I networked my way into a job as the communications manager for a startup, where I stayed for two years before deciding to try self-employment, which I really enjoy. (A full 62% of millennials have similar entrepreneurial ambitions.)
But job-hopping didn’t just help me find interesting work. It also sharpened different skills and significantly increased my income. Considering young workers are earning $10,000 less than they did in 1989, this is perhaps the biggest motivator for us hoppers.
From page to PR, I jumped from a $23,000 salary to $37,500. The next hop bumped me up to $50,000. (The PR company couldn’t come close to matching my $50,000 ask.) Negotiating with a new employer often yields better results than hoping for significant bumps at your current position.
Another advantage of job-hopping? Career-advancement opportunities we can’t always get by staying with one company. That’s how Daniel Keller, a 34-year-old CPA, ended up at his current gig. After five years in one position in Pennsylvania, he received a 50% raise for another gig in Buffalo, New York.
But it soon became apparent that upward mobility was incredibly regimented, and time with the new company meant more than skills. He stuck it out for a few years, but ultimately left for another firm that gave him the additional responsibilities he wanted (plus a 30% raise).
For job-hoppers who worry about discussing work history with potential employers, Steven Dibelius, a 31-year-old consultant who’s held eight jobs in 10 years, offers this advice: “Some [employers] have asked about [my job history] and how it zigs and zags through many different things,” he says. “But explaining my reasons for each change seems to help us discuss whether this prospective new job is the right fit. It spurs conversations about company culture, management style, expectations for the job and my own interests and strengths.”
Related stories on Grow:
How 3 Simple Choices Can Give You a Head Start Financially
Young Millionaires: 4 Ways to Hit $1 Million By 40
20 Common Money Mistakes to Avoid
Erin Lowry is a millennial personal finance expert and the founder of BrokeMillennial.com. Lowry and her work have been featured on CBS Sunday Morning, CNBC, Fox & Friends, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan and NBC News
This article originally appeared on the personal finance site, Grow.
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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Five Scary Liability Claims That Could Haunt You Long After Halloween
If you want a good scare on Halloween, all you need to do is contemplate the financial risk you’re taking if you don’t have adequate homeowner or renter liability coverage when visitors come calling.
Liability claims stemming from injuries are common. When ghosts and goblins arrive on your front porch, you’ll have greater peace of mind if you have a liability policy that can protect your assets.
It’s financially risky for homeowners and even renters not to carry adequate personal liability coverage, said Bob Courtemanche, senior managing director at the Risk Strategies Company insurance brokerage and risk management company. “We live in a litigious society and people are prone to file lawsuits more than ever before if they feel that they have been harmed by your alleged negligence,” he said.
It’s a good goal to have enough coverage to protect your net worth. A standard homeowners or renters policy will cover your legal fees if there’s a judgment against you — but only up to your policy’s limits. That means you could be held personally liable in a legal judgment for any costs your policy doesn’t cover. Liability limits generally start at about $100,000, but that’s not always enough to protect your assets.
If you don’t have money to pay a liability claim, which in some cases can exceed $1 million, a court could garnish your wages or go after your personal assets, leaving your credit ruined, explained San Diego attorney Evan W. Walker. “In short, it can be devastating.”
Here are five scary liability claims that could haunt you long after Halloween has come and gone:
1. Swimming pool and spa injuries
If you own a swimming pool or spa, you can be held liable if you fail to take precautions to prevent drowning or other injuries. According to a report from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, there were, on average, about 5,900 pool or spa-related hospital emergency department-treated nonfatal submersion injuries in the U.S. each year from 2014 through 2016. There were 356 pool or spa-related drownings each year from 2012 through 2014 involving children under age 15.
2. Accidents in the home
Even if a person comes onto your property without your invitation, you can be held liable for their injuries if you’re judged to be negligent. In 2014, 20.2 million Americans, or one in 16 people, experienced an unintentional injury in the home that required aid from a medical professional, the Insurance Information Institute (III) reports.
3. Dog-bite claims
If you own a dog and it bites someone, you should be prepared to face a liability claim. Dog bites and other dog-related injuries accounted for more than one-third of all homeowners insurance liability claim dollars paid out in 2016, costing more than $600 million. The average cost paid out for dog bite claims nationwide was $33,230 in 2016.
4. Intoxicated guests
As a Halloween party host, you could be held responsible if you served a guest enough alcohol to become intoxicated and that guest caused injuries to himself or others.
Anyone who serves alcohol at a party needs to be very conscious of the risks, said Lisa Lindsay, the executive director with the Private Risk Management Association. “Should someone leave their party under the influence and injure themselves or others, [the host] may be named in a lawsuit,” she said. “Proper insurance coverage ensures there is coverage for defense costs and coverage for a judgment.”
5. Attractive nuisances
Homeowners have a legal responsibility to make sure their property contains no “attractive nuisances” that could interest and cause harm to children, but it’s hard to foresee all accidents. Each year about 50,000 children are sent to hospital emergency rooms because of injuries on home playground equipment alone, says the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Other examples of attractive nuisances include untended construction sites, wells, drainage ditches, appliances that could trap a child inside, and trampolines.
Protecting your future
As people move into middle age and accumulate property and wealth, they can’t afford to play trick-or-treat with their assets. They typically have much more to lose than they did in their 20s. People who don’t have enough homeowner or renter liability coverage are taking a big chance, said Lindsay.
Adequate personal liability coverage “is an absolute must for everyone,” she said.
Related Articles:
- What Is Umbrella Insurance – and Do I Need It?
- Best Homeowners Insurance for 2017
- Here’s How Much Your Insurance Goes Up After an Accident
- Why I Finally Broke Down and Bought Travel Insurance
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How This Mom Made the Jump From Blogger to Branding Consultant
Martine De Luna was the Author and Editor of the popular blogs Dainty Mom and later on Make it Blissful, where she was known as a home and parenting blogger and influencer. In her time as the Editor of Make it Blissful, she learned many strategies and ideas that were helpful and important to people who were looking to build an […]
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الأحد، 29 أكتوبر 2017
How this Sports Psychologist Makes Money Helping Golfers Maximize Their Mental Game
Dr. Shannon Reece’s biggest obstacle to playing great in all areas of her life was fear of failure, which infiltrated all her experiences as a competitive athlete. But through a love of sport and psychology, mixed with a fascination and longing to understand peak experiences led her to pursue a Masters and PhD at the best-applied […]
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Why the Explosive Growth of E-Commerce Could Mean More Jobs
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How to Handle People Who Hate Your Frugal Lifestyle
While frugal people often get a bad rap for being “cheap,” it’s usually due to misunderstanding more than anything else. Oftentimes, non-frugal folks assume those who are more careful with their money just “don’t know how to have fun” or haven’t learned to enjoy the finer things in life. Or they might assume someone who doesn’t spend freely must be poor, or have squandered money in the past, or are just plain miserly.
Yes, there are plenty of folks who are frugal out of necessity – and if you’re just getting by on a low income, frugality is definitely your friend.
But if you ask a frugal person what drives them to be judicious with their spending, often it has nothing to do with those preconceived notions.
For example, there are a ton of frugal people whose bank accounts are brimming with cash – the “millionaire next door types” who have socked away money for years.
Other folks choose a frugal lifestyle because they want to maximize the money they earn. Some deeply abhor waste, or choose frugality to reduce their consumption and lessen their impact on the environment. And some people live frugally because they want to simplify their lives – when they’re not spending money, they have less to stress about.
But if there’s one thing for certain, it’s this: Our frugality confuses the heck out of people who don’t “get it.”
When you’re not frugal, it’s hard to understand why others don’t spend the way you do – or why they choose to go without when they can clearly afford more. Unfortunately, some people hate frugality and look down on it – and really, that’s where the problem lies.
Three Ways to Deal With People Who Hate Your Frugal Lifestyle
Almost anyone who’s lived a frugal lifestyle has faced a naysayer or two somewhere down the line. Maybe it’s a co-worker who makes fun of your older, paid-off car or your refusal to go out for drinks. Or a sibling who criticizes your simple, affordable home. Perhaps you have an acquaintance who looks down on your choice of clothing, or a neighbor who thinks you really need to “spruce up the place” to make your property as attractive as theirs.
Whoever the person is – and no matter what they say – it’s important to stand your ground.
Here are some ways to deal with the haters who may not appreciate your frugal tastes:
#1: Focus on your goals.
While choosing to be frugal isn’t the easiest decision to make, it’s a lifestyle that comes with too many upsides to count. When you spend wisely and waste as little as possible, you tend to have more money to save and spend on important goals.
Obviously, more savings can help you sleep better at night – and even provide a safety buffer if you lose your job or face a loss in income. And when your expenses are lower, you have fewer bills to worry over.
Or maybe you’re frugal so you can afford to travel the world. By spending less on housing, food, and entertainment, you can afford to traverse the globe while also saving steadily for the future that will inevitably come.
Either way, focusing on these goals is the best thing you can do to stay on track. A non-frugal friend may not understand your desire to have a fully-funded emergency stash or to pay for your child’s college education, but that doesn’t make these goals any less worthy.
Focus on the future and on your goals, and that will help ward off any negative feelings from people who might criticize you.
#2: Know that some people will never understand.
Many Americans are so caught up in consumer culture that they can never truly understand why someone would choose not to spend. They’re so busy buying and upgrading their lives that they can’t imagine any other way.
On the flip side, frugal people are inherently different, mostly because they usually have a goal in mind. Either they’re saving for the future or paying off their house, or socking away money to try and retire early (or at least on-time).
People who don’t focus on personal finance may not appreciate these goals at all, mostly because they don’t tend to think that far ahead. Keep in mind that up to 78% of U.S. workers live paycheck to paycheck, and that nearly three out of four full-time workers say they’re in debt. Further, more than half of Americans have less than $1,000 in savings.
When you consider these statistics, it’s easy to see why regular people don’t understand your early retirement goals or your devotion to living debt-free. It’s not their reality – not even close – so of course they won’t “get” why you’re so focused on the future.
As a frugal warrior, you don’t have to understand the way people think or spend – and you probably couldn’t care less. But it’s equally important to realize that it’s not your job to make people understand why you’re frugal. Some people never will, and that’s perfectly okay.
#3: Meet them halfway.
Out of experience, I can say that some of the backlash frugal people get is because others feel you’re isolating yourself or refusing to participate. A good example from my own life is when, many years ago, I refused to participate in Christmas gift exchanges because I believed (and still believe) they’re a waste of money.
Here’s how I see gift exchanges: Everybody buys a random, impersonal $20 gift and exchanges that gift, so we all end up with something we didn’t want. In my mind, this is akin to setting $20 on fire, so I’ve never wanted to participate.
Of course, family members haven’t always loved that – and I think some of them misinterpreted my feelings to mean that we didn’t want to be a part of the group. That’s why, over the years, I’ve softened on situations like these where everyone wants to participate except for us.
That’s not to say that you should spend money you don’t want to just to make other people happy. Instead, try to see your frugality from the perspective of an outsider. Sometimes, spending the $10 or $20 to participate in a group event can go a long way to ensuring family harmony or mending a long-term friendship – and that’s a sound investment.
The Bottom Line
If you’re sick of dealing with people who seem irked by your frugal lifestyle, remember that it’s more about them than it is about you. Sometimes people might see your success as their own failure, and the fact you’re making financial progress may serve as a painful reminder to them that they’re not.
It’s your life and your goals that matter, and there’s power in not caring what other people think. As you forge forward with your frugal lifestyle, keep your eye on the prize and don’t let negative opinions get you down.
Haters may always hate, but you don’t have to listen.
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:
- Five Reasons People Fear Frugality – and Why They’re Wrong
- Frugality and Long-Term Financial Success
- 10 Daily Habits of Frugal People
How do you deal with people who don’t like your frugal lifestyle? Please share in the comments below.
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Are Cover Letters Dying? Maybe, But Here’s Why You Should Write Them Anyway
You’re applying for your dream job — or just a job that pays more than what you’ve got going on right now.
After tailoring your resume to the job description, you obsess over every single word. Then you make your significant other read it approximately 23 times.
Once you determine it’s perfect, you move on… to the cover letter. Dun, dun, dun.
That’s the one-page document that’s supposed to add personality to your bulleted resume.
Online advice says, Be cool. Be interesting. Show; don’t tell. Make yourself shine through the screen.
I respond, Sigh.
Aside from those “We’re sorry. You’re just not the right fit. We won’t elaborate why; we’ll just let you lose sleep over it” responses, the cover letter is arguably the worst part of the job-search process.
But times could be changing, at least according to Jobvite’s 2017 Jobseeker Nation Report released earlier this year.
The survey revealed nearly half (47%) of American workers didn’t even bother sending a cover letter when they applied to their current job. Additionally, 74% of recruiters reported not considering the document when evaluating a candidate.
Jobvite bluntly concluded that, yes, the cover letter is dead — or at least dying.
What’s the Point of a Cover Letter Anyway?
Can you really fit your entire being into one page of Times New Roman text?
Not really, but the original purpose of a cover letter was to add some flair to that straightforward, bullet-pointed resume.
“It’s a vehicle to accompany your resume, portfolio or whatever it is you’re sending in,” says Loren Margolis, CEO of Training and Leadership Success. She spent nine years as a leadership and career coach at Columbia Business School.
Margolis says the cover letter is also a great spot to express your desire to be called in for an interview, something you can’t necessarily do in your resume.
There’s also what she calls a hidden purpose. “[Recruiters and hiring managers] want to see if you’ve got writing skills and that you can put together two paragraphs — or sentences even,” Margolis explains. “This is your time to shine and demonstrate your communication skills. It can really be a selling point.”
Bryan Chaney, the talent branding and attraction strategist at Indeed, says the cover letter is a great opportunity to explain why you’re the perfect fit for a job, even if your background doesn’t exactly align with the job requirements. “Your cover letter is there to explain why the recruiter should talk to you,” he says.
Jumping off that point, Rachel Bitte, the chief people officer at Jobvite, explains the cover letter was a way to “tailor your application to the company and position” and to “make a personal connection with the recruiter and to highlight useful information that doesn’t shine through on bullet points on a resume.”
She emphasizes one key word, though: Was. The cover letter was…
Why Are Cover Letters Dying?
For those of us who have poured our entire hearts and souls — and perhaps a sleepless night — into a cover letter, I apologize for what I’m about to say…
Many recruiters these days simply don’t have time to read your cover letter.
“The number of candidates who apply, as well as the pace at which companies need to bring in fresh talent, has increased exponentially, leaving recruiters with more applications to get through and less time to do so,” Bitte explains. “Recruiters only have a couple of minutes to review an application, so they want to get to the core of someone’s experiences and background quickly via their resume.”
It’s also worth considering how we’re finding and applying to jobs now — through online portals such as LinkedIn.
“Sometimes you don’t have the medium to take a Word doc and create a cover letter in it,” Margolis notes. She uses LinkedIn as an example. The “Easy Apply” feature only asks for a flavorless resume.
What’s Replacing the Cover Letter?
At this point you’ve probably guessed it: Social media is now playing a huge role in the job application process.
“Before, the cover letter was a way to show off some personality, but modern recruiters can now look to social media to suss out culture fit,” Bitte explains.
But the key lies in properly managing and carefully curating those platforms.
“When it’s done right, it can showcase your creative skills, personality and ability to build a network,” Bitte says.
Remember that Jobvite Job Seeker Survey? It found recruiters love seeing examples of work, volunteer experience and mutual connections.
“That, more than any cover letter, could be the difference maker on whether you land the job,” Bitte concludes.
Further down the road, some professionals, including Chaney and Margolis, believe video will become more prevalent. Chaney deems it an “accessible storytelling medium.”
Imagine sending a 10-minute selfie video to a hiring manager.
So I Can Stop Writing Cover Letters Now, Right?
Well, not exactly.
Not all recruiters have tossed cover letters out the Windows (get it?), especially in writing-focused and communication-focused industries.
Many jobs require communication skills, and that’s why the cover letter is handy: to make sure a candidate can piece together sentences to form a paragraph, like Margolis explained.
Other recruiters and hiring managers might use the cover letter to gauge a candidate’s attention to detail. In the job description, it might ask for specific paragraphs on specific topics. If those aren’t included, it shows you might not be cut out for the job.
Margolis also mentions those popular “cover letter optional” listings. When it comes to these, she encourages applicants to submit a cover letter. It can’t hurt — only help.
When asked if the cover letter will ever totally die off, Margolis says, “You know, I think they may. But here’s what will never fully die out: An organization’s need to know how you communicate as a part of their vetting process.”
So, for now, we recommend you keep writing ’em!
Carson Kohler (@CarsonKohler) is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder. She wishes cover letters would hurry up and die already.
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