Pay The Government Less Money Legally: Finding a Good Tax Preparer

Why give up more tax money than you have to? Learn how to find the best tax preparer for your needs.

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Dunkelberger’s bans assault rifle sales to those under 21

Amid the call for stricter control of assault-type weapons and the recent moves by major retailers to restrict or eliminate the sales of those weapons, Dunkelberger's Sports Outfitters in Stroudsburg will restrict sales of assault rifles to those under 21.Dunkelberger's sells AR-15 and other assault-style weapons, although they are a small part of their business. The Main Street sports outfitter will continue to other sell other long guns to those 18 and older.The ban [...]

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A Simple Tactic for Improving Sleep That 84% of People Miss

As the famous management consultant Peter Drucker said, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.”

Most of us intuitively understand the power of measurement. We would never start a diet without tracking what we ate, or try to lose weight without ever stepping on a scale, or implement a budget without tracking our spending.

Yet, when it comes to improving an area of our lives in which one out of three people admits they’re falling short, we take a much less scientific approach.

I’m talking about sleep.

Why You Should Be Tracking Your Sleep

One in three adults doesn’t get enough sleep, according to the Centers for Disease Control. And anecdotally, even that feels like a low estimate. Almost everyone I know will admit to wanting more shut-eye if the topic arises.

We all want more sleep because we know that it’s important to our health and well being. Consistently good sleep improves brain function, reduces chronic pain, gives you more energy, improves your mood, and makes you less likely to get sick. If you could bottle and sell the benefits of a good night’s rest, you’d be a very wealthy person.

Despite all this, a recent survey showed that only 16% of people track their sleep. Remember, we can only improve what we measure! So if we want better health and more energy, it makes sense to get serious about tracking our sleep. In the same way that assessing a credit card statement can help you zero in on problems with your budget, assessing your sleep can help you figure out how to get better rest.

How to Track Your Sleep With the Sleep Cycle App

There are six key areas recognized by the Mayo Clinic as having outsized effects on the quality and quantity of our sleep: Sticking to a sleep schedule, paying attention to what you eat and drink, creating a restful environment, limiting daytime naps, exercising, and managing stress.

Each of these areas can be tracked, and their effects on sleep analyzed. The easiest way I’ve found to do this is with an app for my smartphone called Sleep Cycle.

Sleep Cycle works by analyzing your movements to determine which of the three stages of sleep you are in (light, deep, or REM). Your brain naturally cycles through these stages while you sleep, and each stage is characterized by different movement patterns.

To use Sleep Cycle, all you need to do is place your phone in the corner of your bed before going to sleep. In the morning, the app produces a graph that looks like this:

That’s cool and all, but the real fun starts when you maximize the use of that little section called “Sleep Notes.” This part of the app allows you to input what you did during the day. The example above, which only lists one activity, is clearly not from the phone of a dyed-in-the-wool biohacker like myself. I like to get a lot more granular.

A typical night of notes for me would read like this: Exercised past 8:00 p.m., ate a big lunch, coffee after 12:00 p.m., stressful day at the office, meditated, ate cheese, bedroom was hot, wore an eye mask to bed, got 30+ minutes of fresh air in the morning.

Sleep Cycle does the hard work of mapping all those notes onto the sleep data and crunching the numbers. You can then see a bar graph which displays how different behaviors and situations impacted your sleep, positively or negatively. Here are the top five things that increase my sleep quality:

I now have over 1,000 nights of data from Sleep Cycle, and I’ve learned some interesting things.

For one, having caffeine in the afternoon doesn’t affect my sleep quality as much as I thought it would. I can’t pound a whole pot of coffee at 6:00 p.m. and expect to sleep well, but a cup at 3:00 p.m. doesn’t seem to do much to me. This is counterintuitive, as most sleep experts highly frown on drinking caffeine late in the day.

On the other hand, I now know that intensive exercise late at night, such as playing basketball, has a detrimental effect on my sleep quality. I fall asleep fast and hard, but then my REM cycles are a little screwy. I don’t know why this is the case, but I’m happy that I can make use of this information. I try to set my schedule so that my hardest workouts are during the day on a weekend, as opposed to after work on a weeknight.

Each of us is bound to have our own unique quirks that affect how we sleep. It’s only through tracking, analyzing, and adjusting that can make our sleep maximally efficient.

Other Ways to Track Your Sleep

There are many other devices that track sleep, such as the Fitbit or the Apple Watch. While they don’t yet incorporate sleep notes like Sleep Cycle does, they can still be valuable tools. They’ve already surpassed Sleep Cycle in being able to tell you, with precision, which stages of sleep you’re in, and even when you woke up during the night. I also use my Fitbit to crosscheck sleep data with Sleep Cycle.

Up to this point, I’ve been discussing cutting edge technology, but there are ways of tracking your sleep that don’t require any apps, bands, or watches.

For instance, you can manually write down the time you went to bed, when you got up, and how you felt in the morning. If you compare your entries week by week, you might start to see some patterns. Just this act can be very helpful, as keeping a consistent bedtime is important to getting optimal sleep.

But you can get as detailed as you want in search of bigger insights, describing anything from your day that might impact your sleep (such as exercise or stress), or noting in the morning whether you woke up in the middle of the night or felt like you were tossing and turning.

Similarly, you could keep a sleep journal where you write down just one food that you think might be giving you problems. You can make note of the days you eat that food, and see if it affects how you feel when you wake up in the morning.

After all, what really matters isn’t some number that your phone spits out, but how you really feel. You can notice that all on your own, and start to make changes for the better. If you want more guidance, The Better Sleep Project offers robust online tools to help you make a customized sleep diary.

Summing Up

I don’t have kids and I have a lot of control over my schedule. I understand that I’m in an ideal position to try to optimize this aspect of my life. I empathize with the millions of people who are in more challenging circumstances.

That being said, I firmly believe that everyone can do something. Even one small action can lead you down a healthier path. For instance If you choose to go to bed earlier whenever it’s practical to do so, and you actively notice that decision makes you feel better, it can start a positive feedback loop. You’ll want those good feelings every morning, which might make you think twice about watching one more episode of that Netflix show at 1:00 a.m.

Related Articles: 

• The Ultimate Free Life Hack? I Quit Drinking for Three Months
• Five Time-Saving Productivity Hacks, Reviewed
• Achieving Health and Fitness Without Breaking the Bank

The post A Simple Tactic for Improving Sleep That 84% of People Miss appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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Save Some Dough With This Pizza Recipe That Costs Less Than $1/Serving

Please don’t misunderstand me, here.

I enjoy pizza as much as every other millennial out there. What I don’t love, though? Paying $14 — not including taxes or delivery — for a large cheese pizza from a generic chain that may or may not rhyme with Papa Yawns.

If I want to splurge for pepperoni? Add another $2. Throw some veggies on that pie, and well, the amount of dough just keeps rising. (Pun 100% intended.)

That’s why lately, I’ve started making my own pizza. It takes less time than waiting on delivery, proves to be more personalizable, retains less grease and is a heck of a lot cheaper.

But I don’t make just any pizza… I make special pizza rolls that only cost about 92 cents per serving.

Save Money on This Easier Homemade Pizza Recipe

Before I share with you my secret recipe (OK, it’s not really a secret), let me share a few ways you can save even more money on the ingredients:

1. Pillsbury: Print Coupons

Because I signed up for Pillsbury’s daily emails, I get inspiration from tons of other awesome recipes, as well as up to $250 in coupons per year.

Bam. Right to my inbox.

2. Drop: Save Money Automatically

I like the Drop app because I don’t have to think about it.

I don’t have to check off specific items, take photos of my receipt or scan barcodes.

Rather, the rewards app lets me choose my five favorite brands (out of dozens of options). Then I’ll automatically earn points each time I spend money at the retailer through my connected debit or credit card.

Participating grocery stores include Costco, H-E-B, Safeway, Trader Joe’s, Walmart and Whole Foods.

Download the app, link your go-to credit or debit cards, then earn points automatically. At Trader Joe’s, for example, you’ll earn 12 points per $1 spent. Once you hit 5,000 points, you can cash out for gift cards (for example, 5,000 points gets you a $5 Starbucks gift card).

3. Shopkick: Save Money Without Spending

The Shopkick app is unique in that you don’t have to spend a single cent to earn “kicks,” or points you can exchange for gift cards to your favorite retailers. You can simply walk through the doors of CVS, Publix, Target, Walmart or any other participating retailer to bank kicks.

If you want to earn more, scan the barcodes of specific items. Again, no need to buy ’em.

We talked to one guy who’s earned more than $400 in gift cards through Shopkick.

Get kickin’.

My Secret Homemade Pizza Recipe — Less Than $1/Serving

Even if you don’t apply these savings, the ingredients, listed below, will still ring up at just 92 cents a serving.

Personalizable Crescent Pizza Rolls

[insert pizza roll photo]

Ready?!

Ingredients

• 1 tube Pillsbury Crescents dinner rolls
• 1 cup pizza sauce
• Shredded cheese (any variety, as much or as little as you’d like)
• Any toppings, including pepperoni, sausage, ham, pineapple, peppers, black olives — or all of the above… or none of the above, if you’re picky…

Total, excluding toppings: $7.37

Servings: 8

Cost per serving: 92 cents

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375 F. Pop the tube of dough, and separate the individual triangles. You’ll want to pat these out a little — more surface area means more room for fillings.

Place your desired cheese and toppings on the short end of the triangle. Don’t get too crazy here, as you’ll end up with a mess and a half. Also, leave the sauce out. Trust me when I say it gets really messy when you try to add that, so simply use it as a dipping sauce later.

Roll the crescents up, starting from the shortest side of the triangle. Set the rolls on your cookie sheet point side down, then bake for 10 to 14 minutes.

Once you’re ready to eat, pour some tomato sauce for dippin’. Enjoy!

Time to Come out of That Food Coma Now…

See? Homemade pizza is just as easy as takeout — at a fraction of the cost.

Plus, the whole personalizable option is perfect for families full of picky kids (or a picky spouse).

If you’re into the crescents, we’ve got more where that came from. Here are five more crescent roll recipes — all under $2 per serving.

Carson Kohler (@CarsonKohler) is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. Admittedly, she’s not the best cook, but these were a pizza cake… or should she say… pie. (Sorry, she’s also cheesy.) (OK, seriously. She’s done now.)

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

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Inspiration from 7 Up, Lauren Oliver, Julien Baker, 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. Thoreau on happiness

“Happiness is like a butterfly, the more you chase it, the more it will evade you, but if you notice the other things around you, it will gently come and sit on your shoulder.” ― Henry David Thoreau

I spent a lot of years of my life chasing happiness, believing that I could somehow build a “happy” life. What I learned is that such an endeavor is basically impossible.

Instead, you should try to build a life that’s in line with what your values and principles are, and what you’ll find is that happiness naturally bubbles up as you get closer and closer to that destination.

Happiness is a side effect of doing something worthwhile. When you do worthwhile things, happiness occurs naturally. If you chase happiness for happiness’s sake, you’ll never actually catch it.

2. 7 Up

From the Wikipedia entry on the series:

The Up Series is a series of documentary filmsproduced by Granada Television that have followed the lives of fourteen British children since 1964, when they were seven years old. So far the documentary has had eight episodes spanning 49 years (one episode every seven years) and the documentary has been broadcast on both ITV and BBC. In a 2005 Channel 4 programme, the series topped the list of The 50 Greatest Documentaries. The children were selected to represent the range of socio-economic backgrounds in Britain at that time, with the explicit assumption that each child’s social class predetermines their future. Every seven years, the director, Michael Apted, films material from those of the fourteen who choose to participate. The last installment, 56 Up, premiered in May 2012; Apted has stated that filming for 63 Up will occur in late 2018, for release in spring 2019. Apted has also been reported as saying: “I hope to do 84 Up when I’ll be 99.” The aim of the series is stated at the beginning of 7 Up as: “Why do we bring these children together? Because we want to get a glimpse of England in the year 2000. The shop steward and the executive of the year 2000 are now seven years old.”

The video embedded above (if you can’t see it, you can reach it by clicking on the link) is the full documentary 7 Up, which covers the fourteen children as they were in 1964, as seven year olds. Each subsequent entry in the series revisits most of the children at seven year intervals in their lives, as things go in different directions for them.

I watched these for the first time as a marathon in around 2002, when 42 Up was the newest entry available; I watched the entire series again a few years later after 49 Up was released, and yet again with the making of 56 Up. Each time it utterly charmed me and left me thinking about the fragility and difficulty and beauty of human lives.

A few days ago, a friend of mine pointed out that all of the films were freely available on Youtube, so there’s no reason not to dive in. This Youtube list contains the entire series, starting with 7 Up and continuing through 56 Up, the most recent entry.

3. Lauren Oliver on the whole of people

“I shiver, thinking how easy it is to be totally wrong about people; to see one tiny part of them and confuse it for the whole.” — Lauren Oliver

I feel like this is a good quote to pair with 7 Up, actually. In that series – and in fact, throughout our lives – we get only relatively small glances at these people. We see only little slivers of their lives. Even with the best efforts of the filmmakers, this would be true; a filmmaker visiting a person for a few days once every seven years cannot capture their true nature.

Yet, as I watch those films, I can’t help but draw some conclusions. I think I would be friends with some of them, and I’d probably avoid other ones.

Those quick takes may or may not be accurate. I’m making them based on really limited information about a person. I might be seeing that person at their best or at their worst. I might be seeing a quirky moment that’s not emblematic of them as a whole. It’s impossible to really tell.

What I do know is this: some of the worst mistakes I’ve made in life have been due to snap judgments about people, almost all of them more negative than they ever should have been. I drew some very negative conclusions about people and guided my behavior regarding them based on very little information mixed in with my own ideas and assumptions, and it has cost me many potential dear relationships over the years.

The tiny part of a person that you actually see is a pretty poor representative of the whole.

4. Jerry and Marge Go Large

This article by Jason Fagone chronicles the store of Jerry and Marge Selbee, who, in their retirement, discovered and then exploited holes in the Michigan and Massachusetts state lottery systems.

I found myself reading this article one evening while Sarah was busy grading papers, and I couldn’t help but mention to her that this is literally the kind of thing that I can see us doing in retirement.

We’re both curious people who like to understand how systems work. We aren’t afraid to take big leaps of faith on things that we feel certain about.

I’d like to think that Sarah and I, in our later years, will go on a lot of quirky adventures, like Jerry and Marge.

I’m also sharing this because it’s just a fun story, a well written one by Jason Fagone. This one’s really worth your time.

5. Benjamin Franklin on apologies

“Never ruin an apology with an excuse.” – Benjamin Franklin

One of the hardest things to do is to genuinely apologize when you’ve made a mistake and not turn it into an excuse or an avenue for blaming others. Anything beyond “I messed up” is simply a way to deflect blame off of yourself and, in the process, make the apology a lot less valuable.

An apology that ends up being nothing more than a redirection of blame or an excuse of a mistake is a worthless “apology;” in fact, you’re often leaving things in an even worse state because the other person perceives that you won’t own up to your mistakes.

When you mess up, apologize sincerely without excusing your mistake or blaming others. Admit that you messed up, state that you’re sorry for it, and that you want to do what you can to make it right and to make sure it won’t happen again. Make it clear that it’s on you, not on anyone else.

It’s hard to do that. It’s much easier to just shovel the blame onto someone or something else. If you do that, though, you eliminate virtually all of the meaning of the apology and look pretty weak to boot.

6. Michelle Knox on talking about your death while you’re still healthy

From the description:

Do you know what you want when you die? Do you know how you want to be remembered? In a candid, heartfelt talk about a subject most of us would rather not discuss, Michelle Knox asks each of us to reflect on our core values around death and share them with our loved ones, so they can make informed decisions without fear of having failed to honor our legacies. “Life would be a lot easier to live if we talked about death now,” Knox says. “We need to discuss these issues when we are fit and healthy so we can take the emotion out of it — and then we can learn not just what is important, but why it’s important.”

This whole video harkens back to a big theme I’ve come to really understand in my life in the last few years. The best time to talk about something is when you’re as far away from emotion as possible regarding that thing.

So, for example, don’t talk about death when you’re sick. Talk about it when you’re healthy and vibrant, so there’s as little emotion as possible in the subject.

When you’re talking to your parents about aging, don’t do it at their moment of weakness. Wait for a time of strength, when they’re feeling as healthy and unemotional as possible, and then have that discussion.

Don’t talk about a marital problem when you’re both riding the wave of that problem. Talk about it when you’re getting along well and you’re far away from that problematic area emotionally.

This is a key life lesson, one that has stuck with me over the years, and this video really highlights that idea.

7. Roy T. Bennett on self-improvement and criticism

“Let the improvement of yourself keep you so busy that you have no time to criticize others.” ― Roy T. Bennett

Unless criticism is asked for, criticism of others is rarely a worthwhile endeavor. It achieves very little and often has the opposite effect of what you desire, with the recipient ignoring the content of what you’re saying and just being upset with you.

Hold it in. If you don’t have something worthwhile to say, then don’t say it at all.

That doesn’t mean that one should never criticize. A person should definitely criticize from time to time, but it should generally be at the invitation of the person who seeks criticism and is looking for ways to improve.

“Brutal honesty” doesn’t achieve anything worthwhile.

8. Julien Baker – NPR Tiny Desk Concert

From the description:

In March of 2016, just a handful of months after her debut album Sprained Ankle was released, Julien Baker came and played a quiet, thoughtful Tiny Desk concert that went on to become one of our most popular and certainly one of the most-talked-about Tiny Desk Concerts of the year. (It’s now approaching two million views on YouTube alone.)

Fast forward to the summer of 2017, when I heard that a new record was imminent. I don’t usually ask an artist back for a second Tiny Desk Concert simply because they have a new release — but for Julien, I had to make an exception. With all the love that surrounded her first visit to the NPR offices, I reached out to ask if she would be willing to do something different this time around. Last fall, she delivered.

All the songs for her return to the Tiny Desk come from last year’s Turn Out The Lights. Just a few weeks before the album’s release, she came to Washington; we tuned our piano, she brought violinist Camille Faulkner. The first two songs, “Hurt Less” and “Even,” were accompanied by Camille, with Julien on piano for the opening tune and acoustic guitar on the second. It’s quite stunning, as she sings:
Putting my fist through the plaster in the bathroom of a Motel 6
I must have pictured it all a thousand times
I swear to God I think I’m gonna die
I know you were right I can’t be fixed, so help me

For the last, Julien put together an arrangement of “Appointments” that begins on electric guitar, which then was looped as a backdrop to her on piano and voice. Julien Baker is a massively talented songwriter with a deeply caring heart and a perfectionist streak — all of which delivered to her a career-making year. We are so thrilled to have her return. Set List “Hurt Less” “Even” “Appointments”

She’s just fantastic. Well worth a listen.

9. Inspirational notes

For the last several months, about once a week or so, I’ll stick a note inside of one of my children’s backpacks. It’s a note card in an envelope with their name on the front, and on the inside, I just write a short note saying something I admire about their character and how I hope they share that with the world.

It takes me about ten minutes or so to do this. I just stop for a little bit, think of some truly worthwhile characteristic that one of my children possesses, and then I’ll write about it.

I’ll tell a quick anecdote about when I saw that characteristic used in a positive way, how I am incredibly proud that I’m their parent when I see them using that aspect of themselves, a gentle encouragement to use that characteristic in other aspects of their life, and a general reminder that I love them. That’s it – nothing fancy.

I know that my kids have read the notes because of comments I’ve overheard, but not one of them has said a word about them to me. I do know that they’re read, though, and I do know that they’re thought about, and that’s enough.

Will it make a positive difference? Maybe. I think it will, given enough time.

Don’t just get inspired. Be an inspiration.

10. Muhammad Ali on the pebble in your shoe

“It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.” – Muhammad Ali

It’s often one or two little details that make the difference between success and failure.

You might be able to perfectly nail everything else you need for a diet, but it’s that mid-afternoon wave of hunger that you thoughtlessly indulge that undoes things.

You might have perfect control over your spending except for that one little linchpin. Maybe’s it’s online spending at a particular website, or maybe it’s regular splurging on food.

Whatever it is, there’s often some little detail that puts a big scratch on the beautiful surface of your progress.

The thing is, it’s far more meaningful to stop and pull that pebble out of your shoe than to keep on running for a little bit longer and just quit. Fix the little problems before they become big ones.

11. Marily Oppezzo on the creative benefits of going on a walk

From the description:

When trying to come up with a new idea, we all have times when we get stuck. But according to research by behavioral and learning scientist Marily Oppezzo, getting up and going for a walk might be all it takes to get your creative juices flowing. In this fun, fast talk, she explains how walking could help you get the most out of your next brainstorm.

Going on walks is unquestionably my most powerful creative tool. I don’t have anything else in my repertoire that really compares to it. It’s part of the reason why winters are often very hard in terms of writing productivity – the weather rarely cooperates with the kind of long outdoor walk that I enjoy.

While I enjoy winter in small doses, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to find Sarah and I living further south in the winter months when we are older. I think it agrees much better with both of us.

Still, I can’t laud walking enough if you’re trying to piece through a difficult idea in your head or you’re trying to brainstorm some solutions.

12. JFK on strength

“Do not pray for easy lives, my friends. Pray to be stronger men.” – John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Hoping that the future will become easier won’t really help very much. It’s very likely that the future won’t become easier.

Instead, recognize that your life right now probably is easier than it will be in the future and plan accordingly. Work a little harder today so you don’t have to work quite as hard tomorrow. Save a little money today so you don’t have to scramble tomorrow.

Don’t hope for an easier life. Work for a stronger you.

The post Inspiration from 7 Up, Lauren Oliver, Julien Baker, and More appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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Here’s How to Live Like a Minimalist and Start Your Own Capsule Wardrobe

A Toast to Applebee’s New $2 Drink of the Month: Less Water, Better Liquor!

It’s March, and you know what that means…

A new bargain cocktail from your friends at Applebee’s.

This month Applebee’s serves up $2 Absolut Vodka Lemonades.

It’s a slight price increase from its $1 Dollarita, DollarMama and Long Island iced tea — or L.I.T. as they say on Snapchat — introduced in previous months.

Scoring This Drink Deal is Absolut-ly Easy

Just belly up to an Applebee’s bar, booth or table near you and ask for the Drink of the Month to start sipping in style. No coupons to clip. No apps to download.

Don’t worry about making it in time for happy hour because bartenders are slingin’ this drink deal from open to close every day through the end of March.

Applebee’s Past Drink-Deal Woes

Applebee’s is well known for making these cheap specialty drinks especially weak with bottom-shelf liquor, sugary mixes and lots of tap water. But it has clearly heard the people’s sugar-rushed cries and has included its first-ever premium liquor in the fourth Neighborhood Drink of the Month promotion.

Still to be determined is the amount of Absolut vodka in each drink, but the 10-ounce frosty mug is guaranteed. Let’s hope this is a departure to a brighter future for this drink-of-the-month promo.

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

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

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Keep Your Weekends and Get Sweet Benefits With This Remote Tech Gig

You love to help people.

You have a passion for assisting others on their path to success.

You are dedicated to changing the world by sharing your technical expertise with others.

But on the weekends? Nah.

If that sounds like you, then this customer success manager position with ScheduleOnce could be the job for you.

The appointment-scheduling service is searching the country for a tech head who’ll work one of these full-time shifts Monday through Friday (all times are EST):

• 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The job requires a multi-tasking, analytical type who’s excited about learning new business and technical skills while assisting customers in a professional, customer-friendly manner (read: lose the snark).

Accurate, detailed writing and communication skills are essential, and advanced technical writing skills are preferred for this position.

The posting didn’t indicate what the pay range was, but the job does include benefits.

Thanks to Work at Home Mom Revolution for this posting!

Not the job for you? No worries, there are plenty of other gigs on our Facebook Jobs page. We post new opportunities there all the time.

Remote Customer Success Manager at ScheduleOnce

Responsibilities include:

• Answering customers’ calls and emails, providing solutions to their technical issues
• Acting as an advisor to new and potential clients
• Training and staying up to date on all things technical

Applicants for this position must have:

• Customer service experience (although the post notes anywhere from 0 to 3 years); Salesforce experience is preferred
• Technical experience, as well as the ability to master new software and recognize patterns quickly
• Familiarity with web languages like HTML, CSS and Javascript is preferred

Benefits include:

• Medical and dental insurance
• 401(k)
• Paid time off

Apply here for the work-from-home customer success manager job at ScheduleOnce.

Tiffany Wendeln Connors is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.

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

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Is Your Standing Desk Making You Dumber? Maybe So, Says New Study

The medical community has been warning people for years that sitting too much during the day is terrible for our health.

Sedentary behavior associated with prolonged sitting raises the risk of heart disease, diabetes and death.

Standing desks are regularly recommended as the go-to alternative to working at a traditional desk all day, but new research is challenging that assumption.

A recent study on ergonomics revealed standing in one place for too long can cause muscle fatigue, lower-limb swelling and a decrease in cognitive function.

But if you’re a standing-desk fancier, don’t worry — prolonged standing does increase creative problem-solving.

All Rise for Affordable Standing Desks

If you’ve shopped around for a standing desk, you know they can be pricy.

According to Wirecutter, high-end models can cost almost $700 (ouch!).

My home office is outfitted with a standing desk I built for about $20 using a collection of materials I picked up from IKEA.

A Tale of Two Sittings

Based on the results of the new study, should you alternate between sitting and standing at your desk or just park your posterior in your chair full time?

I tried it both ways, and here’s what I discovered.

Like the study’s participants, my back does get tired after a while and my feet begin to swell when I stand for long periods.

I found standing on a thick mat and taking frequent breaks to stretch or walk around helps minimize both issues.

I can’t say for sure if prolonged standing clinically decreases my cognitive function, but I do know I become increasingly distracted because of my aching back and swelling feet.

On the other hand, sitting at my desk for hours is no picnic either.

What sitting makes up for in back and lower-limb comfort is lost to aching shoulders while hunched over a keyboard.

For me, the answer is to sit and stand at my desk in approximately equal measures.

Many fitness trackers and other wearables on today’s market have built-in alarms to remind you to stand up or walk around.

There are also dozens of free apps you can install on your phone and computer that will prompt you to move around or change position.

It may take years for definitive answers on whether it’s more beneficial to sit or stand at your desk, so why not DIY your own standing desk for a few bucks and do both?

Lisa McGreevy is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She dreams of the day she can work while supported by helium balloons.

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

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Here’s What Predicts Your Kids’ Future Success Better Than Wealth or IQ

A scientific study is giving parents more reason to nag their kids about doing their homework.

We all know it’s good to get an early start on habits that lead to success. We encourage our kids to do well in elementary school so it snowballs into good grades in high school. We count on high school achievement getting them into great colleges and we hope postsecondary success will translate into developing rewarding, money-making careers.

The American Psychological Association reports a new study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology confirms that line of thinking. It also tells us behavior in high school is connected to career success decades later,  regardless of factors like parental income or IQ, or personality traits like conscientiousness.

The authors of the study analyzed data collected by the American Institutes for Research over a 50-year period. Teens in 1960 who were responsible students, showed an interest in school and read and wrote well were found to have ended up with more prestigious careers and higher income five decades later.

One of the study’s researchers told the University of Illinois news bureau that the study only points to an association between behavior and future success and not a causal relationship. But while being a responsible student doesn’t automatically guarantee future success, it can give parents hope.

We may not be able to leap income brackets or change our child’s IQ level or personality, but we can encourage our kids to take an interest in their studies, remind them to consistently complete their homework and model responsible behavior.

We can start sooner rather than later in the hope that the good habits stick and make a positive impact.

Nicole Dow is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She enjoys writing about parenting and money.

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

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Here’s Why It’s More Important Than Ever to Check Your Credit for Breaches

The next chapter in the Equifax saga revealed that 2.4 million more consumers than previously reported were affected by the original 2017 breach.

That brings the total count to almost 148 million people. Yikes.

However, Equifax said that this batch of consumers had minimal information stolen compared to the original 145.5 million.

What New Personal Information Was Compromised

Suspicions arose last month after a Wall Street Journal article and an investigation led by Elizabeth Warren suggested that more information, like tax identification number and passport numbers, were compromised in the original breach.

Equifax confirmed yesterday that hackers accessed names and partial driver’s license numbers of these 2.4 million consumers, but cyber thieves didn’t get their hands on complete information like home addresses, or driver’s license issuing state, issue date or expiration date.

These newly affected consumers also didn’t have their Social Security numbers stolen in tandem with their driver’s license numbers, which is why they were not previously notified, according to Equifax’s statement.

Paulino do Rego Barros, Jr., Equifax’s interim chief executive officer, said in a media release, “This is not about newly discovered stolen data. It’s about sifting through the previously identified stolen data, analyzing other information in our databases that was not taken by the attackers, and making connections that enabled us to identify additional individuals.”

So, this didn’t come up before because Equifax focused on the Social Security number breach, which poses a higher risk for identity theft.

What to Do If Your Information Was Stolen

If you think about it, 147.9 million people is nearly half the U.S. population. That’s a lot of people. Scary.

What’s even scarier is a new survey reports that 50% of Americans have not checked their credit in the past six months. More than a quarter of respondents ages 18 to 37 had never checked their credit reports or scores. Even worse, 46% of the same age group hadn’t heard anything about the Equifax breach.

If your information was included in this newly revealed part of the breach, Equifax plans to reach out directly to you. It will extend the same free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services as it did to others involved in breach.

Not being notified doesn’t mean you should be complacent about your credit or personal information. It only takes a minute to check if the breach compromised your personal information.

If it was, you may want to consider setting up fraud alerts or placing a freeze on your credit.

You can also take advantage of the new Lock & Alert program that Equifax launched for free in January. It lets consumers to lock and unlock their Equifax credit report — for life — with a computer or mobile phone.

All we know is that it is more time-consuming and costs more to recover from identity theft than to prevent it.

Stephanie Bolling is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She set up email alerts and gets notifications when anything changes on her credit. Take that, scammers.

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

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War Is Coming: Panic over impending Social Security Crisis

Social Security, which is arguably the most important program in the government's portfolio of spending is in crisis. Does the problem with Social Security lay in its history?

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How to Design a Homepage That Converts

First impressions matter.

When someone visits your website, the first thing they’ll see is your homepage. The way your homepage is set up can make or break your conversion rates.

I know how much time and effort it takes to improve your SEO ranking and drive more traffic to your website.

If you’re seeing a boost in your website traffic but not in conversions, it’s time for you to analyze your homepage. It doesn’t matter what type of business you have or what industry you’re in, focusing on the design of your homepage pays off.

Where do you start?

Your website has so much to offer. It can be overwhelming to decide what you want visitors to see first. It’s tempting to include as much information as possible.

I’ve helped tons of businesses revamp their websites. I’m going to share some of the top elements of a homepage you need to focus on.

If you follow these tips, your homepage will turn into a conversion machine. Here’s how you do it.

Keep it simple

Websites with simple designs have higher conversion rates.

As I briefly stated earlier, some websites try to cram as much information as possible into a small space on their homepages. They want to show off all their products, services, awards, affiliations, contact information, and anything else you can imagine.

If this sounds like your homepage, simplifying your design should be the first thing on your agenda.

It’s fine to include lots of information on your website, but it doesn’t need to be on your homepage. Take a look at this design from the Mint homepage.

Do you see how effective this is?

The menu bar at the top of the screen has only four options. The amount of text is minimal, so it’s very easy for users to scan the page and focus on headlines.

There is a clear point of emphasis on the middle of the screen. It’s their call-to-action (CTA) button, encouraging visitors to sign up for free.

Even if you’ve never heard of this company, this design makes it obvious what help they can offer their customers:

• finances
• budgets
• credit score
• bills
• savings

These buzzwords are easy to read because the layout is so simple.

Now the visitor can navigate on the website to find more information about what they’re interested in. But if Mint tried to explain every detail of their services in this small space, people would get distracted and overwhelmed.

While this homepage has some color, it’s used sparingly and tastefully. The colors aren’t contrasting and don’t make it difficult to read anything on the page.

To keep your website simple, you need to choose the right color scheme. This will help improve your conversion rates.

Compare your existing homepage to the example above. Try to replicate it in terms of the amount of text, navigation options, and CTA.

Focus on speed

Speed has a huge impact on your conversion rates. If your website loads too slowly, it’ll kill your conversions.

People are impatient. In today’s digital age, we’re used to getting content at lightning speeds. If a website doesn’t load right away, its bounce rate is likely to increase.

Your page loading time has a direct correlation with the previous point I talked about. Simple websites load faster.

If you’ve got tons of images, long blocks of text, complicated menus, lots of colors, flashing lights, and other unnecessary elements, your website won’t load very quickly.

But what if you’ve got a simple design and it still takes a while for your website to load?

I’d evaluate your web hosting services. While it may sound appealing to choose the cheapest option for hosting your website, you get what you pay for.

It’s worth it to spend the extra money to ensure your website doesn’t crash or have problems loading pages, especially the homepage.

The increase in website traffic and the boost in conversions will easily pay for the extra costs, plus extra in the long run.

Use quality images

Images can definitely help boost your conversion rates.

Websites without images seem plain, boring, and somewhat unprofessional. But that doesn’t mean you need to go crazy and put as many images as possible on your homepage.

As you now know, too many images can hurt your page loading time. Furthermore, research from Google found pages with fewer images have higher conversion rates.

Use images sparingly. Make sure all your images look professional. If they look as if you took them on a flip phone in 2006, it won’t help your cause.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you shouldn’t use all the pictures you feel you need to on your website. I’m just saying you don’t need to have them all on your homepage.

For example, let’s say you have an ecommerce website.

You should have multiple-angle, high-quality images of every item you’re selling. You could have six, eight, or ten photos for just one item.

However, save those pictures for when a customer clicks on that product.

If you were highlighting your top five best-selling items on your homepage, you’d have 50 images if you used every single one. Instead, use one image per item. When a visitor clicks on one of them, they’ll see the remaining photos of that product on the corresponding page.

Run A/B tests

Let’s say you’ve made some changes to your homepage, and you’ve noticed your conversions have increased. That’s great news. Does that mean you’re done?

Absolutely not. While your conversions may have increased, you don’t know whether you’ve reached your peak yet. Keep striving to improve your website.

One of the best ways to figure out whether you’ve got the most optimal design for your homepage is through A/B testing.

Also known as split testing, A/B testing involves running alternative versions of the same page to see which one has a higher conversion rate: 50% of your traffic sees one design, while the other 50% sees another.

It’s important you don’t change too many elements between the two versions when you run these tests. Otherwise, you won’t know which factor impacted the results.

You’re better off changing one element only, such as the CTA button text, color, or placement.

Here’s an example of an A/B test from the Sim City homepage:

Look at the difference between the two variations. The homepage on the right eliminated some text and an image. As a result, the simplified version had a 43% increase in checkouts.

That’s because the control version had too many distractions. The variation was much simpler, so it was easier for the users to focus on checking out.

I see cases like this all the time in my consulting work. Businesses are typically convinced that an offer, such as the one above offering $20 off a purchase, will help drive sales and increase conversions.

But it isn’t until they run an A/B test that they discover what really works.

The possibilities are nearly endless when it comes to your A/B tests. After you test one element, change something else and run another test.

If you initially tested the phrasing of your CTA button, test the color next. After that, test its size or placement. You can even test various images to see which one converts better.

A/B testing is an ongoing process. The tests should go on for as long as they need to until you feel your results are accurate.

Don’t let these tests get in the way of making other improvements to your homepage, such as simplifying the design or increasing the page loading time.

Make sure your call to action is clear

I know I’ve mentioned your CTA a few times throughout this guide, but it’s so important that it’s worth discussing in greater detail.

You can’t expect to have high conversion rates if your CTA isn’t glaringly obvious on your homepage. Although it’s critically important, many websites neglect their CTAs:

These numbers blow me away. Less than half of all the websites have a CTA that can be found in under three seconds.

People visiting your website won’t spend much time looking for the button that puts money in your pocket. If it’s not obvious, they’ll move on.

That’s why simplicity, which I talked about earlier, is so important. If you have few distractions on your website, the visitor’s eye will go straight toward your CTA.

Look again at the Mint website, or the Sim City’s A/B test. It’s very easy to find call-to-action buttons in both cases in just a couple of seconds.

Here’s a look at the homepage for one of my other companies, Crazy Egg:

As you can see, I practice what I preach.

The design of this homepage is extremely simple, and the CTA can be spotted instantly.

Here’s something else you should keep in mind. Your homepage should have only one CTA. Yes, you’ll have links to other pages on your site.

But when it comes to getting conversions, the call-to-action button needs to be obvious:

• sign up today
• subscribe now
• join for free
• click to learn more
• shop now to get 20% off your purchase.

All of these are great CTAs for a homepage. However, these won’t be effective if they’re all used simultaneously.

The site visitors won’t know which one to click on, and it will hurt your conversions. Focus on the most profitable action.

Optimize your website for mobile devices

It’s awesome that your site works well on a desktop, but that’s not enough if you want the highest conversion rates possible. Your homepage needs to be optimized for smartphones and tablets.

Earlier I discussed the importance of speed. If your site takes too long to load, users will abandon the page.

Obviously, this will crush your conversion rates. Half of Internet users expect your mobile website to load in less than two seconds.

Mobile optimization is important for all websites in every industry. However, it’s even more important for ecommerce stores.

That’s because the majority of online shoppers use their smartphones to shop.

If you have an ecommerce store that’s not mobile optimized, you’re missing out on a huge portion of the market.

Optimizing your homepage for mobile users needs to be a priority.

Conclusion

If you’re unhappy with your conversion rates, analyze your homepage.

Start by simplifying the design. This will make it easier for visitors to find your CTA.

Simplicity also translates to a faster page loading time. Make sure you have suitable web hosting service.

Your homepage should have high quality images. Just be sure to use them sparingly. Too many images can have a negative impact on your conversions.

Run A/B tests to see which elements of your homepage can be modified to improve conversions.

Making sure your homepage and the rest of your website is optimized for mobile devices is an absolute necessity.

If you follow these tips, you’ll start to see your conversions rise almost instantaneously.

What elements of your website are designed to optimize conversion rates?

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The Purpose of Your Life Isn’t to Make More Money.

Yesterday, I wrote an article on how to accelerate the growth of your net worth. From top to bottom, the article is chock full of great personal finance advice, and if you follow all of it, I virtually guarantee that the growth of your net worth will accelerate over time.

There’s one big piece missing from that puzzle, though. Why?

Why exactly are you hunting for acceleration in your net worth? What do you want to do with that money? When your net worth is accelerating, what good will it do you?

For some, simply watching that number grow is enough. It can become a representation of one’s life efforts, a clear indication that a person has worked hard and made wise choices with his or her money. Being a millionaire or a multi-millionaire might just be a label that a person really strives for and derives great value from, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

For me, though, the labels that really matter are father. Husband. Community leader. Friend. Writer. Things like that. Those are the labels I am interested in having. Those are the labels I want people to use when they talk about me.

None of those have anything directly to do with money.

For me, the reason for thinking about and improving my net worth is to make me better at all of those other labels that I care much more about. I worry about my financial picture because I know that having a good financial foundation makes me a better father. It makes me a better husband. It makes me a better community leader. It makes me a better friend. It makes me a better writer.

Having a healthy emergency fund, no debt, and some money saved for retirement means I’m not worried about making sure that my kids have food to eat. I know that they will have the educational resources they need, and that they’ll be able to participate in any activities that they so choose.

Having a healthy emergency fund, no debt, and some money saved for retirement means that if something unexpected happens to my wife, things will be okay. Whether it’s a job loss or an unexpected illness or a marital concern, we will be able to be at each other’s side and focus on overcoming that problem, not on financial concerns.

Having a healthy emergency fund, no debt, and some money saved for retirement means that, in the moment, I can truly focus on being a friend or being a community leader without any sort of financial stress or concern diverting my attention.

Having a healthy emergency fund, no debt, and some money saved for retirement means that I can take some career leaps that I might not otherwise be able to take, because I know our financial state can survive a downturn in income for a while if things don’t turn out well.

In short, a financial foundation isn’t meaningful on its own; a financial foundation is meaningful because of how it supports other areas of your life and opens new doors in those areas.

When I step back and calculate my net worth and see how it has grown over the last several months, it unquestionably feels good, but that “good” feeling comes from knowing that the areas of my life that I truly care about are secure and well supported and that security grows all the time.

Furthermore, financial success means more and more opportunities in those areas are now available to me. I can honestly consider ideas like taking a year off from work to write a novel and shepherd it through the publishing process. I can envision scenarios that might otherwise seem disastrous – like a serious illness for my wife that causes her to leave work for a while – that our family can now just roll through. I don’t have to worry about financial apocalypse if one of our children struggles with their choices after high school – we’re ready to handle whatever may come.

Money is not a purpose in and of itself. Money is a foundation that enables security and opportunity in all of the areas of life that you care most about. To me, that’s the reason to care about your net worth, to shoot for growing your financial foundation, and to be proud of the positive direction you’re taking.

In one simple number, my net worth is a symbol of my day-to-day commitment to those things I care most deeply about. Our net worth is going up because I’m making daily choices to ensure that it keeps moving that way, and because it is going up, I know that those areas of my life that I care about are secure and strong and can withstand unexpected events and surprising choices.

How much is too much? For me, the answer to that question is pretty simple as well. I know that I’ve put too much emphasis on accumulating wealth and not enough in the other areas of my life when I look at that balance and honestly regret things left undone. I don’t really have that feeling at all – sure, I can think of a thing or two that I might have done differently, but there’s nothing that truly fills me with regret. There is no aspect of our financial turnaround, as of yet, where I look at our financial state and think, “Gee, I wish I had done this other thing instead of building this backbone of security and springboard of opportunity.”

There will probably come a time in my life when I do feel that way, and that’s a point at which I need to do some serious reflection about my financial choices going forward. Are there now things that I can do with this financial foundation that weren’t possible before, things that enable me to really live out those core things and core roles that I value?

All I can say is that it’s not yet happened in any significant way, and I don’t see it happening any time soon.

In the end, it all comes down to one simple idea: the purpose of your life isn’t to make more money. The purpose of your life is to figure out who you want to be in this world, and then use your personal finances to maximize those roles.

I want to be a good father, a good husband, a good friend, a community leader, and a good writer. I want to be known as a listener, as a person who helps out and leads when needed, as a person with worthwhile ideas.

Personal finance success merely helps me do all of those roles as well as possible. When I make choices that help out my finances, I reinforce all of those roles. When I make bad financial choices, I undermine all of those roles.

The purpose of your life isn’t to be financially successful. It’s to be personally successful, and financial success goes a long way toward propping up that kind of personal success.

Good luck.

The post The Purpose of Your Life Isn’t to Make More Money. appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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Tired of Wasting Money on Cheap Clothes? How to Dress Better for Less

Skip the Essay and Take a Quiz to Apply for This $2,000 AFSA Scholarship

Paying for college is an expensive endeavor — and even the best planner, budgeter and saver may still end up needing additional assistance when the final bill is sent each semester.

Scholarships are a great way to fill the gaps and help you avoid taking on too many student loans (loans you’ll have to pay back for years to come), and even small awards have the potential to add up quickly.

But scholarship opportunities aren’t always easy to track down. That’s why when we come across a good one, we share it with you.

Even better, though, is when we find one that doesn’t involve an essay submission. (Seriously — why do they all require an essay?)

And that’s what we found today: The American Fire Sprinkler Association is hosting a no-essay scholarship contest for high school students across the U.S. — and the deadline is coming up soon!

Win $2,000 in the AFSA Scholarship Contest

Here’s how to enter to win a scholarship to help pay for college without submitting an essay.

Scholarship amount: $2,000

Number of scholarships awarded: 10

To qualify for this scholarship, applicants must:

• Be a current high school senior
• Be a U.S. citizen or legally residing in the U.S.
• Be enrolled in or plan to enroll in a college, university or certified trade school for the fall 2018 semester
• Not be related to an AFSA staff member or national board member

To apply, applicants must:

• Enter the drawing via the online entry form
• Take the short (and easy!) quiz about fire sprinklers and college fire safety that follows the online entry form

Scholarship deadline: April 1, 2018

Only one entry per person is allowed. The winners will be randomly selected by a computer-generated drawing and will be notified within 14 business days of the contest’s end date.

You can read the rest of the official rules and guidelines here.

If you’re looking for even more scholarships to apply for, be sure to check out our list of 100 scholarships that will help you pay for college.

Grace Schweizer is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder.

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

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Cremations overtaking traditional burials

A slow shift in culture is changing the way funeral homes operate and cutting into their bottom lines.For the first time, cremations are more popular than traditional burials and some say it could be a killer for some smaller businesses.“If you’re not doing enough volume and half of them go to cremation, you’re probably in trouble," said Michael Bolock, funeral director at Bolock Funeral Home. "So for smaller places, it can be a problem."For decades, [...]

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Here’s How Commuter Costs Stack Up in Redfin’s Top 10 Transit Systems

Commuting to work is one of those necessary evils we all endure (unless you happen to work from home).

Depending on where you live and work, taking public transportation can help save you time and money. But not all transit systems are created equal.

Real estate site Redfin recently released its 2018 list of the top 10 cities for public transit. The cities were ranked using Redfin’s “Transit Score,” a trademarked indicator of the convenience of using public transportation in a given location.

Using a scale from 0 to 100, the top 10 cities were ranked as followed:

1. New York — 85.3
2. San Francisco — 80.4
3. Boston — 72.6
4. Washington, D.C. — 68.5
5. Philadelphia — 66.8
6. Chicago — 65.0
7. Seattle — 59.6
8. Minneapolis — 57.6
9. Baltimore — 57.2
10. Honolulu — 57.2

According to the transit score methodology, scores between 50 and 69 indicate areas that are good for transit with many nearby public transportation options. Scores between 70 and 89 indicate cities that are excellent for transit, where public transportation is convenient for most trips.

What wasn’t factored into the scoring was the cost of the commute.

Being the Penny Hoarders we are, we couldn’t help but look into the public transportation fares in the 10 cities on Redfin’s list. We specifically focused on the cost of a monthly transit pass, because it’s generally beneficial for regular commuters to choose multi-day options rather than paying the fare for each individual trip they take.

Here’s how the cities stacked up financially:

1. Boston — $55 (or $84.50 for additional subway or commuter rail options)
2. Honolulu — $70
3. Washington D.C. — $70 (for four weekly Metrobus passes)
4. Baltimore — $72
5. San Francisco — $75 (or $94 for commuters needing to travel between BART stations)
6. Minneapolis — $90 (or $65 for monthly passes to travel outside of rush hour time frames)
7. Seattle — $90
8. Philadelphia — $96
9. Chicago — $105
10. New York — $121

Commuters in our nation’s capital pay the least per month of the top 10 metros. Though Washington D.C.’s Transit Score in the top 5 and just shy of an “excellent” rating, it has dropped 2.2 points since 2016’s rankings.

Redfin Washington, D.C., agent John Marcario said the transit system’s decision to reduce service and shut down certain lines for repair has caused frustration among riders but that D.C. home buyers are still paying a premium to live near a Metro station.

Commuters in Boston pay the least per month of the top 10 metros — but only for commuters just taking local bus routes. Those who regularly travel via subway or commuter rail pay more.

Though New York had the highest Redfin Transit Score (despite some New Yorkers’ transit horror stories), commuters in the Big Apple pay the most for monthly transit fare of the 10 cities.

Still, $121 a month can be a steal compared to paying to have a car.

According to Experian, the average new car loan payment was $502 in the third quarter of 2017, and the average new car lease payment was $412. The average used-car payment was $365.

And that’s not factoring in the cost of insurance, gas, parking or other expenses associated with owning a car.

Of course, not all areas are conducive to taking public transportation. To get more insight on your city, Redfin’s Walk Score lets you plug in your location and find out whether it’s great for taking public transportation, walking or biking — or whether you’d likely need to depend on driving a car.

Nicole Dow is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She commutes to work via public transit.

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

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