Archives for February 2017

How Does Giving Assistant Work?

February 27, 2017 | Leave a Comment

I think we can all agree that shopping online is the bees’ knees, right? Not only are online prices super competitive, the “work” of shopping can often be done faster from home. And bonus; the items you buy are delivered right to your front door. As an added benefit, companies like Giving Assistant are actually paying customers to shop online.

That’s right. They give you cash back on the things you buy.

How Giving Assistant Works

The first step is to create a free account with Giving Assistant.

After you log in to your account, you can start shopping either by store or by category. Each store offers a certain percentage of cash back on purchases. Five percent is the average discount percentage. However, many stores offer discounts of up to 7% and even more, depending on the day.

When you make a purchase, the store pays that cash back to Giving Assistant. If you’re a member, the cash back goes right into your account.

If you’re a non-member, Giving Assistant keeps the cash back and donates a meal to Feeding America. In fact, Giving Assistant donates a meal to Feeding America for every single qualified purchase.

As a bonus, Giving Assistant informs buyers of any online coupons that can help bring their purchase price even lower. When you combine coupons with cash back bonuses you save even more money on the things you buy.

How to Receive Your Cash Back Bonuses

As you accumulate cash back rewards, the site allows you to transfer those rewards to a debit card through Paypal. You’ll have the option to transfer your money once you’ve earned at least $5.01 in bonus cash. No waiting for checks to come in the mail or trying to reach high minimum payout balances.

Giving Assistant pays out pretty quickly as well – often within one business day when using Paypal’s secure site.

Giving to Charity through Giving Assistant

When members earn cash back, they also have the option of donating some or all of their earnings to charity. Members can choose from hundreds of non-profit organizations to donate to, such as Feed the Children or the Red Cross.

Which Stores Participate?

According to their website, Giving Assistant has over 2700 stores participating in its cash back program. Some examples are:

Big box stores such as Walmart, Target, Kmart and Kohls
Online retailers such as Amazon and Coburn’s
Specialty sites such as Etsy, Redbubble, Café Press and Ebay
Specialty stores such as Macy’s, Nordstrom, Coach and Ann Taylor

With nearly 3,000 stores to choose from, everyone is bound to find a shopping venue that fits their needs.

In this day and age, people are becoming more mindful of how their purchases affect the world as a whole. With Giving Assistant, shoppers can become a part of a growing conscious capitalism movement.

By combining shopping with charity, you meet your needs and help the less fortunate get their needs met, too. Shopping responsibly has arrived.

Are you a fan of shopping online? Would you ever try Giving Assistant? Share why or why not below!

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Living On Very Little Income? Here Are Some Basic Considerations.

February 20, 2017 | Leave a Comment

As a trained financial coach and someone who has experienced life below the poverty line, I’m passionate about helping people who find themselves living on very little income. I want them to know there’s more hope than they realize. It’s not easy, but there are steps people can take today to improve their financial situation at home. Let’s go over a few of those basic considerations now.

Living on very little income? Here are some basic considerations.

What you earn annually does not directly affect your living situation. For example, things like cost of living, recurring bills, spending habits, and hobbies make a huge difference. Some families can make do on $25,000, others struggle with $125,000.

The key component that made the biggest difference in my own life wasn’t my bank account balance, it was my behavior. When my mindset shifted toward healthier habits, the numbers inevitably followed. Here are a few key behavioral shifts I made that improved our finances when money was especially tight.

3 Ways to Successfully Live On Less

Protect the “four walls.”

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the poverty line for a family of four is $24,339. View your family’s size and threshold here.

In the book The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness, author Dave Ramsey talks about taking care of the “four walls.” This is a key component for anyone who is living on very little income. The four walls are:

Food
Shelter (rent, mortgage, utilities)
Transportation (fuel, auto maintenance)
Clothing (when needed)

You may experience creditors calling you about a bill that’s overdue, what’s that when your family is still able to eat and there’s no eviction notice on your door? Protecting the four walls, no matter your income, puts you in a completely different place emotionally.

Start a “Rainy Day” fund

If you feel like you’re one broken appliance away from a crisis due to your limited income, it’s time to save up for emergencies. It’s so easy to say you can’t spare an extra $500 right now to just sit in the bank, you wouldn’t be alone in that thinking. Over 62% of people responded in a recent Bankrate poll that they wouldn’t be able to cover an unexpected expense like a $500 car repair or a $1,000 trip to the ER.

But remember, we’re looking at modifying behavior. You can walk a different path than the majority.

For example, how would it feel if your radiator cracked and white smoke started billowing out of your hood tomorrow? Now how would it feel if you knew there was money in the bank to fix it immediately? You’ve just reduced a crisis to a problem with a solution.

Ways to save for emergencies:

Create a budget and educate yourself on your current spending habits. Cut back in areas of excess and drop that extra cash into an emergency fund. For free printable or downloadable budget forms, click here.
Set up an automated savings transfer every month to make sure the habit sticks.
Sell items around your house on Facebook or in a garage sale. Got a stack of books lying around? Try selling them on Amazon or Bookscouter.com.
Eliminate as much debt as possible. This will free up more and more money each month to put toward savings and living expenses.

Increase your income.

If you’ve protected your four walls, started planning ahead for emergencies, and created a budget to track your spending, then congratulations. You’re light-years ahead of so many Americans who carry the stress and worry of finances on their shoulders day in and day out.

Many people skip those first integral steps and jump straight to this last one: Increase your income. Hopefully, now you can see why a shift in your own habits needs to take place first. Then, you’ll feel more empowered to do something to increase your income. The foundation has been laid. Now here are a few ways to increase your income:

Pick up a second job.
Increase your hours or work overtime.
Seek a promotion or raise.
Start a side hustle from home.
Seek out a higher-paying job.

You have the same 24 hours as everyone else, so getting a second job or working longer hours comes with the sacrifice of time away from home. If that’s what it takes to protect your four walls and set up a buffer against emergencies, then that might be the right answer for the time being.

If you’re living on very little income, this is probably a difficult season for you. Change won’t happen overnight, but if you build a financial foundation based on your values (i.e. protecting your family), then each decision will flow out of that and sacrifices like cutting up a credit card or eating out less will sting less. The trade off will eventually be a more peaceful home and greater financial freedom.

Have you ever experienced living on very little income? What steps did you take to improve your finances?

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Costco LEGOs Q & A: The Best Deal In Town or Not Worth the Trip?

February 13, 2017 | Leave a Comment

Costco can be so beneficial for families. You can often find quality products at a great price. Their various organic food selection is an example. But, what about something like toys? More specifically, what about Costco LEGOs?

Worth the trip to find a deal or keep on looking?

LEGOs have been one of the most popular toys for boys and girls since their start in 1932. The colorful, interlocking bricks give kids a chance to put down their screens, engage their minds, and unleash their imaginations.

The problem is, buying new LEGOs can get expensive quickly. Sets that follow a certain theme, like Star Wars or Harry Potter, charge more than normal for the affiliation. If Costco is known for its competitive prices, then are Costco LEGOs the best deal?

Let’s do some Q & A and find out:

Costco LEGOs Q & A: Best Deal In Town or Not Worth the Trip?

Q: Does Costco sell LEGOs?

A. Yes. There is often an assortment of LEGO products available at Costco, although it does vary. You can also shop online at Costco.com. Overall, you will see considerably less variety than a place like Walmart, Target or Amazon.

Q: Why does Costco have less selection than other stores?

A: According to Costco’s Wholesale Disclosure:

Costco operates membership warehouses based on the concept that offering members very low prices on a limited selection of products will produce high sales volumes and rapid inventory turnover. This rapid inventory turnover, when combined with the operating efficiencies achieved by volume purchasing and reduced handling of merchandise enables Costco to operate profitably at significantly lower gross margins than traditional wholesalers.

Translation: Costco sells hand-picked, quality brands faster and with fewer employees than supermarkets.

After speaking with an administrative representative at my local Costco who declined being named for this interview, he explained that Costco doesn’t carry any particular product year-round. Their mission is to find the trend, buy it early, mark down the price considerably, and sell it at the peak season.

Q: How can I save the most money on LEGOs at Costco?

A: Knowledge is key. Costco’s LEGO selection is very limited during the first two-thirds of the year. Your best bet during those months is to glance at the selection online and keep in mind other options like Amazon or Walmart.

The best ways to save money in general at Costco are:

Sign up for an Executive membership. By doing so, you’ll receive 2% cash back on every qualified purchase. At the end of year, you receive a check in the mail – redeemable only at Costco – for all the money you earned back.
Browse your monthly Costco flier. It’ll come to you in the mail right before the beginning of a new month and includes every sale, including toys.
Sign up for email offers. You’ll receive exclusive coupons and deal alerts from Costco via email.
Follow deal hunting blogs like Krazy Coupon Lady to receive the most up-to-date information about Costco products. For example, KCL created this detailed post on every LEGO toy available during the Christmas shopping season of 2016. Many of the LEGO products were discounted significantly!

In Conclusion

Is Costco the best place to buy LEGOs? Not until the holidays, and not if you’re looking for a wide variety.

If you just want to buy some new LEGOs within your price range, then I suggest using some of the money-saving techniques mentioned above. The great thing about Costco is that you can’t loose, their return policy is outstanding. If you find a better price on LEGOs, and want to return them at Costco, they’ll probably take them. So, keep your eyes open for a deal, follow a blogger who’s going to do the leg work to keep you informed during the holidays, and go find yourself a great deal.

What’s your favorite thing to shop for at Costco?

Image Credit: Roger Ahlbrand (Creative Common)

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Take Over Apartment Lease – How to Quickly Find Your Replacement Renter

February 6, 2017 | Leave a Comment

The tricky thing about life is that it doesn’t always line up with our schedule. Perhaps you find yourself in a situation where you have to move before your lease is up. Breaking a lease is complicated, potentially expensive, and best avoided at all cost. However, when you have no choice, and your to-do list suddenly includes “someone must take over apartment lease,” here are your next three steps.

Take Over Apartment Lease – How to Quickly Find Your Replacement Renter

Perhaps “Plan A” was to coordinate your moving date with the end of your lease. Perhaps an unexpected life event occurred like an out-of-state job offer or the end of a relationship. Now your facing “Plan B.” You might be wondering where to even begin.

Step 1 – Understand your options.

Spend some time reading over your lease agreement. It will include vital information about what’s expected of you and your landlord if a lease break occurs. In many states, you may be required to help find a replacement renter, but that’s not always the case.

Meanwhile, start putting away money in savings. If you break your leasing agreement, you’ll likely pay the amount of your rent for every month until another renter can be found.

One caveat to this is if you had to move out due to your landlord not following through with his commitment in the contract.

For example, maybe you’ve discovered mold. It’s a direct result of a leaky appliance your landlord promised to replace. If the agreement to fix this appliance was in writing, you could have just cause for breaking your lease early.

Step 2 – Inform your landlord as soon as possible.

The benefits of informing your landlord of your plans sooner rather than later outweigh the drawbacks. They are as follows:

Being proactive, polite, and honest about your plans to leave will help greatly, especially if you discover there is room for negotiation on your break lease.
As I mentioned early, you may legally be required to help your landlord find a replacement renter. Therefore, the sooner you bring it to his or her attention, the sooner you can both begin your search. The sooner you begin searching, the less you’ll have to pay in rent down the road.
Depending on the terms in your lease agreement, you may have the option of a termination agreement with your landlord. That would basically allow you to pay a one-time fee for breaking your lease early without the extra work of finding a subletter or new tenant.

Step 3 – Find someone to take over your apartment lease.

If no termination agreement can be reached and you have no other choice but to find your replacement, try these options:

Notice boards – One common place for soliciting new apartment tenants is on notice boards located at grocery stores, laundromats, or within the apartment complex, itself.
Craigslist – Another option is to list the information on Craigslist. Be careful about how much personal information you share online and about meeting any potential renters alone.
Local newspaper – Before there was Craigslist, there was the newspaper. The exposure your request receives, the quicker you’ll find someone.
Social media – Again, be cautious about your personal information, but word of mouth can be a great asset when you’re searching for someone to take over your apartment lease in a hurry.
Hire a 3rd party to transfer the lease for you – There are companies who will market your apartment’s vacancy and transfer your lease for you. Always read the fine print, weigh the cost, and understand what you’ll still be responsible for when they’re finished.

When in doubt, try to protect your contract from a lease break. But if you absolutely cannot, use these steps as a guide through this time of transition.

What are some ways you’d recommend someone finding a replacement renter quickly?

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