Diversify for a Successful Online Side Hustle

The following post is by MPFJ staff writer, Melissa Batai.  Melissa is a freelance writer who covers topics ranging from personal finance to business to organics to food.  She blogs at Mom’s Plans where she shares her family’s journey to healthier living and paying down debt.

Side hustles can be a great way to stretch a family’s income or to find ways to pay for perks a family couldn’t normally afford such as a vacation.  Side hustles can also be a great way to drum up some extra money to invest for the kids’ college funds or to invest in your own retirement.

For twenty-somethings just out of college, side hustles can be a great way to pay down debt.  Joe Mihalic of No More Harvard Debt dug his way out of $91,000 in student loan debt in part by renting, “his spare bedrooms to strangers through Craigslist and starting a side business doing landscape work” (CNNMoney) to supplement his “six-figure management job.”

My Side Hustle Experience

As a stay-at-home mom who needs to help supplement the family income, I love side hustles.  I started my first side hustle in February, 2010, when I started freelance writing for a personal finance blogger.  Then, I got another side hustle submitting a different personal finance blogger’s articles to finance carnivals.

The carnival submission side hustle quickly mushroomed until I had over 20 clients.  The job required several hours of work each Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  For about 18 months, everything went smoothly, and I raked in the money.

During that time, I naturally shed a few clients because, as a mom to three young children, my work had grown to more than I could handle, at least if I wanted to be present in my kids’ lives.

But then, the online environment began to change.  People worried that carnivals might look like link farms to Google and that their blogs may be penalized.  I lost a few clients when they decided the potential risk wasn’t worth the reward.

And then I got competition–a lot of competition.  Smart people looking for a fairly easy side hustle set up their own carnival submissions service at a lower price, and slowly my clientele faded away.  Now, three and a half years later, I only have a few carnival submission clients left.

In addition to my freelance writing work for other bloggers, I found work occasionally writing posts for companies and bloggers.  For some time, I could count on making about a one fourth of my monthly income that way.  But again, business dried up.  One blogger that I worked with got out of the blogging business.  Google began to penalize blogs, so that also dried up business.

Now, most of my income comes from freelance writing, virtual assistant work, and social media work.

My Tips for Those Looking to Create a Side Hustle

Based on my three plus years experience, I have some advice for those looking to start a side hustle:

1.  Make sure you have a savings account.  Many start their side hustle because money is tight.  I would recommend that even if that is the case, you should set aside some money in a savings account every month.  If I had it to do all over again, I’d set aside 25% of my income each month from day one.  I’m doing that now, but I should have been doing that much earlier so I’d be more financially secure if a side hustle dries up (as it inevitably seems to do in the online world).

In addition, remember that as a freelancer, income is not always dependable.  I have one client who doesn’t pay me until 30 days after I submit my work.  Many others pay me as soon as my posts are submitted.  Occasionally clients fall on hard times and payment is delayed, sometimes for months.  If you make it a habit to set aside a certain percentage of your earnings, you’ll always have money in the savings account to smooth out the ebb and flow of income and jobs.

2.  Create as many side hustles as you can comfortably.  The online world is dynamic and always changing.  Decisions Google and social media sites make can affect your jobs as well.  A few years ago, bloggers did whatever they could to grow their Facebook account, and now, most of those bloggers are frustrated because only 1 to 2% of their followers see their status updates.  A few years ago, content was king, but now in the era of Pinterest, photos are just as or more important.

You never know what new social media sites will take off or what changes will affect your business.  The more side hustles you can create, the better.  My carnival submission service has been almost eradicated as has my sponsored post writing side hustle.  However, I still have my freelance blog writing, virtual assistant work and social media work.  If I had relied on just one way to make money, I may very well be out of job right now.

3.  Watch for trends and learn new skills.  Even if you have a profitable side hustle now, always keep an eye out for changes in the online environment.  If you can be one of the first to master something new in the online sphere like Pinterest, you can make a healthy side hustle.  Just look at some of the most successful bloggers that you know.  Many of them started eight or more years ago when blogging was relatively new and there wasn’t so much competition.

4.  Cultivate relationships.  As you work with others, strive to cultivate relationships.  Support those you work with by following them on social media and sharing their work.  The stronger you can make these relationships, the more likely they can help you if you need it.  For instance, one freelance writer lost a large client.  She contacted some people she currently worked with as well as those she had previously worked with, and within two days she had jobs that would replace the income she lost.

5.  Excel at your work to get word-of-mouth referrals.  In the same vein, you can also cultivate relationships by doing excellent work.  Though taking on more work than you can handle can be tempting, balance your work load so that you can do excellent work with all of your clients.  This can lead to word-of-mouth referrals, which can help you find new jobs.

6.  Have an exit strategy.  There may be the day when you no longer want your side hustle.  Maybe your debt is paid off or your traditional job is requiring more time or your family is growing.  Whatever the reason, having an exit strategy is important.  How will you leave your business?  Are you able to sell it to someone else or a company?  Will you just close up shop one day?  If so, how long will closing up shop take?

A side hustle can grow so much that it generates enough to replace the income from your traditional job and can then become your full-time job.  Or, it can be something that you do on the side for a limited amount of hours a week while your kids are sleeping or on the weekends.  Whichever type of side hustle you choose, keeping these tips in mind will help you successfully grow, and keep, your side income flowing.

How about you all? What advice would you have for someone just beginning a new online side hustle? 

Share your experiences by commenting below! 

***Photo courtesy of https://www.flickr.com/photos/refractedmoments/

High Maintenance or Just Kempt – What Percentage of Your Income Should You Spend on Appearances?

The following post is by staff writer, Sally. Sally is the blogger behind TinyApartmentDesign.com, a blog about design, living well, and simple, tiny spaces.

Glancing at a list of my most recent purchases, a pattern quickly emerged: highlights for my hair. Teeth whitening. Mani/pedi at a pricey $36.

Who do I think I am over here, JLo? I’ve been spending money on my appearances lately, and I wondered if that makes me high maintenance. What counts as high maintenance?  I propose that there is one key factor that can push you into the high maintenance category from the more basic, “just doing what I gotta do to look good” label.

The High Maintenance Test: Proportion of Income Spent

There’s a rule of thumb that no more than 30% of your gross income should go towards housing.

What’s the rule of thumb on keeping up appearances, which can include hair, skin, nails and teeth upkeep, and luxe clothing, shoes and accessories?

Here are a few thoughts: If you’re spending 5% or less of gross income, you’re well within reason. Spending around 10%? You’re pushing the limit on what your income can reasonably afford, but you’re still making it work. But more than 10% and you might qualify as high maintenance. Let’s look at two examples with two different income levels:

Party A grosses $3k per month or $36k per year.

He’s spending (plug in each of the following numbers) per month on personal maintenance:

5% or $150: Looking good! Keeps his hair trim, maybe a hot towel shave, and sports nice sunglasses and some cologne. Ladies, this guy seems like a keeper and he smells nice.

10% or $300: OK, so he’s managed to keep his other expenses down. Nothing wrong with spending a little more on yourself if that’s what you like. Leans towards designer labels.

15% or $450: I don’t trust this guy. He spends more on his aftershave regimen than I do on a year’s worth of cosmetics. Granted, maybe he looks really good thanks to all this effort and spending, but he could just as easily look kinda cheesy for spending so much.

Now let’s apply the same numbers to a higher-grossing individual.

Party B grosses $10k per month or $120k per year.

5% or $500: This is actually impressive. The higher salary hints that this person might own her own business or spend time in front of clients in a corporate setting. Either way, she may find she wants to spend more on luxury clothing that lasts, like a St. John suit or some classic pumps. Across a year, she spent $6k on othing that lasts, like a St. John suit or some classic pumps. Across a year, if she spent  she wants to spend more on lu a good bag, clothes and haircuts.

10% or $1,000: $1k a month on maintenance sounds steep, but Party B can afford it, and decides to spend her money here. Maybe a little to me, but not to her. And she looks put-together.

15% or $1,500: Even with that high income, that’s a lot of money to spend on just appearances. Clients don’t care if your shoes have red bottoms, they just want you to deliver. At $1,500 a month, some of this this spending might include La Mer face cream, porcelain veneers and other spending that pushes Party B solidly into “high maintenance” territory.

When you’re spending on your appearance, it’s easy to feel like it’s all frivolous spending.

But if you’re spending a single digit percentage of your income, and taking care of your looks with haircuts that give you a boost of confidence or a Ferragamo belt you can wear with all kinds of outfits, take comfort in being a stylish kempt person who isn’t high maintenance in the least.

How about you all? How much do you think you spend per month on your appearance? Do you think it’s worth the money?

Share your experiences by commenting below! 

 ***Photo courtesy of http://www.freeimages.com/photo/1385221

Staying At Home Or Sending Your Child To Daycare – Which Is Better Suited For You?

The following post is by MPFJ staff writer, Grayson Bell. Grayson, who runs the finance blog Debt Roundup, is a fan of personal finance, brewing beer, and working on cars.

Being a relatively new parent, I have battled with the decision to put my son in daycare or stay at home with him.

I think this might be a debate that all parents go through. These days, it is not as common to see one partner stay at home to take care of the children. Many homes are two income households. I am not going to get into why this might be the case, but I will talk about dealing with the daycare versus stay at home debate. This article is just how I handled our situation and how I created a cost versus benefit analysis.

Daycare

Let’s face it. Daycare is expensive.

Depending on where you live, daycare can easily go into the thousands. In my area, you easily pay over $1,000 per child per month to keep them in daycare. You might gasp, but that is how the cookie crumbles. While there are options for daycare in our area, you get what you pay for. You do not want to go cheap when it comes to someone taking care of your child.

Daycare Costs

As I stated, daycare is costly. The good ones in our area easy go over $1,000 per month and you only get one week of not having to pay each year. This is our vacation week. On any other week, we would have to pay for him to be there, no matter if he was there or not. They can charge this type of rate because there is a lot of demand for good daycares. Some in our area have an 8 to 9 month wait.

If you are paying $1,000 a month, then you are hitting $12,000 per year on childcare. Having to dish out this much money per year can be daunting. It also may not be feasible for many. Always take time to check over all of the costs for a daycare you might be interested in.

Benefits of Daycare

There are some that say there are no benefits to daycare. I tend to disagree. My son has been in daycare for a little over a year. While he did get sick often in the beginning, I can see that he is learning a lot and the rampant sickness has subsided. He is being socialized with other kids on a daily basis. He is making friends and he always has a smile on his face. He gets to play all day and seems to enjoy it.

Putting your child in daycare also allows you to stay at work. While this might not be as big a deal to some, I know it is for many. If you are dual income household, you may have to continue to work in order to make ends meet. Daycare allows for this flexibility. Some people, like my wife, aren’t ready to leave the workforce when they have a baby. My wife enjoys her career and doesn’t want to stop it just yet. Daycare has provided the option for her to continue working and building her career.

When you put your child into some daycares, you can also get a tax credit. The tax credit is for child and dependent care. This credit goes up to $6,000, but there are a few stipulations in order to qualify.

• The child has to be 12 years or younger
• The daycare facility must meet certain federal guidelines
• You must have earned income
• Having your child in daycare must allow you to work or look for work. This can also apply to going back to school full-time.
• The child typically has to be your dependent.

The total credit is 20% to 35% of your day care expenses, depending on how much you earn. Learn more from Publication 503 from the IRS.

Some employers allow the ability to apply for a dependent care flexible spending account. This is similar to the health FSA, but it is only dedicated to caring for your child. You can use pre-tax money to pay for daycare, babysitters, and day camps. This is a big savings, but you typically can’t use both a dependent care FSA and the tax credit. You will need to check which one you would benefit from most.

Staying at Home

Being a stay at home parent can be very rewarding. It doesn’t matter if it is the mother or father. Staying at home to watch your child grow is why many parents do it. You get to bond with your child and teach them things that you want them to learn. That being said, there are costs involved with staying at home, but there are great benefits as well.

Costs of Staying at Home

The biggest cost to stay at home is the income you would be losing after leaving the workforce. This is one of the biggest factors to why some people don’t stay at home with their children. This was an important factor for us. When you stay at home, you tend to use more electricity, eat more food, and do other things that will fill up your time. These all increase the costs of being a stay at home parent. It can be costly to entertain a growing child as well with toys, shows, games, and travel.

The biggest decision for us was the loss of one income. My wife makes more than what we are charged for daycare. Since we would be losing a substantial amount of money, it made more sense to go the daycare route. This type of calculation should be made before you decide one way or the other.

Benefits of Staying at Home

This is where the calculation really goes to the emotional side. There are many emotional benefits to staying at home with your child. You get to bond and teach your child. You get to spend your days watching your child grow up. This is the biggest benefit for being a stay at home parent. Some will say that a benefit is not having to work, but I would disagree. Raising a child is a lot of work. It might even be harder than the job you left to have a child. Yes, you don’t have to travel into work, but you are still on the clock!

There are also benefits for your child to have a stay at home parent. They get to bond with said parent. They won’t face as many illnesses compared to daycare. They will also learn exactly what you want them to learn. It is hard to measure the true benefits for your child, but the emotional aspect can be great.

Along with being with your child, many parents see that they drive less and spend less on clothing. When you don’t have to drive to work and have dedicated work clothes, those expenses are reduced.

When you are having a discussion about daycare versus staying at home, you should think about doing a cost benefit analysis. For my wife and I, the benefit of daycare outweighed the cost of it. While being a stay at home parent would be exciting, it is not in our plans at the moment. This would all change if we had another child. The costs of having two kids in daycare would really swing the equation for us. This is something that you would need to discuss when this important conversation comes up. No matter which way you decide to go, make sure to make the best decision for your family. Each situation is different.

How about you all? In your situation, would using daycare or staying at home make more sense economically and emotionally? What factors influence your decision the most?

Share your experiences by commenting below! 

***Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos

How to Handle Friends Who Make More Money Than You Do

The following post is by MPFJ staff writer, Catherine Alford. Cat is a freelance personal finance writer who blogs at www.BudgetBlonde.com. 

I am at a point in my life where many of my friends are finally making the big bucks.

They’ve worked extremely hard, and have been working long enough to move up in their work place and earn salaries that are quite high.

I, on the other hand, just started my own business, and I have a husband in medical school. While I know that we will enjoy the fruits of our labors somewhere down the line, the truth is that we are far behind many of our friends when it comes to investments like home ownership and retirement. Sometimes this makes friendships more interesting, and sometimes it makes it more awkward.

If you also find yourself in a position where you hang out with friends who make more money than you do, here are a few ways to keep things in perspective without ruining friendships along the way.

1. Treat Them to Dinner Every Now and Then

We have some very generous friends, and because they know we’re in a lower income situation, they always offer to pay for our dinners when we go out. While it’s very kind of them, we do like to feel generous ourselves from time to time! So, every now and then, we’ll invite them out on our invitation and make sure they know that we’re footing the bill. It doesn’t have to be at the fanciest restaurant in town. After all, it’s the friendship and the conversation that really matters not the price of the meal.

2. Choose Activities that Work for Both Budgets

The one thing you don’t want to do with a friend who makes more money than you is shop.

It’s no fun to go to the mall with your friend when all she wants to do is go to high end stores that you can’t afford. Since things might not be equal in terms of comfort level at the mall, do something else that works for both of you. For example, you can go to a big craft fair, a flea market, or go antiquing. You can also go play a game of tennis or a round of golf. Invite them to your yoga class or go see a movie. All of these activities are ones that won’t make you feel awkward because they should all be relatively affordable for both of you.

3. Be Happy for Them

I know it’s hard sometimes to be happy instead of jealous, especially when someone you’re close to gets a huge raise when you’ve been wanting one for years. Instead of turning green with envy, though, try being supportive and happy for them! Negativity won’t make you feel better so instead try to learn from their successes and know that your own success may be just around the corner.

4. Be Honest With Them

Some people who make a significant amount of money can be braggy. They might not even know they’re doing it so if their comments make you uncomfortable (like when your friend talks endlessly about his latest vacation or her latest shopping spree) you can always be upfront and honest and just tell them that it makes you feel down! Like I said, they may not even realize how their words affect you unless you tell them.

5. Decide Whether or Not to Talk About Money

I have this habit of talking about money a lot. Maybe it’s because it’s my job is to write about it as a full time finance blogger. Basically, because of my work, I just have money on the mind all the time. However, I have found over the past few years of being in this profession that lots and lots of people are really uncomfortable talking about money.

Often times, I wonder if it’s my own fault that I get into awkward situations with money because I’m constantly talking about getting the best deal or how outrageous my rent is or my substantial student loans.

I don’t mind discussing any of those topics, but I’ve realized that sometimes I need to tone it down because my constant harping on the high cost of med school – for example – makes some people think I’m destitute when I’m really not.

I’ve realized that when it comes to my friends, I need to make a decision whether or not to bring up money at all. You can do the same. Ask yourself: Are you going to discuss the stock market? Are you going to discuss your salary? Are you going to discuss the price of your home? Going over some of these scenarios ahead of time will help prepare you if some of these topics that might come up at the dinner table.

How about you all? Do you have friends who make more money than you do? Does it ever make things awkward?

Share your experiences by commenting below! 

***Photo courtesy of https://www.flickr.com/photos/danielavladimirova/3717721508/

Investing in Personal Infrastructure Part 2: Your Finances and Daily Routine

The following post is by MPFJ staff writer, Sally. Sally is the blogger behind TinyApartmentDesign.com, a blog about design, living well, and simple, tiny spaces.

We talk about personal infrastructure as all of the tools and systems that help your life run, although we are also part of the infrastructure of our communities.

So, if you want to do trail runs and bike rides in your neighborhood, but there are no trails or bike lanes, it will be hard to make those activities a part of your daily life. If you want to take public transportation to work or to go somewhere on the weekends, then you’ll need buses, rail or paratransit in the neighborhood. If you want to buy an electric car but there are no charging stations within 20 miles of you and you can’t charge at home, it will be difficult to justify buying an electric car.

In our cities and communities, we are always looking to build systems that work, that people will use and that provide value to the users for years to come. We can also do that in our own lives as well.

One of the first places to analyze your own infrastructure is how you’re spending your time on a daily basis. Here’s an easy personal example:

When I go to work at 8 am, it takes me almost 50 minutes in traffic to get to the office. While I usually try to take advantage of that time and listen to books on tape, I’ve neglected going to the library and haven’t listened to much besides the radio and songs on my iPhone. But when I wake up early to go to the gym, it takes just 20-25 minutes to get to work, which means I can save two hours each week that are not spent in the car. Those two hours are then included in my workout, so it’s a double benefit.

We also spend a lot of time at work, and if you can use your time efficiently, you can make the case (eventually) that you don’t need to be there just for office hours, you need to be there to take care of your work. The next time you are tempted to waste some time before getting to your next task, step away from your work area for a minute or two, visit with a coworker and head into the next job refreshed. Make your work easier to do. If you work in the field, keep all of your tools with you. If you work in an office, you can listen to relaxing music (just Youtube ‘study music’ for good options) in 25 minute chunks while you focus on getting an immediate task.

How does all of this affect your finances? When you are using your time and resources well, your finances will improve. Some of the first things you can implement are:

• Setting up direct deposit for your income
• Setting up automatic savings each week or month
• Setting aside 30 minutes each month to update your net worth
• Reviewing your estimated fixed monthly expenses at least every 6 months to identify places to save: cell phones, internet, even your mortgage or rent

You may already be doing all of these things, but the key is to keep reviewing and looking for improvements. If the system isn’t working, it can always be adjusted.

How about you all? What systems do you have in place that is working best?

Share your experiences by commenting below! 

***Photo courtesy of https://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/3957311986/in/

Review of 5 Popular Online Photo Storage and Printing Services

The following post is by MPFJ staff writer, Shondell of Call Me What You Want, Even Cheap. She blogs about her recent car loan and mortgage pay off and a whole bunch more. Check out her blog right here.

The invention of the digital camera completely changed the face of photography.

Online photo storage providers have revolutionized the way photos can be stored and shared. There are several good reasons to save and store your photos on online photo storage and printing sites. Perhaps the most important is that storing photos on your computer’s hard drive is a bad idea because hard disks have the habit of crashing at the most inopportune of moments. Other reasons include zero risk of data loss, more quickly and easily accessible, and easier to organize.

There are many photo storage and printing providers with attractive offers and incentives. Here is a comparison of some of the most popular ones.

Snapfish:

Snapfish is a web-based photo storage and printing service owned by Hewlett-Packard. It allows members to upload photos for free and gives unlimited storage space. While most Snapfish features are free, you will be charged per-image fee if you want to download an original or high resolution copy of your own uploaded image. Membership is free of charge.

Members can share individual photos, photo albums, animated snapshows, Group Rooms and other Snapfish products via email, link URL and social media sites like Facebook and MySpace. You will need a Snapfish account to view or share photos.

The minimum rate of Snapfish is $0.09 for a standard sized (4 x 6 inches) photo.

Flickr:

Flickr is a web-based photo and video sharing site created by Ludicorp in 2004 and owned by Yahoo since 2005. Flickr is not just a photo sharing service, it is also an online community used by everyone including bloggers and photo researchers.

Flickr offers three types of membership: Free, Ad Free and Doublr.

• The Free account comes with one terabyte of storage space limited to 200 MB per photo and 1 GB per video.
• The Ad Free account comes with the same storage but free of advertisements for an annual fee.
• The Doublr account comes with twice the storage space of the Free account but a higher annual fee than the Ad Free account. The service offers several innovative ways to upload and share photos.

Picassa:

Picassa is a web-based photo organizer and photo viewer with an integrated photo-sharing website where you can organize, edit and share your digital photos. Created by Lifescape in 2002, it was purchased by Google in 2004.

Picassa allows anyone with a Google account to upload and share up to 1 GB of photos for free. Allowed dimensions for the photos are 2048 x 2048 pixels for Google+ users and 800 x 800 for other users. Images exceeding these dimensions are automatically resized. The service offers several ways to import, track and organize photos, and also offers several basic photo editing functions.

Shutterfly:

Shutterfly is a web-based image publishing service that allows you to build perfect photo books. In 2013, 80 percent of its customers were reported to be women. It allows users to create personalized photo gifts, such as photo books, mugs, bags, stationary cards and blankets.

Shutterfly offers simple ways, called paths, to build photo books, which you can share on Facebook and and also publish them as PDF files on your website. The service charges its users $29.99 per standard photo book.

The minimum rate on Shutterfy is $0.15 for a standard sized (4 x 6 inches) photo and $29.99 for a standard photo book.

SmugMug:

SmugMug is a paid web-based photo sharing and image hosting service that allows its users to upload digital photos and videos. Launched in 2002, the service offers a range of tools to facilitate both amateur and professional photographers to sell their digital and printed photos.

SmugMug offers four types of accounts to its users, each having a different subset of features. Users can charge people for downloading their digital and printed photos and set the prices themselves. It also allows users to sell merchandise.

The minimum rate on SmugMug is $0.19 for a standard sized (4 x 6 inches) photo.

MPix:

MPix is a web-based photo sharing and printing service that allows users to create and order professional quality photos, customized cards, custom wall art and stationeries. Owned by Miller’s Professional Imaging, it is arguably the best photo sharing site there is for professional photographers as well as amateurs.

MPix provides prints in three different types of photo papers: Kodak E-Surface, True B/W and Metallic paper. For those who need, luster coating, mounting, framing, key chains, canvas mount and wall clings are also available.

The minimum rate on MPix is $0.29 for a standard size (4 x 6 inches) photo.

How about you all? What photosharing websites do you use or which is your favorite?

Share your experiences by commenting below! 

***Photo by Sam

What Are Your Options For Streaming TV Players?

This is a post by staff writer Jeff. Jeff blogs about finances and going green at http://sustainablelifeblog.com and has started a new project detailing his efforts to earn money online at onlinesideincome.com

If you’re looking for a painless way to save some money, one of the easiest ways is to lower your cable bill or get rid of cable TV entirely.

There’s a whole group of people that are “cutting the cord” now, and saving upwards of $1,000 per year doing it. Personally, I convinced my wife back in 2009 that we needed to stop paying these people a huge sum of money for the privilege of sitting in front of the TV and watching stuff we were not interested in just because inertia set in and we didn’t want to do anything else! We realized it was a huge time suck (because we didn’t want to spend all night in front of the TV after work) and a huge money suck (because it was like $150/month) so we got rid of it.

Instead of cable TV, we use streaming for all of our favorite shows. We stream through services like Hulu (free), Netflix ($7.99/month) and Crackle (free), though there are others. Since we still want the TV feel and we don’t want to invite our friends over and crowd around a tiny computer monitor, we wanted to watch on our TV. Since we wanted to do that, we needed some sort of set top box to connect to the TV.

There used to be just two of these on the market, but Amazon recently entered, so we will go over them all.

Google Chromecast

This is what my wife and I decided to use, as it was the cheapest option at $35. The Chromecast is a little dongle that you plug into the HDMI port on your TV (meaning you cannot use Chromecast if you have an “old” analog TV) and connect it to your wireless network. Once the Chromecast is added to your wireless network, you need to add a plugin to Google chrome browser so you can “cast” the tab to your TV. Some services (like Netflix) have built in casting, but some don’t. Total set up time is about 10 minutes.

It works with the streaming options that we have (Netflix) and it works well. We are easily able to pull up a movie on Netflix and in a matter of seconds; it’s on the TV and is loading. Unfortunately, to use the official Hulu Chromecast app, you need to have Hulu plus – which we do not have. They have recently opened the Chromecast up to developers to create apps, but here’s the current list. If you’re interested, you can buy a Chromecast on Amazon.

Amazon FireTV

This just came out recently, and I don’t have one yet, but from looking over the specs the FireTV looks pretty good.

They have apps from Hulu plus, Netflix, ShowTime and watch ESPN (for those who love sports), and it offers easy access to Amazon’s video and TV streaming library. Access to the video and streaming library is only for prime users, which costs $99 per year (8.25/month). The Amazon FireTV unit itself costs $99. With this and Amazon Prime, you can take your cable costs down from $150 per month ($1,800 per year) to a cost of 200 for the first year, then 99 per year thereafter – that’s a savings of over $1500 per year!

It’s also got a remote that you can speak into to tell it to watch your favorite shows. Early reviews are mixed, but the device has promise, and is probably a great fit if you’ve already got Amazon Prime. If you’re interested in a FireTV, you can buy one on Amazon.

Roku Box

Last up is the Roku box. The Roku box was one of the first streaming boxes (along with the now dead Boxee), and has evolved quite a bit. There’s very easy streaming, and they have tons of channels available. More than the Amazon fireTV and Chromecast. You can listen through the Roku remote, as well as play shows from your phone. Right now, the most current version is the Roku 3, but you can pick up a Roku 2 off of eBay or Amazon, and that will probably still meet your needs for streaming.

You can find the list of Roku Channels here, and as I mentioned, they have a lot more availability than the two devices listed above. This unit does cost more than the Chromecast and the same as the Amazon TV (though they still sell Roku’s 1 & 2 on their website), but has a lot more availability. If you don’t have Amazon Prime (but do have Netflix) perhaps a Roku will be best for you. If you’re interested, you can buy a Roku on Amazon.

Those are the most popular streaming options (and yes, I know most don’t offer much sports coverage).

All that being said, do you think that one of these is good enough for you to finally cut the cord and get rid of cable? Maybe you can use that $1,500 per year on a fancy vacation or investing. If so, let us know what one you’re getting (or already have) in the comments!

***Image courtesy of  http://cdn.morguefile.com/imageData/public/files/b/breda/

What You NEED To Know About Your Medical Coverage Before Going On Vacation

The following post is by MPFJ staff writer Travis.  Travis is a customer blogger for Care One Debt Relief Services, and also appears weekly at Enemy of Debt.  Travis candidly shares his personal journey to pay off $109,000 of credit card debt and the tips he’s learned along the way. As a father and husband he provides a unique perspective on balancing debt, finances, and family.

Admission time, I have generally walked through my adult life without knowing the specifics of what my health care covers and what it does not.  I’ve taken on the perspective of, “I’ll figure it out when I need to.”  But last month, for the purpose of a post on this website, I explored my current health care plan in a level of detail I’ve never reached before.

Little did I know how soon I would use this information.

Midway through our vacation in Florida, my wife woke up at 1:30am in pain with a rash above her left eye.

The rash had developed a few days prior, but was only a slight annoyance until now.  She immediately called our insurance provider’s help line which connected us with medical personal able to answer basic questions.  After a few minutes of discussion, she was advised to seek medical attention within 24 hours.

I remembered reading about the differences in coverage between going to the ER, urgent care, and a doctor’s office visit, but I couldn’t recall the specifics.  Luckily for me, I bookmarked the web page with my plan’s information so I could quickly recall what each of the options would cost.

• Emergency Room Visit:  Subject to my deductible, of which I had not had any expense for yet in 2014.  Thus, we would pay the full price.
• Urgent Care:  We would pay 15% of the bill.
• Diagnostic Office Visit: 100% covered.

I would never suggest my wife delay care if she felt she needed immediate relief, however after reviewing our options she suggested she would try taking some ibuprofen and wait until morning to decide our next action.

When we woke up, I immediately began searching for nearby medical facilities.   I knew that there would be a difference in what we would pay dependent upon whether the facility was in our plan’s network or not, so I again pulled up our plan’s details.

• Emergency Room:  Patient responsibility is the same in network vs. out of network.
• Urgent Care:  Patient responsibility is the same in network vs. out of network.
• Diagnostic Office Visit: 100% covered in network, subject to deductible if out of network

Using a list of in network providers, I was able to find one within 5 miles of where we were staying.  Amazingly we were able to get an appointment almost immediately that morning.

My wife was diagnosed with an infected bug bite.  The physician’s assistant who was handling my wife’s appointment prescribed the following treatment plan:

• An antibiotic shot was given in the office
• A prescription was given for a 10 day cycle of antibiotics
• A prescription was given for a steroid to help reduce the symptoms and pain

We passed a Walmart on our way to the appointment, which I knew was in our provider’s pharmacy network.   I instructed them to send the prescription there, to minimize the cost of the drugs.

As we were checking out of the facility after the appointment was complete, the woman behind the desk asked if we would be paying that day, or if we would like them to send the bill to our home.  Given that we thought the appointment was an in network diagnostic office visit, we had thought the fee would be covered by insurance.

During the phone conversation that followed with our insurance provider, we learned the following:

• It was covered 100% if my wife had been seen by a doctor
• If my wife had been seen by a physician’s assistance or a nurse practitioner, the fee is subject to our deductible because they are considered specialists.

Going back to the reception desk, we were told that she had indeed been seen by a physician’s assistant.  However, they submit all bills under the name of the physician on call for just these kinds of situations.

We breathed a sigh of relief, and asked them to submit the bill to our insurance.

When we got back to our vacation rental house, we did a little side by side comparison to determine what the cost of our medical excursion would have been had we made different choices:

In Network Cost

• Diagnostic Office Visit:  Because we found an in network provider the cost was zero out of our pocket.
• Prescription Drugs: Because we found an in network pharmacy, the cost was about $8.

Total Cost:  $8

Out Of Network Cost

• Diagnostic Office Visit:  Subject to deductible, which we have not  accumulated any medical bills.  We would have paid the full price of the office visit:  $150.
• Prescription Drugs: Out of network pharmacy cost would have been about $25.

Total Cost:  $175

What I learned

This was the first time I had ever had to seek medical services while far away from home, and it taught me some very valuable lessons for things I need to do each time we go on vacation, or are a significant distance from home:

1. Know at least the basics of your medical coverage.
2. Know how to access more detailed information just in case you need it.
3. Have your insurance card and the phone number to their help line to  answer questions about your medical plan if needed.
4. Know where the nearest in network provider is for your medical coverage.
5. Know where the nearest in network pharmacy is located.

Having this information can mean the difference between a small out of pocket fee, and a significant medical bill should you have a medical condition that requires attention while you are away from home.

How about you all? Have you ever had to seek medical attention while on vacation?  Did you make the right choices given your medical coverage?

Share your experiences by commenting below! 

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Is Relocation Financially Worthwhile?

The following post is by MPFJ staff writer, Melissa Batai.  Melissa is a freelance writer who covers topics ranging from personal finance to business to organics to food.  She blogs at Mom’s Plans where she shares her family’s journey to healthier living and paying down debt.

My husband and I have been scraping by on his small post-doc salary and my freelance writing income for 18 months now.  We’re deep in the trenches and figure we have another 18 months to go before my husband can finally get the university research job that we’ve both been dreaming of–so he can finally start in his career after more than 10 long years of school and post-doc work, and me, so we can finally have a salary that covers expenses for our family of 5 and offers a little bit extra.

Then, this winter we learned that my husband’s mentor might be moving 16 hours away for a better job, and he asked my husband if he would like to move with him.  The next few weeks were a flurry of discussions and calculations.  Was moving so far away worthwhile?

If you find yourself, like we did, contemplating a long distance move, there are many variables to consider.

1.  How much will you be making?

Will the new job give you more money or less?  Don’t automatically assume that a job where you will make less is a deal breaker.  If the cost of living in the area is less, you may do just fine with a reduction in salary.

Also be aware that some national companies pay the same rate for a certain position, no matter what area of the country you live in.  Your company might pay $50,000 for your position whether you live in Nebraska, where the cost of living is relatively low, or in San Francisco, where earning $50,000 may cause you to live close to the poverty level because the cost of living is so high.

2.  What is the chance of job advancement?

Sometimes, taking a lower salary is worthwhile if you have a good chance at job advancement and salary increases in the future.  Likewise, taking a job that pays more initially but offers only slight chances of advancement and income increases over the years should be considered carefully.  Upward mobility is something most employees are looking for.

3.  Could this be a spring board for another (better) job with a different company?

Will the new job give you skills and knowledge that will make you more attractive to other companies?  In the academic world, landing your first, tenure-track position job is often the most difficult.  Once you land one and prove yourself there, you make your chances of finding another job in a different area and institution better.  That is one reason why my husband was considering the move.

Look at your own career field and the potential job in particular.  Will relocating and taking the job help you be able to move to a different company and earn more?

4.  What is the cost of living comparison?

Another important consideration besides income is the cost of living.  CNN Money has a handy cost of living comparison calculator that lets you input your current city and the city you are considering moving to.  You enter what your current salary is, and the program will tell you how much you will need to earn equivalent in your new city as well as the percentage price difference in groceries, housing, utilities, transportation and health care.

For example, if you are considering moving from Omaha, Nebraska to San Francisco, CA and you are currently making $50,000, you would need to make $93,118 in San Francisco to experience a similar financial lifestyle because the cost of living is so much higher.  (The big shocker–housing is 274% more expensive in San Francisco than Omaha.)

5.  Is public transportation available?

We live in the suburbs of Chicago, currently, which enables us to remain a one car family.  I have the car all day for running errands and driving the kids to extracurricular activities.  My husband takes public transportation.  That saves us a great deal of money because we don’t have to have a second car and the loan payments, repairs, maintenance, insurance, gas, and plate registration.  We also don’t have to pay for parking downtown, which is expensive.

The town we were considering also has a good public transportation system, so we won’t have to spend more money there.  If we were instead considering a town without a good public transportation system, we would have to calculate how much more per month we would have to pay for the luxury of owning two vehicles.

6.  How many free things are there to do in the area?

As a family, we like to have fun on the weekends.  If we live somewhere with plenty of free and low cost activities, we save a significant amount of money.  The town my husband was considering moving to is close to a university, so there are many free and low cost activities.

While this might not initially seem like an important consideration, if you’re looking at living in the new location for several years, you’ll want to be active and engaged in the community.  If you have to fork over large amounts of money to do so, your budget will take a hit.

7.  How much will it cost to go home?

If you’re close to your immediate and extended family, will the move you’re contemplating take you closer or farther from home?  Right now we’re only 3 hours away from extended family and friends, which is a fairly easy car drive, considering traffic.  If we move, we’ll be a 17 hour drive away.  Since we’re a family of 5, hopping a plane once or twice a year is likely not an option since it will cost too much.  How often do we want to make the 17 hour car drive, and how often will friends and family come down to visit us?

If you’re not close to family and friends at home, this isn’t an issue, but if you are, don’t discount the real power of homesickness.  Many people take jobs far away and incur expenses such as paying for a long-distance move and selling their homes only to want to return to the area they left in a year or two.

8.  How much will the move cost?

Some employers will pay for your move or at least a portion of your move.  Others don’t.

While it might seem silly to include the cost of moving in your calculations, it is important.  If you’re considering a long distance move as we were, your expenses for moving an entire household can really add up.  Using online tools, I estimated our 1,000 mile move would cost us at least $6,000, and that’s after some serious decluttering and selling of worn out furniture that we wouldn’t take along.

If you’re moving a large household, you could easily pay four figures (or more, sometimes) to move your items.  Is this something you can pay for?  Can you sell everything and furnish your new place with new or used items?

Deciding to make a long distance move is never easy.  There are many variables to consider, and some may be in conflict with others.  As for my husband and me, we’re still up in the air with our decision, though we’re leaning toward staying put for now.

How about you all? Have you made a long distance move for work?  What other variables did you consider?  Was your move better for you financially or career-wise?

Share your experiences by commenting below! 

***Photo courtesy of https://www.flickr.com/photos/86435488@N00/33495908/in/

Life’s Trade-Offs

The following is a post by MPFJ staff writer, Derek Sall. Derek is the owner of the blog, LifeAndMyFinances.com, where he teaches people how to get out of debt, save money, and become wealthy.

We were all children once.

At times, our parents would be brave enough to take us with them to the store and it totally backfired. They tried to keep us away from the toy isles, but when we got a glimpse of one of those “must-have” toys, we began to ask for it repeatedly. We thought of all the reasons why we deserve to have that toy. Perhaps we have been extra good lately, or maybe we would promise to be extremely good in the future. Maybe we could convince mom or dad that this toy was educational and would propel us into a new category of learning. Finally, we tell them that we will forfeit our birthday or Christmas presents for this toy (always a good idea at the time, but doesn’t feel too brilliant when our birthday rolls around…). The bottom line was, we wanted it and simply couldn’t do without it.

From Children to Adults…sort of

Yes, we were all children once, but now we are living in adulthood. We have homes to maintain, bills to pay, and some of us even have children of our own to take care of. Our hairlines are receding and might be getting a little “salty,” but we can all still revert to our childhood selves when the time is right.

Here are a just a few things that bring out the child in us when we see them:

• A new car
• A new boat
• A top of the line golf driver
• A china cabinet
• A new television
• A new purse
• A new dress

Oh boy, when we see these items we know that they are not really needs, but we start devising a reason why it would make sense for us to have them. Perhaps we just got a promotion at work and feel deserving of that executive-looking car. Or, maybe you have stuck to the family budget for an entire month and feel the need for a little bit of a spending spree. After all, your husband did just get that new driver. You deserve it!

That child-like mentality might never leave us, but if we want to be wealthy in the future, we are going to have to learn to suppress those immature feelings. You can’t deny this to be true. Money is finite, which means that life has trade-offs. Every purchase has it’s opportunity costs.

The Mercedes and the Mutual Fund

I recently heard a story that illustrates this concept perfectly:

A salesman decided he was going to work his butt off for a year to hit his income goal of $200k. If he accomplished this, he was going to drive to the Mercedes dealership, hand over his piece of junk car, and buy a brand new $80,000 Mercedes with cash that he saved up from his impressive earnings.

On December 10^th, this man hit his earnings goal of $200,000! He was now ready to buy his brand new Mercedes to reward himself for his tireless work. Just like he said he would do, he went to the dealership, pointed at the Mercedes he wanted and simply said, “I want to test-drive that one.”

He took it for a drive and it was everything he thought it would be. The leather seats hugged him close, and the heated steering wheel kept his hands nice and warm during the drive. This car cornered like no car he had ever driven and was falling in love with it. The child inside of him was saying, “This is your car dude. You deserve it. Everyone is going to envy you and you will be the talk of the neighborhood. This is your car.”

He almost handed over the cash, but then the adult in him finally came into the conversation: “$80,000 is a lot of money. You could buy a very dependable used car for much less money, and it will last you for a long time. Think about the opportunity costs. What if you invested this money instead?”

As it turns out, this man did not buy the car. Now, 20 years later. The Mercedes is worth $4,000 and his $80,000 mutual fund has ballooned into $500,000 dollars.

Be sure to listen to the adult in you. What if, instead of buying that item, you invested the money instead? Is this purchase still worth it?

***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/erin_costa/5941282494/sizes/l/