Tag: freelancers

Everything You Need to Know About Budgeting As a Freelancer
Take the proper steps to thrive while you’re self-employed.
The post Everything You Need to Know About Budgeting As a Freelancer appeared first on Discover Bank – Banking Topics Blog.
Tagged 401(k), All, Automatic Transfer, Banking, budget
Some Mixed Earners to Receive $400 Boost to Unemployment Aid

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.

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.
Source: thepennyhoarder.com

RVing on a Budget: The Biggest Costs and How to Save
What you may know about RVing: Itâs a great, cheap way to travel, or even a low-cost alternative for living full time. What you may not know: RVing costs can stack up, and even eclipse the cost of traditional car-and-hotel travel, or living in a sticks-and-bricks home. Here, weâll detail the primary expenses associated with [â¦]
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.
Tagged All, Auto, budget, building, BuyThe first thing you need to go RVing ⦠is an RV. And depending on how you source it, this first purchase can be very pricy.
Travel trailers tend to be less expensive than motorcoaches for a comparable level of quality, from entry level all the way up to the top. Keep in mind, though, that you need a vehicle capable of towing the rig around.
The appeal of RVs is simple: You get to bring everything along with you for the trip, including the kitchen sink.
How to Go RVing on a Budget
As far as buying is concerned, shop around â and consider shopping gently used. RV does stand for recreational vehicle, after all, and although the loan you take out might look more like a mortgage than auto financing, you probably arenât going to be building equity. You donât want to go too old, because maintenance starts to become a problem, but something three to five years old could save you a nice chunk of change.
The Vehicle Itself
Itâs best if you already have a place in mind to keep it â and the initiative to learn some DIY mechanics. Thereâs a YouTube tutorial for most RV repair and maintenance basics.
Finally, there are places you can camp for free (or super cheap), but even in an RV, youâll kind of be roughing it. On BLM-managed land and in certain other wilderness locations, you can do âdispersedâ camping, otherwise known as âboondockingâ or âdry campingâ â basically, camping without any hookups.
Jamie Cattanachâs work has been featured at Fodorâs, Yahoo, SELF, The Huffington Post, The Motley Fool and other outlets. Learn more at www.jamiecattanach.com.

What you may know about RVing: Itâs a great, cheap way to travel, or even a low-cost alternative for living full time.
Many people think you can load up into an RV, hit the road and just pull off to the side when youâre ready to catch some sleep.
But you need to check ahead of time to make sure that cool-looking space is actually okay to park in and not privately owned. There isnât always appropriate signage, and if you accidentally end up in someoneâs backyard, you may be asked to move or even ticketed. Some great resources for finding spots include Campendium and FreeCampsites.net.
First-timers are more likely to rent than buy, but if you end up falling in love with the lifestyle, you should know that even modest motorhomes cost tens of thousands of dollars. Super luxurious ones go for over million. (Yes, seriously.)

Fuel
As someone whoâs traveled extensively by RV, and even lived in a travel trailer, I know exactly how much of a burden RVing can be on your budget. Hereâs what Iâve learned.
Youâll also want to look into state parks, which often offer RV sites with hookups for prices much lower than privately owned campgrounds (though they may not have a cell signal).
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.
Campsite Accommodation Costs
But in most cases, thatâs not true. Although some rest stops and big box store parking lots allow overnight RV parking, many do not. Besides, do you really want to spend your vacation sleeping under the glare of 24/7 floodlights?
But letâs go back to the rental option. Expect to see per-night prices of 0 or more, which can easily outstrip a moderately priced hotel room. Additional fees for mileage and insurance can push your bottom line even higher.
Here, weâll detail the primary expenses associated with the RV lifestyle, with tips to help you reduce them.

The most comfortable campgrounds â the ones where you can hook up to electricity, water, and sewer connections â can cost a pretty penny, especially in highly sought-after destinations. Malibu Beach may be an extreme example, but during peak seasons, youâre looking at about 0 per night for a basic site, and up to 0 for a premium location. (Remember, thatâs on top of your rental price. And fuel.)
Then there are the maintenance costs of both the vehicular and household systems of an RV, which need regular upkeep. Doing it yourself may be time intensive, but even a minor trip to the repair shop can mean a major bill.
But you can find resort-style accommodations for to per night, often with discounts available for veterans, military members or those staying a week or longer. There are also a variety of camping discount clubs that can help you score lower-cost campground accommodations.
If youâre hoping to save at the pump, consider taking a vacation closer to home or narrowing down to a single destination. Not only will you spend less money on gas, youâll also spend less of your time driving.
Maintenance and Storage
Overall, the great thing about RVing is that the expenses are easily modified to fit almost any budget â you may just have to rethink which RV you drive, where youâre going and how youâll be staying once you get there.
Source: thepennyhoarder.com
If you buy an RV, you should be prepared for costs associated with maintenance â and, if you canât park it on your own property, storage. In Portland, Oregon, I pay a month to keep my travel trailer in an uncovered lot. More desirable, secure storage is almost 0.
But all of those accommodations and extras are weighty, which means that all but the smallest RVs are pretty serious gas guzzlers. Case in point: The largest Class A motorhomes get as little as 4-6 miles to the gallon.
What you may not know: RVing costs can stack up, and even eclipse the cost of traditional car-and-hotel travel, or living in a sticks-and-bricks home.
You may also be able to find super-cheap rentals through RV relocation deals, in which you serve as a rental companyâs courier, delivering RVs to destinations where they are in demand. In return, you get use of the rig for a steal â but keep in mind youâll be limited in your ability to personalize your itinerary. Youâll have to stick to the companyâs route and timetable.
Consider looking at peer-to-peer RV rental marketplaces, like RVshare or Outdoorsy, where you can rent a rig directly from its private owner, which often means lower rental prices. (Think of it like Airbnb for RVs.)

How to Maximize Credit Card Rewards and Earn Cash and Perks
If youâre looking for ways to put some extra cash in your pocket, make sure to take advantage of credit card rewards programs. Credit card companies and banks make some of their money from the merchant interchange fees that are charged when you use your card. As an incentive for you to use their cards, [â¦]
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.
Tagged All, Buying, Cash Back, Credit, credit cardIf youâre looking for ways to put some extra cash in your pocket, make sure to take advantage of credit card rewards programs.
Credit card companies and banks make some of their money from the merchant interchange fees that are charged when you use your card.
As an incentive for you to use their cards, many credit card issuers pass some of those funds on to the consumer in the form of credit card rewards.
If you have good credit and the ability and discipline to pay off your credit cards in full each month, you should try to maximize your credit card rewards. Otherwise you may be leaving a lot of money on the table.
But it can be challenging to navigate the world of credit card rewards. Hundreds, if not thousands, of different credit cards exist, and the type and amount of rewards vary with each card.
There are three main kinds of rewards card offers available:
- Bank and credit card points: Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, etc.
- Airline miles and hotel points: Delta SkyMiles, Hilton Honors points, etc.
- Cash back: Straight cash that can be redeemed either as statement credits or checks mailed to you.
How to Maximize Your Credit Card Rewards
You have three different ways to maximize any credit card rewards program:
- The sign-up bonus or welcome offer: Many cards offer a large number of miles or points as a welcome bonus for signing up and using the card to make purchases totaling a specific amount within a specified time period.
- Rewards for spending: Most rewards credit cards offer between one and five points for every dollar you spend on the card. Some cards offer the same rewards on every purchase, while others offer a greater reward for buying certain products.
- Perks: Simply having certain credit cards can get you perks like free checked bags on certain airlines, hotel elite status or membership with airline lounge clubs and other retail partners.
Usually, the rewards for signing up are much higher than the rewards you get from ongoing spending, so you may want to pursue sign-up bonuses on multiple credit cards as a way of racking up rewards.
Consider a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, where you can get 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points for spending $4,000 in the first three months of having the card. That means that while youâre meeting that minimum spending requirement, youâre earning 15 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar. Compare that to the one or two points youâll earn with each dollar of spending after meeting the minimum spending. You can see the difference.
Other than getting the welcome bonus offers for signing up for new credit cards, another great way to maximize your rewards is by paying attention to bonus categories on your cards. Some cards offer a flat 1 or 2 points for every dollar you spend.
How Applying for Credit Cards Affects Your Credit Score
Itâs important to be aware of how applying for new credit cards affects your credit score.
Your credit score consists of five factors, and one of the largest factors is your credit utilization.
Credit utilization is the percentage of your total available credit that youâre currently using. If you have one credit card with a $10,000 credit limit and you charge $2,000 to that card, then your utilization percentage is 20%. But if you have 10 different cards, each with $10,000 credit limits, then that your credit utilization percentage is only 2%.
Since a lower credit utilization is better, having multiple credit cards can actually help this part of your credit score.
New credit â how recently youâve applied for new credit cards â accounts for about 10% of your credit score. When you apply for a new credit card, your credit score usually will dip 3-5 points. However, if youâre conscientious with your credit card usage, your score will come back up in a few months.
What to Watch Out for When Using Credit Card Rewards
While itâs true that careful use of credit cards can be a boon, you should watch out for pitfalls.
The first thing is to make sure that you have the financial ability, discipline and organization to manage all of your credit cards. Missing payments and paying credit card interest and fees will quickly sap up any rewards you might earn.
Another thing to be aware of is the psychology of credit card rewards. It can be easy to justify additional spending because youâre getting rewards or cash back, but remember that buying something that you donât need in order to get 2% cash back is a waste of 98% of your money.
Credit card rewards are alluring, but what do they really cost? Hereâs what you should know about the dark side of credit card rewards.
The Best Credit Cards to Get Started
Before signing up for a new credit card, itâs best to pay off your existing cards first â otherwise the fees and interest will quickly outweigh any rewards you earn.
If youâre ready to start shopping rewards offers, here are five credit cards to consider. Note that these introductory offers are subject to change:
- Chase Sapphire Preferred â The Sapphire Preferred card earns valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards and currently offers 60,000 Ultimate Rewards if you spend $4,000 in the first three months. It comes with a $95 annual fee.
- Capital One Venture Rewards â The Capital One Venture Rewards is offering 100,000 Venture miles, which can be used on any airline or at any hotel. It also comes with a $95 annual fee.
- Barclays American AAdvantage Aviator Red â With the AAdvantage Aviator Red card, youâll get 50,000 American Airlines miles after paying the $99 annual fee and making only one purchase.
- American Express Hilton Honors â If youâre looking for a hotel card, consider the no-fee Hilton Honors card, which comes with a signup bonus of 80,000 Hilton Honors points after spending $1,000 in three months. There is no annual fee.
- Bank of America Premium Rewards â The Bank of America Premium Rewards card comes with a bonus of 50,000 Preferred Rewards points (worth $500) after spending $3,000 in the first three months. The card has a $95 annual fee.
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The Bottom Line
The best credit card is the one that gets you the rewards that help you do what is most important to you.
If youâre looking to maximize travel credit, then pick an upcoming trip and figure out what airline miles and hotel chain points youâll need. Then pick the credit cards that give those miles and points. If you want to maximize your cash back, look for a card with a good signup bonus that either offers cash back or bank points that can be converted into cash.
Dan Miller is a contributor to 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.
Source: thepennyhoarder.com

5 Online Learning Platforms to Help Bolster your Resume
Being a lifelong learner is one of the best ways to stay engaged in your job, whatever field youâre in. There are a lot of ways to exemplify curiosity and a penchant for learning new skills: meeting regularly with your boss, attending professional development days and taking classes to hone a professional skill. It has [â¦]
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.
Tagged All, Career, evergreen, Financial Wize, FinancialWizeGoogle Skillshop provides learn-at-your-own-pace courses to help you become an expert in Google Ads, Google Analytics, Google Marketing Platform, Google My Business, Google Ad Manager, Google AdMob, Authorized Buyers, and Waze. All courses in the skillshop are free.
Udemy offers more than 130,000 classes (boasting the worldâs largest selection of courses) on topics like Python coding, piano playing and digital marketing.
Yale also makes numerous introductory classes accessible to anyone with an internet connection. Last year, Yale made one of its most famous courses, the Science of Well-Being, available for free on Coursera. This class dives into the meaning of happiness.
Be sure to use keywords on your resume so screening software doesnât pass you over.
Quirk advised putting the skills you gain from a course in the top part of your resume, but putting the actual course certifications lower down along with any other educational achievements.
One of the good things to come out of 2020 was the abundance of college courses made available for free online. While some universities have always offered a select few classes for no-cost online access, institutions like Yale and MIT expanded their libraries last year.
1. Coursera
Quirk noted that digital classes and certifications are some of the best ways to boost your resume and grow in your current position. Here are some of her topic picks for online learning platforms.
Being a lifelong learner is one of the best ways to stay engaged in your job, whatever field youâre in.
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.
2. Google Skillshop
Coursera is free to join and nearly all of its courses can be accessed at no cost. The catch here is that to take a course for free, youâll be using the âauditâ function, which means no grade and sometimes no official certificate is offered â but all the knowledge and coursework is. Some classes on Coursera are paid-only and will generally set you back about per month.
Julia Quirk, SPHR, a 10-year veteran of the HR industry and senior HR manager for TriSalus, recommends being practical and strategic about honing your professional talents.
LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com) offers a free one-month trial before charging a month as part of a larger LinkedIn Premium subscription.
3. LinkedIn Learning
Itâs important to note that very few of these courses offer an official completion certificate or degree, but theyâre still impressive to complete and are a strong addition to a resume. Other prestigious institutions like Harvard and Dartmouth also offer free online classes.
Stanford is another university offering public access to many of its courses for free. The university breaks down its offerings into four main categories: Health and Medicine, Education, Engineering and Arts and Humanities.
âLook at the skills needed for your industry and the jobs youâre interested in,â said Quirk. âI recommend starting by first doing some research about what will actually be impressive to people in your career field, and then seeking out professional education opportunities from there.â
4. Online College Courses
It has become more accessible and easier than ever to take courses to elevate your professional expertise. There are endless online resources to peruse, so it helps to be deliberate before diving in.
Hundreds of public libraries across the nation offer Udemy courses for no cost with just a library card. And if your public library doesnât have a connection with Udemy, you may be able to get a digital library card elsewhere and still take part in all that Udemy has to offer.
LinkedIn Learning provides thousands of programs covering topics such as marketing tactics, mobile app development and how to use Photoshop. The courses are generally self-paced, with a LinkedIn Learning certificate awarded on completion that you can display on your LinkedIn profile.
Coursera also gives you the opportunity to see how a particular course benefited other students, breaking down what percentage of past students either started a new career after taking a course or got a tangible career benefit from it.
And, with LinkedIn Learning, the classes are taught by top leaders from diverse backgrounds: Guy Kawasaki, Ben Long and David Rivers are just some of the highlights.
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5. Udemy
There are a lot of ways to exemplify curiosity and a penchant for learning new skills: meeting regularly with your boss, attending professional development days and taking classes to hone a professional skill.
Quirk offered some final advice about positioning these certificates and course completions on your resume: âRecruiters skim really fast,â she said. âMake it as easy as possible for recruiters to see the skills you have so they can line them up with the job description.â
When a course is complete, the student receives a digital badge and certificate they can affix to their LinkedIn profile (and that should be included on their hardcopy resume, too).
Source: thepennyhoarder.com
Shine a Spotlight on Your New Skills
MIT offers free online programming not just on computer science, but also biology, race and ethics, accounting and more.
Most options are videos, slides and quick quizzes that build into a final assessment. A certificate is awarded to passing students and is usually valid for 12 months.
Coursera works with over 200 leading institutions and companies worldwide to provide courses on topics ranging from data science to personal improvement. Partners like Yale University, IBM and Google provide outlines for more than 3,900 courses.
Google Skillshop is one of the classic online learning platforms. The technology behind Google Ads, Google Analytics and more is powerful, and mastering it can benefit nearly any line of work.
Udemy is an online learning platform specifically designed to help you bolster your professional skills. Although Udemy courses can range from to 0, one resourceful way to access these classes is through your public library.
Looking for entry level work from home jobs? Are you wondering, “How can I work from home with no experience?” I know it may seem like every job out there today requires several years of experience. This makes it very difficult to find a job, especially if you are brand new to the field and […]
The post 20 Of The Best Entry Level Work From Home Jobs appeared first on Making Sense Of Cents.