How To Make More Money In 2021

It’s no secret that 2020 was the year that put everyone’s finances to the test. Thankfully, now that things are slowly going back to normal, small businesses have started to reopen and generate income once more. And that is great for them, however, not everyone can rebuild their financial status easily.

Since the economy is still down because of the raging pandemic, people must find effective ways to make more money in 2021. If you are one of them then you are in the right place because we are going to be talking about the different ways you can generate income. Now, there are two kinds of income that you can make: Passive and Active. You can find out more about Passive Income by reading the Passive Income Portfolio over at MoneyByRamey.com.  This article will focus more on the latter, which is building active income.

Here’s a quick definition of active income in case you’re unfamiliar with the term:

What Is Active Income?

Active income is defined as the money or investment you’d earn after doing services that required all of your attention and effort. Unlike passive income where you still get to earn money without putting in much work, active income requires you to move and fully participate in the whole thing.

A quick note:  There are many active income ideas that you can try to make money for this 2021. Listed below are some of the most effective ones we could think of – remember that the opportunities are endless!  Keep in mind that all of the below ideas are for general entertainment purposes only and if you decide to take on any of these ideas, ALWAYS do your own due diligence and research beforehand!

Website Flipping

What is Website Flipping? It is the act of purchasing a website that is already established and then improving all of its aspects so that it can be sold at a higher place. Think of it as the digital version of house flipping.

There are two ways to ‘flip’ a website. You can either buy one (as stated above) or you could also build from the ground up. If you’re choosing to go with the latter then you don’t only need to have the skills to help you out but you also must be willing to invest a whole lot of time and patience. Building a website up to the point where it becomes profitable could take you between a couple of months to a year. It is cheaper compared to just buying one that is already made but at least you’ll have more control.

Purchasing an established website, on the other hand, is much faster as all the bases are already set and you can already focus on the next part which is the building process. Now, there are several ways you can increase a site’s profitability, and some of them are:

• Optimizing website content
• Building links to boost the SEO
• Increase the traffic by forming a solid social media presence
• Make more aggressive monetization strategies such as establishing digital products, partnership programs, and display advertising

Once you’re able to improve the site’s profitability then the next part begins, knowing how much you should sell it. According to dontworkanotherday, the value of the website that you worked on should be about 24 to 30 times the monthly profit you expect from it. This means that if you have a site that has about $200 of profit a month then you can price it at up to $6,000.  Some websites where you can put your flipped websites are Flippa and Afternic.

Why it will work: Website flipping will still be profitable this 2021 because since the world of e-commerce has grown so much over the last year, people are looking for quick ways to establish themselves online. And having a website that already has a great SEO ranking and a solid social media presence is one of the best strategies anyone could ever do.

Invest in Stocks and Cryptocurrency

One of the best ways that you can make money in 2021 is by investing in stocks and cryptocurrency. Why? It’s because not only did both industries remain strong despite the difficulty of last year, they have also expanded so much that you now have countless options as to where you would want to invest your money.

Investing in stocks sounds like a walk in the park, but it isn’t. So if it’s something that you haven’t done before or are fairly new in, then just skip to the next entry, or better yet read this guide first.

The same thing can be said for investing in cryptocurrency. Yes, it is something that you can earn a huge amount of money from but without the proper knowledge to back up every decision you’ll make, you could end up with empty pockets. Cryptocurrencies are often called ‘volatile investments’ because they are so unpredictably unstable.  If this is still something that you are interested in then may we recommend for you to do a lot of research first before making your first investment.  Also, prepare a bitcoin wallet and a bank account that you can sync it with.

Investing in stocks and cryptocurrency can be classified as passive income. However, they can also be called active especially when you have to study the system and closely monitor your investments.

Why it will work: Well, it depends. It could work if you make all the right decisions, and it could all go south as well depending on different factors. As we’ve mentioned earlier, stocks and cryptocurrency are often unstable. So, keep in mind while they could yield high rewards, they also come with a lot of risks that could leave you with no money.

Become an Online Coach

If you have a knack for coaching and extensive knowledge of certain things then you can try your luck at being an online coach. An online coaching business is different from let’s say a field or office-based one because not only could you set your own time but you may also do the entire thing without leaving the comfort of your own home.

The kind of online coaching you will do depends on the niche of your expertise. You can cover academics, baking, vocal lessons, financial coaching, home workout routines, and so on. The pay for an online coach will vary depending on what it is you’re teaching. An online personal trainer, for example, can earn $70 to $100 per hour-long session. Pretty neat, right? But before you get into this, make sure that you make a solid plan on how you’ll put yourself out there. You must figure out if there’s a demand for your skills, the regular rates for online coaches in your area, and how you’ll approach each virtual session with a client.

Why it will work: People always need help with something. Whether it be in school, the kitchen, or even fitness-related, you will always find folks who are looking for an expert’s input on their work. The main challenge for you here aside from finding clients to work with is how you’re going to establish your reputation as an online coach. But once you can do so then this could be a lucrative source of active income.

Start a Meals-to-Go Business 

Are you good at cooking? Do you enjoy doing it? Then you can start a meals-to-go business for people who are too busy to cook their meals. If you’re familiar with meal subscription services such as Freshly, Snap Kitchen, and Veestro then this is similar. You can design meal plans for an entire week and present them to your prospective clients then they can subscribe to whichever meal combo they want to be made for them.

The pay for this will vary depending on the things that you are going to cook because obviously, not all recipes are easy to follow and meal ingredients have the same prices. But to make the most out of it, you must also be able to cater to people with specific dietary requirements.  That way, you’ll be able to cover as much as customers as possible.

Why it will work: Since life is slowly going back to normal, people (especially adult ones) are now returning to work offices outside their home, this means that more and more people are losing the time to cook for themselves and their loved ones. So, cooking and delivering prepared meals tailored to their personal preferences can help keep them satisfied without requiring them to spend a significant time in the kitchen every day.

Manage Social Media Pages 

Companies rely heavily on social media to make them more visible and relevant to the masses, that’s why social media managers play such a crucial role in making sure that the business they work for doesn’t fall out of the scene. As a social media manager, your main tasks include creating posts that capture people’s attention, building a relationship with followers, answering queries, posting content on other sites, and so much more.

Sure, being in charge of a social media page seems fun but there are a lot of things you must first learn. Otherwise, the results you’re going to produce will only be lackluster. According to PayScale, a social media manager can expect a pay of $45,000 per year plus bonus and commissions.  It’s a great paying job, but you need to have the skills to back you up otherwise you’ll be fired in no time at all.

Why it will work: Companies want to be more visible and relatable to their customers so one great way to do that is to hire someone that can effectively establish a solid virtual community without putting them in a bad light.

Be a Virtual Assistant 

You might think this is similar to the previous one but it’s not. As a virtual assistant, you will be required to do different administrative tasks remotely such as setting up email accounts, taking calls, finishing reports, and more. While that may seem daunting, especially if you’re not the most knowledgeable when it comes to software and programs, you can expect some training sessions from the people you’ll be working with.

Upwork and Freelancer are two of the sites that offer countless virtual assistant positions. Now depending on your skills and how long have you been in the business, you can set your hourly rate from $10 to $70 per hour. Pretty cool, right? But before you start your journey as a virtual assistant, you must first do some reading so you can assess your skills and manage your expectations.

Why it will work: No matter what niche, there is always a demand for virtual assistants. Clients will always need help whether for simple tasks such as encoding data and scheduling meetings or more difficult ones such as setting up online accounts and taking calls. It’s a hard job, but one that could be very rewarding for the right people.

Get into Property Management 

Another great way to make money this 2021 is by managing and maintaining properties such as cars, huge vehicles, real estate, large equipment, and other important things that need to be taken care of. But here’s the thing, managing someone else’s property is not easy at all because, on top of having the right set of tools to do the maintenance, you also must know how to execute it properly. Not only those, but you must also deal with other things such as securing appropriate licenses, working with stubborn clients, and protecting yourself from possible scams.

Starting a property management business can be quite difficult as well. We’re not going to go through the specifics of that but if you need help then here’s a guide that we think could help you a lot. So, how much does a property manager get? According to Salary, a typical property manager in the United States can earn $88,035 to $116, 675 per year. However, there are a couple of things that can affect the salary such as experience and educational attainment.

Why it will work: Doing property management in 2021 is a good idea because despite all the financial setbacks last year, people are still buying properties that they can’t always keep an eye on. Your property management company comes into the picture by taking over that duty for them after an agreed price has been settled. They pay you for taking care of their properties, it’s a win-win situation.

Become a Freelance Photographer 

Love taking pictures? Then make money out of your hobby by selling your images or videos online. Sites like Getty Images and Shutterstock are some of the platforms where you can sell your stock pictures. Shutterstock, for example, will give you 25 to 38 cents per image that have been downloaded. It isn’t much, we know, but if you would be able to supply dozens and dozens of stock-free pictures on their platform then you’ll likely earn a few hundred bucks every month.

On top of that, you can also market yourself as a photographer or videographer for events. According to Ziprecruiter, the pay for an average photographer is $42 per hour.

Why it will work: With most restrictions being lifted this year, you can expect more and more events to happen. So, chances are, it won’t take you too long to find a client who is looking for a photographer or a videographer to cover their event.

Buy, Refurbish, and Sell Electronic Products

If you’re knowledgeable when it comes to electronics and how to fix them this might be the perfect one for you. Similar to house flipping, what you have to do here is buy second-hand or old but unused electronic products, refurbish them by replacing/fixing their outdated and faulty parts, then selling them for a higher price. The brilliant thing about it is that you could maximize your income by working on different types of products such as televisions, radio, smartphones (look at what Apple is doing with their refurbished iPhones), and even laptops. Additionally, you can also include other services such as repairing items only.

There are a couple of things you need to prepare before you can start an electronic refurbishing business. First is proper training if you haven’t had one yet, next are the permits and other documents needed, then the place where you will be opening your shop, and lastly the tools that you are going to use to refurbish the items.

The money that you can expect from doing this will depend on different factors. And the flow of income may not be as steady as the other ones that we’ve included in this list. But, as long as you’re able to market yourself properly, then you could have a set of loyal customers who will come back to you from time to time.

Why it will work: People are into branded things that they can get for a lower price, such as refurbished electronic items. Why do you think companies like Apple started selling refurbished items? It’s because there’s a demand for them. As someone who refurbishes electronic products, your main goal is to restore the items as close as possible to their original forms and then sell them for prices that will attract your potential customers. If you’re able to do that then you have great chances of making your business grow.

Final Words  

Earning money in 2021 is easy as long as you have business or job ideas that you want to try. Sure, preparing all the things you’ll need for your money-making strategies to work can be overwhelming but so what? As long as you are generating income, then you are putting yourself on the path of Financial Freedom. With money in your pockets, you will be able to have more choices in life. So the question is, which one of these active income ideas that we shared are you going to try?

Bio: Matthew Ramey is the owner and operator of MoneyByRamey.com. He teaches money management, investing (especially in dividend-paying stocks), and how to achieve Financial Freedom through developing more active and passive income. He is the author of two books; Simple Budgeting and Simple Investing, which can be purchased on Amazon.

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How to Hire the Right Expert Witness

Expert witnesses are professionals who hold the fate of court cases in their hands.  Their professional insight can decide how a judge or jury views the information they’re given, and they can bring forward definitive evidence that changes the outcome.

How do you pick which one you hire, though?

Here are the top things to consider before making your choice and how they’ll affect the case.

Start Looking Earlier

When you think you’re going to need an expert witness, you need to start researching ones that fit what you want.  The main reason for this is that most will want at least a couple of weeks before the court case to study up and ensure they have the information necessary to help your case.  This will also give you a better chance at catching a good expert witness before they agree to work on a different topic instead of yours.  Look early, and let them know you’re interested.

Consider Your Budget

Before you try to hire an economic expert: make sure you know what you can afford.  The average expert witness costs around $250 an hour, and it can go up from there if they’re a medical expert or have some specialized training along those lines.  Although you may get the other party in the court case to cover the court fees if you win, you should be careful if you can’t afford much.  You don’t want to end up in severe debt if you do lose the case.

Look For Relevant Qualifications

What qualifications does this expert witness have?  Are they proficient in a particular line of work?  Do they have training that pertains to the case?  Is there an educational background that could help decide your court case?  Most expert witnesses either have training, knowledge, experience, education, or skill that allows them to answer questions some other people may not be able to answer.

Request Publications and References

Consider this interaction as you hiring them for a role.  Treat it like an interview, and ask for references and any publications they may have made.  This information will allow you to understand them better, see some of their skills in action, and find out what other people think of them.  If they refuse to offer any of this information, you should move onto the next possibility.  This witness may hold the key to whether you win or lose your case; you can’t leave it up to a guess that they might know what they’re doing.

Meet In Person To Check For Charisma

Although it would be great if facts and information decided court cases, it’s not always the case.  It would help if you met with the witness in person to decide whether or not they’re a good fit for you.  Check if they can maintain eye contact, if they’re personable and if they seem confident in their knowledge.  Do they say ‘um’ a lot?  Do you notice they seem constantly distracted?  They might not be who you want to call on in court.  Although not everyone is excellent in front of a crowd, if you’re hiring them to help decide the fate of your case, you need to make sure they’re someone who will help.

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Your 5 Best Options For Sending Money Abroad

If you need to send money to someone abroad but have never had to before, it can be difficult to determine what your best options are. In fact, you may not even know what your options are.

Fortunately, you’ll be glad to hear that there are a number of choices available before you, and each of those options work well even if some are faster or cheaper than others.

This article will dive into five best options for sending money abroad and the advantages and disadvantages that you can expect to encounter with each of them.

Here are your five best options for sending money abroad:

Your Bank

Your bank is probably what came to mind first when you thought about how you could send money overseas. But does this make it the best option?

Specifically, banks will send money internationally by using wire transfer. Wire transfers are usually slow and can take several business days to complete, but most banks will also offer an ‘express service’ option for speedier transactions, even though you’ll have to pay much higher fees as well.

One of the biggest hindrances to using a bank wire transfer is the cost. Banks usually charge flat fees, which can commonly be $50 or more for a single transaction. If you’re not sending a lot of money, that’s quite expensive.

FX Broker

The next option will be to use an FX, or foreign exchange, broker. An FX broker is a broker that specializes in foreign currency.

One of the biggest benefits to using an FX broker is that they can lock in an exchange rate, which can otherwise often fluctuate greatly. They also tend to offer superior exchange rates over banks.

On the other hand, FX brokers can also be expensive due to having high fees, and they can also sometimes have a minimum transfer amount to use, which means that they usually only a suitable choice for large transactions.

Remittance Services

Remittance services such as Remitly operate very simply: you create an account, deposit money, insert the name and financial information of your recipient, convert the deposit into your currency of choice, and then send it to the recipient.

Remittance services represent some of the cheapest and fastest ways for sending money overseas in this day and age, and you’ll definitely save money with them in contrast to using a bank.

Unlike banks, remittance services usually charge a small fee of 1% to 5% rather than a large flat fee. You can also quote remittance services to find out what kind of an exchange rate you’ll have to pay, and as long as you can get a low guaranteed exchange rate (which is more than possible), you’ll save money that way too.

P2P Money Transfer Operators

Another very cheap and fast way to send money to people overseas will be to use an online MTO (money transfer operator). MTO’s typically offer a wide variety of payment and delivery methods, and will have a lower exchange rates than most banks have.

In fact, several P2P MTO companies were founded after the Great Recession of 2008-2009 because of a large distrust that existed with banks at the time, and people turned to them as a cheaper alternatives.

At the same time, MTO’s are also usually a good choice for smaller transactions only. Some will have a maximum transfer amount, so if you need to send a lot of money at once they are rarely the best choice. If you do need to send a larger amount, banks or remittance services should be a better bet.

Blockchain

Last but certainly not least, you can also use blockchain technology to send money overseas as well. Even though blockchain may still be in its infancy right now, in the future, many experts that it will be the cheapest and fastest method for sending and receiving payments abroad.

Right now, however. Blockchain networks have limited market liquidity and are not yet fully developed in contrast to the other above options. Still, it’s definitely something that you’ll want to keep your eye on.

Sending Money Abroad

Overall, these five options represent the best choices you have available before you for sending money to people you know overseas. The method you choose should largely be dependent on whichever one will save you the most money and on the timeframe you need to send the money by.

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How Best To Navigate Overchoice On the Internet – Source: Pexels

Let’s face it – the sheer amount of content that you have to sift through whilst browsing the internet can make the whole process feel a bit overwhelming, especially if you’re having to make choices with regards to a purchase or a service. The term “overchoice” or “choice overload” refers to a phenomenon which occurs when a consumer is quite simply overloaded by the many different alternatives available to them. As a result, the consumer can end up going with the default option available to them, deferring their decision or not making a decision at all. Whilst it’s easy to allow yourself to be a ‘victim’ of overchoice, there are steps you can take in order to avoid it and so below are a couple of tips with regards to keeping a clear mind and making the right choices.

Comparisons and Reviews Are The Real Kicker

In most cases, if you’re not sure what to purchase, then it’s likely that the work has already been done for you if you look hard enough. Whether it’s individuals submitting user reviews or comparison websites such as Compare the Market giving you a helping hand, reliable reviews and comparisons are absolutely imperative when it comes to avoiding overchoice, and they often help you narrow down the different options with relative ease.

If you are into on-line gambling, this can be particularly tricky to find a good website.  In industries such as online casinos, where there is an abundance of different free spins and other offers available, reviews such as the ones over at https://www.realmoneygames.ca/ can be particularly useful. With all of the relevant information laid out before you, it’s easy to pick the site that best suits you, whether you’re into five-reel slots or blackjack, where the various different offers can be the deciding factor when trying to beat the house and achieving that magical 21.

Know Exactly What You Want Before You Look For It

Going onto the Internet with only a vague idea of what you’re actually looking for is never a good idea and, before long, you’ll find yourself being pulled from pillar to post with all of the various options available relating to your item of choice. Take the mobile phone market, for example – logging onto your laptop only knowing that you need a new phone is pretty much consumer suicide.

Instead, ask yourself questions about what features are the most important to you on a phone. Perhaps you want a device which simply handles the basics well and is easy to navigate? Maybe you want to purchase a cheap handset which will save you money in the long term? Once you’ve narrowed down your parameters, the choices become clearer and you’re less likely to get flustered. As a result, you’ll be making yourself a nice cuppa in no time whilst your brand spanking new phone is being dispatched. Result.

Be Positive and Stay Focussed

Whilst this certainly isn’t an exhaustive list, it’s important to stay focused on the task at hand and not allow yourself to get distracted. A good general rule to follow is that the fewer clicks you can make before a purchase, the more satisfied you’ll feel once the transaction is complete. If you are into online gambling, then as long as you consult well-researched and exhaustive review sites such as https://www.onlinecasinos.ca/ and have a good idea of what you’re after, then overchoice will go back to being one of those new and trendy buzzwords that you’ve never heard of. Good luck!

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What Are the Safest Online Payment Methods?

The last decade has seen the internet play an ever-increasing role in our everyday lives. One of the main reasons for this is the spread of smartphones.  But, these devices are basically dead in the water without an active internet connection. The internet has advanced from being a tool to share information into one that serves multiple purposes.  It helps us keep in touch with our friends and relatives and also allows a smart medium for payments. Over the years, a number of payment methods have emerged. But are they safe? Let’s take a look at a few of them to find out.

Safe and secure transactions

Online gambling is one of the most controversial businesses out there thanks in part to the numerous shady operators that have emerged over its history. Today, in turn, the vast majority of the operators in business are legitimate, regulated businesses. Regulated means that they have to comply with a series of government regulations.  Many of these regulations refer to the way they handle financial transactions to and from their customers. This means that if a business like the Vegas Palms Casino offers its players the possibility to use one payment method or another, that is most likely considered safe by the operator and the regulators alike.  We can take a look at what payment services are offered, and then draw conclusions that these payment services are safe and secure.

The list of safe and secure transactions at Vegas Palms online casino contains a series of payment services its customers can use. Vegas Palms players can choose to utilize:

• credit and debit cards
• web wallet services like NETeller, Skrill (these two are offered by the same company), and Eco
• prepaid payment services
• a variety of local and international bank transfer products
• traditional methods like bank draft and wire transfer.

The Vegas Palms has to offer the safest payment methods possible – its reputation depends on it!

The safest online payment methods

Although there are many payment methods available today, credit cards are still considered to be the safest for shopping online. Even if the merchant that you buy from is a fraud, you can easily get the charge reversed, and it usually won’t cost you a thing. Since it’s not YOUR money that is sent to the seller (the card operator pays on your behalf and deducts the funds from your card later), disputes are handled much faster than in the case of a debit card.  Always keep this in mind when making a large purchase.  Sometimes it can really save your butt!

Online payment services like PayPal, Skrill, and Google Wallet add an extra layer of protection to your online payments, acting almost as a buffer between your credit cards and the merchant you work with. Some of them, like NETeller, will even issue a prepaid card that you can use in the real world, with an even less direct connection to your bank account.

Final Thoughts

If you are looking for what are the safest online payment methods, it is a good idea to base your decision on what casinos will accept.  In this case, any of the mentioned payment services in the article should be just fine for you to use.  For most of us, credit cards will be the surefire way to ensure we are safe and sound.

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How to Get the Financing You Need to Start a Business

Once you are ready to start a new business, there are several things you will want to bear in mind. One of them is financing. Every great business begins with an idea, a workable plan, and the right team of people. But without financing, the business will never get off the ground. Getting started with a small business is an exciting prospect. Naturally, there are challenges in the wings, and they relate to management, finance, markets, advertising, competition, and the business environment.

Establishing the parameters for business success

The first step in the process of making your business official is registering it with the relevant authority. An unregistered/unlicensed business will find it difficult to acquire the necessary financing or assistance from the government, banks, or other financial institutions. A great business plan is essentially your blueprint for success. It forecasts up to 5 years into the future and directs the company’s resources and leadership towards achieving those objectives. A business plan greenlights the road ahead with workable solutions for success. The plan will naturally include the business structure that you have adopted as your preferred format. In this vein, there are hierarchical structures, collaborative structures, laissez-faire, autocratic leadership, conventional and unconventional approaches you can adopt. The nature of your business – sole proprietorship, LLC, CC, S-Corporation, a public company, or others determines your responsibilities, liabilities, and tax implications.

Loans and legal requirements

It is imperative that you understand precisely what your financial requirements are well ahead of time. Therefore, a blueprint for success is important. Your business financials will help you to achieve your organizational objectives by allocating resources precisely where they are needed. As far as financing goes, you have many options available to you when applying for a business loan. There are broad categories of financing that you can explore, including bonds (see my video here to learn what is a bond), conventional loans or even grants. Throughout it all, it is important to assemble a team of experts to assist you with achieving your organization’s objectives. Most all businesses that function today, except for the informal sector, require some form of identification. In the US, this is generally represented by an EIN (employer identification number). It will be necessary to comply with existing regulations on labor laws as well.

All businesses require effective cash flow to maintain daily operations. Not only that, but financing ensures that the requisite capital is available to grow the organization effectively. A business that is not growing is stagnating, and that doesn’t bode well for future prospects. All strategically-oriented projects require a positive net cash flow situation, or substantial financial resources, and availability of credit. Equally important are the short-term exigencies such as accounts payable and payroll. For a business to succeed, it needs to grease the proverbial wheels with respect to its financial possibilities. Business loans may be tough to come by for certain businesses, but that should not dissuade you from applying for one. Companies always want to ensure that they have sufficient financing for their operations. This includes purchasing equipment, opening a new office or business branch, or hiring talented personnel. Many lenders are out there, including lenders for businesses with poor credit or terrific credit. When the economy is in a downturn, increased working capital is especially beneficial and that’s why business loans should never be discounted as a viable proposition to grow a business. Business loans are also beneficial in the sense that the business owner may not be personally liable for the business loan if the company goes bankrupt. The owner’s personal assets will likely be guaranteed against requisition by the creditor in this regard.

The Final Word

There are certainly plus and minus points to taking out a business loan, but sound judgment will help to apply for the most advantageous financing in the market. It is always a good idea to have additional capital resources available during tough economic times. This can make your business recession-proof, and provide the necessary cushioning when things get tough. The most important criteria to bear in mind include the loan rates, the credibility of the lender, and the repayment terms.

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Protect Yourself from Online Card Fraud this Cyber Monday

EMV – or chip-enabled cards – are now being used by financial institutions nationwide, and that is great news for U.S. consumers. The innovative security technology has greatly reduced card-present fraud in more than 80 countries that have embraced it, and according to creditcards.com, 2016 research by MasterCard and Visa reveals that counterfeit fraud has already declined significantly at chip-enabled merchants across the U.S.

While EMV has made the point of sale much safer for consumers, the same can’t be said for card-not-present transactions, which is used for online shopping. In fact, industry data indicates that card-not-present fraud continues to rise year over year, and – as in the past – poses an even greater threat during the holiday season.

Card-not-present fraud is not protected by EMV, and increases every year simply because it is relatively easy for criminals to steal card data online. While credit unions excel at managing this type of fraud, the sheer volume of transactions conducted during the holiday season requires everyone to take extra precautions.

Detecting Fraud in Real Time

To help protect yourself, make sure your bank or credit union has advanced real-time fraud detection technology in place to monitor all transactions. While systems and services can go a long way toward detecting and mitigating risks, you can also play a valuable role in protecting your account data and card security.

You should see if your financial institution has a mobile app for card controls and alerts that allow you to monitor all card transactions and stop any fraudulent attempts before they can be carried out. The most advanced tools in this space allow you to restrict transactions to certain geographic locations, merchants, merchant types, channels or time periods.

You can also use the technology to turn a card “on” during a transaction and then “off” again when the card is not in use. Mobile security apps are highly effective – and very convenient for the card holder. They also serve as a point of engagement with your financial institution.

Additional Safety Measures

If you shop online, make sure you vary your login IDs and passwords. Using the same credentials across payment platforms quadruples a consumer’s chances of having all their accounts taken over.

Utilizing e-commerce solutions, such as Visa Checkout and MasterCard MasterPass, can help protect you online with an added layer of security.

You should also never to purchase from a retailer or organization you don’t recognize. The biggest issue we see with Cyber Monday is that CO-OP credit union members are presented with so many great deals. If an e-mailed offer looks too good to be true, it could very well be fraud – which means you should delete the message immediately. If the offer is legitimate, it will certainly be featured on the retailer’s website.

You should also protect your home PC and Android platforms with antivirus and anti-malware software. In the absence of these technologies, you are likely working in an environment in which every keystroke they type is copied and sent verbatim to a fraudster.

Card-not-present fraud can occur just as easily over the phone. Be very cautious with overly coercive phone offers, and especially with robocalls, or automatically dialed calls from machines. Never provide account data, social security numbers or any other identifying information to solicitors and always hang up. If the offer truly interests you, you can call the company back to verify its validity.

Protect Yourself from Online Card Fraud This Cyber Monday – Final Thoughts

Working with your financial institution, you can very effectively minimize card fraud and all the losses and inconveniences that go along with it.

John Buzzard is Fraud Specialist/Account Executive for CO-OP Financial Services, a financial technology provider to credit unions based in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. (www.co-opfs.org).

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For more saving money, making money, and investment ideas go to www.MoneyAhoy.com

It’s Scholarship Submission Time – Check out these Weird Scholarship Ideas

When you think about scholarships, the first thing that comes to mind is probably a merit-based scholarship or something that requires an essay. There are plenty of common opportunities like this online, but you probably do not think about all of the off-the-wall scholarships. By off-the-wall, we mean that these scholarships are weird; in fact, there are scholarships out there that are awarded to students simply because they write with their left hand (not making this up).

These scholarships are actually some of the best opportunities out there because they are much less competitive than the big name scholarships. If you do not want to follow the masses by applying for the same standard scholarships, then you should consider looking for weird scholarships. They are less well known, so you have better chances at qualifying for more aid.

If you are worried about student loan debt, then niche scholarships become even more valuable. It is common knowledge that college tuition is spinning out of control, so finding creative ways to fund your education becomes essential. If it seems hopeless, then you haven’t heard about all of the success out there. Hundreds of people have covered their tuition simply by taking advantage of low-competition scholarships. Long story short, kooky scholarships are some of the best ways to save money in college because they can pay for college. At the end of the day, who wouldn’t want “free money?”

What You Should Think About When Applying

Step one, you should think about yourself and what makes you different from the pack. When you find that characteristic or history about yourself that is unique, the next step is to search for scholarships paired with that characteristic. There is a great chance that some foundation offers a scholarship with specific criteria that you fit perfectly. A good tip would be to find as many unique characteristics about yourself as possible. This will open the door to multiple scholarships which is ideal. Every applicants goal should be to land multiple scholarships.

When you apply for a niche scholarship, you do not want to take a traditional approach to the application. In fact, most scholarship foundations are looking for students who do not stick to the norm, even big name scholarship foundations. The same can be said about a smaller scholarship foundation. You should always market yourself as a unique individual who is apart from the pack (in this case, apart from a unique pack).

How to Find Scholarships and Where to Look

Smaller scholarships are not as heavily marketed as some of the larger scholarships, and many of these awards have never even been heard of by most students. This means that you have to do some solid research. Luckily, this is the modern era with the internet which happens to be the primary resource for scholarships. You can find just about any opportunity so long as you know what the scholarship name is. If you don’t know the name, then you still have a chance. There are resources found online that specialize in specific niches, so you really can’t make an excuse for not finding them! Lastly, you can talk to your financial aid counselor and see if they know of any weird and different scholarships that you can apply to.

Why Outside-the-box Scholarships Are a Good Choice

While smaller scholarships may be harder to find, they are worth the time and energy. The main reason why smaller scholarships are a good choice is because they are less competitive than other popular scholarships. The field of applicants is much smaller than a nationally recognized scholarship, so your chances of success are much greater. Don’t be afraid to apply for low dollar awards, like this one from Cappex.

Scholarships can be very powerful. Since you are not limited on the number of scholarships that you can qualify for, you have the opportunity to win multiple scholarships. The combination of low competition fields and unlimited opportunity makes low competition scholarships one of the best methods of paying for higher education. As mentioned earlier, there are many students who paid for college solely with multiple smaller scholarship awards. To put it in perspective, the power of weird scholarships can be equated to four years of student loan debt and interest.

Final Thoughts on How to Apply for Weird Scholarships

Weird scholarships offer you a number of choices that are out-of-the-box and not of the norm. Taking the small award approach can be a fun way to tackle scholarships, but it can also be quite challenging trying to find opportunities that are relevant to yourself. Putting in the time is the number one piece of advice in the scholarship search, and the same rule applies when looking for weird scholarships. If you invest your time, then you are nearly guaranteed to experience some success! With that in mind, you can tap into the niche scholarship industry with ease.

Pyper Barnes is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama. Pyper is the owner of WeirdScholarships. WeirdScholarships.net is a website dedicated to helping students find unique and interesting scholarship opportunities.

The post It’s Scholarship Submission Time – Check out these Weird Scholarship Ideas appeared first on MoneyAhoy.

For more saving money, making money, and investment ideas go to www.MoneyAhoy.com

How Personal Productivity Helps with Personal Finance

When people say “Time is money,” they’re speaking the truth. It might not seem like it, but improving productivity can help you with your personal finance. Being efficient with your time and knowing how to get things are invaluable traits that can help your bottom line.

Alternatively, there’s a direct correlation between financial problems and lowered productivity. A study by the Personal Finance Employee Education Foundations shows that financial problems lead to lowered productivity at work and an increased absenteeism.  

Improving productivity is like training a muscle. It requires time and dedication, but the more work you put in, the easier it gets. Fortunately, there are some great exercises to heighten productivity.

Organize Your Life

Making to-do lists isn’t a bad habit, yet it’s less effective than we like to believe. The problem is that long lists mean lots of choices for what to do next. The more choices there are, the more negative emotions there are associated with the decision. This “paradox of choice” makes daunting to-do lists depressing and overwhelming.

There comes a satisfaction with crossing an item of a list. Because of that, we’re more likely to finish the quick tasks and put the time-consuming ones on the backburner.

Instead of using a to-do list, consider using calendars instead. A calendar makes it easy to set deadlines and doesn’t overwhelm with the paradox of choice. Lists have their uses but should be used in moderation.

Take Breaks When You Need It

Most brains work better with bursts of creativity followed by short moments of rest. Every individual has their own ideal ratio for works and breaks, but a good baseline is the Pomodoro technique. This time management technique has you work in 25 minute bursts with a maximum five minute break. After the break ends, it’s back to work for the next 25 minutes.

There are online tools and mobile apps that give you access to Pomodoro timer, so check them out and see how they work for you.  

Stop Wasting Time Online

One of the biggest obstacles hindering our productivity is our own impulse. We can’t help ourselves when it comes to wasting time online. For most of us, what should be a quick five minute tasks gets dragged out to 30 minutes because of social media notifications, emails and the urge to check things that only slow down our productivity.

Almost a third of all employees reported wasting about an hour a day at work, mostly due to social media and browsing the Internet. After work hours, those problems can continue. People now spend 8 hours a day consuming media. Television is still the biggest time sink, but the Internet is projected to soon be the thing that takes up the most time.

What can be done? Just quitting isn’t easy, but there are some programs out there to help stop us from being tempted by our favorite websites. One of the more popular tools is the StayFocusd browser plugin. Once installed, you put in the sites you want to avoid and the maximum time limit you can spend browsing those sites. For example, you can set a daily limit on Facebook for 15 minutes a day.

Automate When Possible

There are a lot of mundane tasks out there that take up valuable time. That’s why it’s important to automate whatever you can. For starters, automating your bill payments is a smart way to save time. It also means you won’t have to worry about accidentally missing a payment. There are other ways to automate the boring tasks in life that can free up your time for more important tasks.

How Personal Productivity Helps with Personal Finance – Final Thoughts

Productivity and personal finance go hand-in-hand. With time being money, it’s best not to waste either!

Anum Yoon is a personal finance blogger and writer. She created and maintains her personal finance blog Current on Currency. You can subscribe to her blog newsletter right here for her weekly updates.

The post How Personal Productivity Helps with Personal Finance appeared first on MoneyAhoy.

For more saving money, making money, and investment ideas go to www.MoneyAhoy.com

We Owed $4,300 on Our Taxes for 2015

Spring is in the air – the flowers are blooming, leaves are coming out on the trees, and there is pollen everywhere!!  One nice thing is that temperatures are increasing down here in southern Georgia, but it won’t be long until things get too hot (think over 90F).

Every year as spring comes around our way, like it or not my mind turns to incomes taxes.  I do find myself stressing about whether we will get a refund from the IRS or owe some money.  Now that tax season has come and gone, (if you have been living under a rock – your tax return was due on April 18th), I can share with you how we fared for the 2015 tax season.

I don’t really like to talk much about taxes here on the blog because I find the subject kinda boring.  But…. taxes really need to be brought up from time to time to ensure you have optimized yourself from a personal finance standpoint.  I certainly did not tax full advantage of tax deductions and various money saving strategies for 2015, and we are paying the price (literally)!

How Did We Do for 2015 Tax Year

I spoiled the surprise already in the post title, but we actually owed $4,300 to the IRS :-(!  When I found out the number, I felt pretty sick to my stomach.  How could we owe so much?  Once I calmed down a bit from the huge sticker shock, the $4,300 started to make sense when I thought more about it.  Here’s a rough breakdown of why we owed so much – I just assume a 38% tax rate to keep things simple:

• Dividends – We had ~$6,100 in dividends for 2015.  About $3,000 were qualified and $3,100 were ordinary.  This means our tax from this should be ($3,100 * 38% + $3,000*15%) = $1,628 taxes
• Small Business – MoneyAhoy.com made about $4,000 after expenses for 2015.  Our tax from this should be ($4,000 * 38%) = $1,520 taxes
• Missing Property Taxes – Our mortgage company somehow screwed up and didn’t charge us for property taxes all of 2015.  As a result, we were not able to deduct ~$2,000 for this.  Our “extra tax” from not getting the deduction here is ($2,000 * 38%) = $760 taxes
• Student Loans – We paid off my wife’s student loans in early 2015.  As such, there was no more deduction for interest on those student loans.  This accounts for ~$400 in deductions in past years.
• Childcare – Thankfully, our childcare bills were much, much lower in 2015 vs. 2014 because my wife is now working part-time and can watch the kids in the afternoon.  As a result, we save ~$17,000 a year here!  The downside is that we don’t get a nice tax bonus deduction in the category.

Why I am Not Complaining That We Owed $4,300 to the IRS

Most folks would be furious if they owed this much money to the IRS.  I was mad for about all of five minutes before I got my head on straight.  Here’s why I am not mad that we owe $4,300 to the IRS:

• We had an extra $10,000 of income in un-taxed income ($6,000 dividends + $4,000 business income).
• We did not pay property taxes on our home ($2,000) – **we will have to catch this back up, so it is more of a deferral.
• We did not have to pay for student loans ($3,000)

I will take an extra $15,000 in my pocket if I have to pay a $4,300 fee any day of the week :-)!

Because we did owe so much, I guess the IRS figures you should make quarterly payments along the way.  We did not do this, largely because I’m lazy and cannot be bother to pay attention to this (so far).  Because we did not do this, there was a small penalty of $42.  This turns about to be just about 1% of the tax owed.  A one-time charge of $42 is no big deal as far as I am concerned, but we probably need to start paying a bit extra each quarter in 2016 just to avoid this kind of fee.  I will look more into how to do this as we are already in the second quarter.  It may be easier to just adjust my W4 from my main employer so they are taking out a bit more each paycheck – I haven’t decided yet. A w4 calculator would make easy work of that.

Tax Deductions That We Missed Out On

As I mentioned, I really dislike thinking too much about taxes.  That bit us in the butt a little bit as we could have saved a couple thousand if we had followed a couple of these tips – WARNING – they are a bit on the complicated side of things:

• Capital Gains Tax Loss Harvesting – You can deduct up to $3,000 each year by selling stocks that are “down” or “losing you money”.  You can even carry forward the losses into an unlimited about of years.  This means an extra ~$1,000 in your pocket each year ($3,000 * 38% = $1,100+).
  • The only trick here is that if you sell the stock for a loss, you cannot buy it back until 31 days later – this is the wash sale rule.  That shouldn’t be a big deal if you are investing in ETFs as you could just flip over to a “similar” ETF for a month, then flip back into your normal one if you’d like.
  • I didn’t go through the trouble of doing this in 2015, and I am now kicking myself for NOT doing this.  It’s basically a free $1,000 that I missed out on :-(.
  • The thing with this is that you are just offsetting the tax you will eventually pay further and further down the road.  You would think this would eventually mean that you would pay a huge tax bill when you actually go to sell the investments (without re-buying them back) down the road.  You would likely be wrong tough! Understand that if you die, you can give the investments to an heir and the total capital gains get completely erased at the time of transfer!  It would be like the heir just bought the stocks that day at whatever price they currently trade at.  Pretty cool if you are planning on handing down those stocks!
  • Also, you get a credit in today’s dollars of 35% (or whatever your tax bracket is), then down the road you pay on the larger capital gains amount, but only at the 15% long-term capital gains rate!  Woohoo!
  • This all just basically boils down to receiving a tax free loan from the IRS that you may never need to pay back!
  • Now that I know more about how this works, I plan to get my capital gains tax loss harvesting on each and every year :-)!
• Solo 401(k) – If you own your own business (and if you don’t, why don’t you startup your own company today!) you can qualify for this cool tax deduction.  If your company does not have any employees (folks working over 1,000 a year), you can create your own self-employment 401(k) for you and your spouse.  Even if you you work full time at a “normal day job” and participate in that company’s 401(k), you can still take some of your side-business income and put it in another separate, solo 401(k).
  • If you work a full-time job for an employer, the most you can contribute to your 401(k) is $18,000.
  • If you work for yourself, the most you are able to contribute to a solo 401(k) is $53,000!  That’s a significant tax savings!!  You can put in $18,000 and then 25% of the total profit for the year up to a combined total of $53,000.
  • If your company also has your spouse working for it, you can double up here for $106,000 in total contributions to a solo-401(k)!
  • It gets a bit complicated if you are working full-time and have your own side-hustle business.  Suffice it to say, you can normally find a way to bump up the total amount of 401(k) contribution from $18,000 total to $53,000 total with a little creative work and understanding in how things work.  This all assumes your company makes a lot of money each year – I’m still working on that :-).

We Owed $4,300 on Our Taxes for 2015 and I’m Not Mad – Final Thoughts

Although we had to pay the IRS a lot of “extra” this year, it’s all for good reason.  We made a lot of extra money in 2015, and we are both really thankful for that.  We could have done more with our tax deductions, but that’s something we will plan on getting right in 2016 and beyond.  How do you fare this tax year?

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For more saving money, making money, and investment ideas go to www.MoneyAhoy.com