It’s back to school again! Sure, our school days may be a thing of the distant past, but Mondays ugh! are basically the “back to school” equivalent so we feel your pain. You don’t really wanna end the stress-free life of the weekend summer, but hey, it’s the start of a new beginning and that can always be a good thing. Once you get over that dreadful first day, the first couple of weeks of school are actually really fun – getting organized with new classes, meeting new friends, weeding out pesky professors all of which get you one step closer to that diploma!. To help you get into the swing of things, here are some backpack essentials you’ll want to have in class to kick this semester in the a-s-s.
Get Your Shop On:
> 1. Backpack > 2. Folio > 3. Coffee Traveler > 4. Planner > 5. iPhone Case > 6. Pencil Pouch > 7. “It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want to Be” Book > 8. Flash Drive > 9. Pens > 10. Clipboard
Where will you work out when you move to Tampa? How about in your own apartment community!
Having a fitness center in your apartment community can lead to all sorts of lifestyle perks. You won’t have to sacrifice your workout and you’ll have access to one of the best gyms in Tampa.
Here are some of the best apartment gyms in Tampa that will help you reach your fitness goals.
Source: Rent. / Olympus Harbour Island
Funky windows and colorful accents give the sleek workout space at Olympus Harbour Island a fresh look. Open 24 hours, you’ll find both cardio and strength machines in the main area, with a separate spin studio that offers fitness classes on demand. The gym also contains a CrossFit box and punching bags.
Located on an island in Southeast Tampa, there are plenty of taverns and restaurants in this quiet and walkable area. A trolley connects the island to the mainland. Olympus Harbour Island also provides its own recreation with an impressive pool area with a lot of lounge chairs, a giant chess set and cabanas.
Source: Rent. / Azula North
In Temple Crest, a more established community on the northeast side of Tampa, you’ll find the bright green-and-turquoise-accented gym at Azula North. This multi-sectioned fitness center has a row of cardio machines that wrap around the entire space. A CrossFit box and strength training equipment are toward the back. A separate yoga studio space has a massive mirror and soothing art.
Azula North also provides residents with a resort-style pool, planned social events, lake views and more.
Source: Rent. / AVE Tampa Riverwalk
The two-story gym at AVE Tampa Riverwalk has plenty of windows that extend all the way up. A smoke-free community in Northeast Tampa, the fitness center also has a Zen Yoga Room. Within the main section, a row of cardio machines face out, and an astroturf section with CrossFit boxes sits beside all the strength training equipment.
When it’s time to relax, the pool at AVE Tampa Riverwalk sits on a palm-tree-lined courtyard with a nice lounge area. There’s even a pet spa to pamper your furry friend.
Source: Rent. / Bell Channelside
Within the very urban and walkable neighborhood of the Channel District, you’ll find the amenity-laden community of Bell Channelside. There’s a pet spa and bark park, furnished guest suits, a 24-hour java bar and lounge and tranquil courtyards, just to name a few special features.
The fitness center at Bell Channelside consists of two rooms. The first contains all the strength training machines and equipment, while the second is full of cardio machines, a small kitchenette and a spin studio. Bright and colorful, with pops of orange and red, the fitness area totals 2,700 square feet.
Source: Rent. / Cortland Bayport
With free group classes and lighted tennis courts, Cortland Bayport is so much more than a basic place to live. The fitness center itself is nice and bright with funky mirrors and hints of burnt orange on the equipment. The community also has an on-site resident market, resort-style pools, a waterfront boardwalk and a community dock with boat slips.
Located in Town N County Alliance, this area is right off Old Tampa Bay, slightly apart from the hustle and bustle of the city center.
Source: Rent. / The Pointe on Westshore
Fresh towels and funky, modernistic lighting greet you at the fitness center at The Pointe on Westshore. There are also two rows of cardio machines, free weights, a CrossFit box and more in this fitness-on-demand facility.
A Southwest Tampa gem, The Pointe on Westshore also features two heated pools, a car wash, a pet spa and lounges. Sandwiched between Old Tampa Bay and Hillsborough Bay, the surrounding area provides a ton of water views and beachfront access.
Source: Rent. / The Oasis at Highwoods Preserve
A little ways from the city center, the quiet and suburban neighborhood of West Meadows sits to the northeast. Here, you’ll find The Oasis at Highwoods Preserve with a theater room, two dog parks, a saltwater pool and a game room with arcade games and billiards.
The gym doesn’t disappoint either. It’s open 24 hours and is a large, bright space with great lighting and nice windows. Equipment-wise, the gym provides a colorful and extensive assortment of all kinds of workout machinery.
Source: Rent. / Mezzo of Tampa Palms
An impressive space, with a nice assortment of equipment of all kinds, the fitness center at Mezzo of Tampa Palms is nicely stocked. Accented by wood panels, the main area contains cardio and strength machines. A glass entryway leads into the fitness studio with spin bikes and CrossFit boxes. Fitness-on-demand classes are available here too. There are also tennis and racquetball courts on the property.
Known for its golf courses and green spaces, you’ll find Mezzo of Tampa Palms in New Tampa. Specifically, this area is home to the Lower Hillsborough Wilderness Reserve with hiking trails and picnic spots, and the New Tampa Nature Park with a zip line and climbing wall.
Source: Rent. / Arbor Walk
Also in the neighborhood of Temple Crest, Arbor Walk is a green community with a resort-style pool, sundeck, bark park and cyber cafe with WiFi.
The gym is a bright and open space with a variety of machines wrapping around two walls of windows. Cardio and strength machines sit together, with a separate space for free weights and a CrossFit box.
Source: Rent. / Camden Bay
Surrounded by a 1,000-acre nature preserve, Camden Bay is an impressive place to live. Also in Town N County Alliance, the community provides private boat ramps with direct channel access to Tampa Bay. There’s also separate boat parking when you’re not going out on the water.
Camden Bay has lighted tennis courts and a fitness center that’s open 24 hours with neat rows of equipment. A cool space with wood paneling on the ceiling and faux greenery on the walls, the gym has a separate yoga studio complete with large mirrors.
Grab an apartment workout at one of the best gyms in Tampa
There are certain things Tampa locals all know to be true, one of which is that where you live matters. You want your home to be located near a beach and have fun places to go. You also want your home to offer you conveniences, like access to a gym.
There are plenty of Tampa apartments that can fulfill all your needs, and all you’ve got to do is start looking. Good luck!
Featured image source: Rent. / AVE Tampa Riverwalk
One of the things we can remember about the show is its ending—is it beautiful or tragic, maybe boring, or doesn’t make sense, or a cliff-hanger Today, we’re discussing 17 TV shows with some of the worst endings ever!
1. ALF
One person said, “Nobody will remember this, but the correct answer is ALF. It was supposed to be a cliffhanger, but the show got canceled, and they ended the series with ALF being captured and taken away to be dissected. GOOD NIGHT KIDS!”
Another person replied, “Eventually, they made a made-for-TV-movie about five years later to attempt a wrap-up called Project: Alf. It had virtually no one from the original series besides Alf’s voice, and as I remember it, was almost universally panned.”
One Redditor added, “I remember seeing the movie. It was horrible. I loved the series as a kid. Nothing beats Alf singing Old time rock ‘n’ roll with a cucumber.”
2. The X-Files
“Glad I searched for X-Files because this was going to be my comment. Honestly the last 3 seasons were… not great (outside of a single episode here and there, usually written by Vince Gilligan, of course). Talk about a show with highs and lows. It could be the best show on television, and the next week it could be the most senseless garbage you’ve ever seen,” one user commented.
“The point for me where I felt the most disappointed was the episode that ‘resolved’ the disappearance of Samantha. Not only was it a confusing mess but it opened up some pretty aggravating plot holes retroactively. HATED it,” another commenter added.
Another user said, “I remember someone suggesting the final episode should have been Chris Carter and a flipchart explaining how everything fits together.”
3. My Name Is Earl
One user commented, “My Name Is Earl ended on a cliffhanger which was canceled soon after S4. The only resolution given was on the first episode of Greg Garcia’s next project Raising Hope where a TV news broadcast in the background said a man in Camden County completed his list. NBC had a knack for making bonehead decisions.”
The second person replied, “Yup. They didn’t plan on it being the series finale, and their surprise cancellation lead to them scrabbling last minute to come up with an ending. That’s what they settled on.”
4. Heroes
One person stated, “Heroes. God the writer’s strike really had that show go wildly off the rails.”
Another commenter said, “Hiro constantly losing his powers every season because of lazy writing and he is too strong… I gave it another try last year couldn’t finish watching the last season again. Still no idea how it ended.”
One Redditor replied, “I still don’t understand how Heroes went from being so good to such utter trash… like how did it happen? They fumbled way before the writers strike. I’m still upset.”
5. Pretty Little Liars
“Pretty little liars, the creator never even knew how it would end. I hate that show because it was great for the first maybe 2 seasons then just terrible from then on,” one user shared.
“It was a bunch of mystery building and no resolution for any of those mysteries. It should just be referred to as blue balls the show,” another added.
“I couldn’t believe what I was watching. I thought it was leading up to some [crazy] masterpiece and instead we got a long-lost evil British twin and Mona’s dollhouse. I was pissed I’d invested all that time into the series and got that [disappointing] of an ending,” another Redditor said.
6. House of Cards
“Should have ended when he got the presidency. It was all weak after that—Frank had a goal in the first few seasons; it’s what drove him. Then he gets it, and his motivation is just…keeping what he has. Perfect end scene was when he did his signature knock on the president’s desk. Cut to black. End show,” one person stated.
“I don’t understand how this didn’t end with Season 4 and having Frank ultimately impeached and arrested after gaining the presidency. That would both complete his arc and fit the theme of house of cards with 4 seasons of 13 episodes each,” the second person replied.
7. Merlin
One person shared, “Merlin. What the hell was it all for!?!?! Arthur rejects magic and they’re back to square one.”
Another person replied, “Not to mention that suddenly it becomes modern day, and poor Merlin is still alive, just waiting around in the hopes that Arthur will come back. He’s had to slowly watch everyone and everything he loves slowly die over the decades centuries. It’s just completely miserable and pointless, Merlin doesn’t deserve that.”
Finally, the third added, “God it’s been over a decade and I’m still mad I’m so glad I’m not the only one. Like why did they even make season 5? They should have ended after four and let fanfic do the rest.”
8. Sherlock
“The whole reason I loved that show was the mystery being explained by cold hard logic and the powers of observation. The entire last season was basically Sherlock sister has mind control which takes effect within seconds. Total BS and I hate it. That was my favourite tv series of all time and I felt physically ill when they just murdered the whole season like that,” one person stated.
Another user replied, “I wanted to mention this too. I loved Sherlock at first but there’s so much wrong with it that, and the 4th season really made me look at it differently. It was already going downhill, but then it really took a nosedive. My mother was a fan as well and I just told her not to watch the last season by explaining it was so bad. Fans were sure there was a secret 4th episode that was going to make everything okay again. She got the message.”
“Same. I binged Sherlock hard. Got to his sister and I totally stopped watching it,” a third commenter added.
8. Jericho
One person stated, “Jericho. That show had so much potential and they just loosely wrapped it up leaving me very unfulfilled with no conclusion or closure.”
Another added, “Jericho really did have a lot of potential. The comic books wrapped it up but I still wish they had made more of the TV show.”
One Redditor replied, “It wasn’t the writers it was the network. They were given three more seasons to finish but then when more than half the season was done they pulled the rug and the writers had to write a conclusion. It wasn’t great but acceptable under circumstances. The writers wrote comic books after the show which further went through the story and it was actually a nice conclusion to the storyline.”
9. Xena: Warrior Princess
“Xena: Warrior Princess… 20 years later and I am still [angry],” one person shared.
“Ah, I had to scroll way too far for this, I was starting to think I was the only one who remembered it! I was a Xena fanatic when it was airing, and the ending gutted me. Deciding to introduce yet another character that was important to Xena in the past, in the finale? A whole village of innocent people dying, but it was blamed on her despite it being an accident, if I recall correctly? The sheer unnecessary amount of brutality, and leaving Gabs alone in the end? So cruel. When I rewatch the series, I skip the finale and pretend the show ends on Many Happy Returns or When Fates Collide,” one Redditor replied.
Another added, “I found my emotional support thread! They did us dirty in the 90’s with that ending. The reveal of Xena’s body and Gabrielle’s reaction full on TRAUMATIZED me.”
10. Star Trek Enterprise
One user shared, “Star Trek Enterprise. It was a fun prequel that looked at the start of the United federation of planets. The last episode was an insult. A main character was killed off and it was in a TNG holodeck! Bloody rubbish, I’m stil livid.”
The second person replied, “That’s what I came here to say. Absolutely terrible ending to a series that otherwise had a great last season. I’m almost convinced that they tried to create a bad last episode because how did anyone think that was a good idea?”
The third added, “Yeah ST Enterprise is criminally underrated, especially toward the end…except for that awful finale.”
11. The Last Man on Earth
“Last Man on Earth, the show got cancelled on a cliffhanger and we never saw an end to it,” one person shared.
“I needed some closure, closure, closure, closuuuuuuure,” replied another.
“They canceled it at the same time as Brooklyn 99. Everyone resurrected Brooklyn 99 and I was waiting for Last Man on Earth to get the same reaction but I felt like the only one who cared. I’ve never laughed at a show harder. Still sad,” one user shared.
12. Teen Titans
“The show ended on a gut punch episode that was far more mature than anything else on Cartoon Network before or since. Emotionally clever storytelling that let the audience down. It was heartbreaking that they chose to end that relationship that way. But they expected a 6th season. To tie off the ongoing rivalry with Slade/tie up every character’s arc. It was canceled on the penultimate season. It had set up all the pieces set up—had finally graduated to the next level of storytelling; ratings were high…..then bam. Canceled. Now we’re left with a downer ending of an episode. It’s fantastic—but clearly not designed to be the real end,” one person stated.
“No no, I agree. Sad ending that almost felt like a universe-death when beast boy went out the all white doors. Surreal, depressing, not the best way to end a serious but light-hearted show,” another added.
13. The 100
One person stated, “The 100. Stupidest ending ever.”
Another person replied, “I’m so glad other people have this opinion. I binged it a few months ago and genuinely enjoyed the series, but the last season made me wish I never started it and erase the series from my mind. They destroyed Bellamy’s character and then killed him off in the lamest way possible.”
One commenter added, “My gf started watching that show and I swear all I ever heard was ‘my people this’ and ‘my people that.’ If you had a drinking game every time they said ‘my people’ in that show you’d be dead before the first commercial break.”
14. The Man in the High Castle
One person stated, “I feel like that show lost a lot of its vision after Season 1. John Smith, Minister Tagomi, and Chief Inspector Kido basically just carried the show by sheer force of personality.”
Another user shared, “That ending [makes me angry] more than GoT, which Also [made me angry]!”
One Redditor commented, “I was too confused to even be mad about that ending. I feel like they were trying to be profound or something, but can’t figure out what the message was supposed to be. Everybody’s moving in now?”
15. Star vs the Forces of Evil
“The entire show was derailed to make the popular ship canon, and they didn’t even do it well. And let’s not get into how the characters decided the best way to stop a genocide in their kingdom was to create a far bigger genocide on a multiversal scale, stranding countless innocent people away from their homes and families, but that’s okay because Star gets to be with her new boyfriend. There’s so much more I can get at, but this is GOT level bad. This show could’ve gone down with the likes of Gravity Falls but they massively dropped the ball in the last season,” one person stated.
“Once they woke up Eclipsa’s husband and he was completely harmless I finally admitted to myself they had abandoned whatever plan was originally in place,” another added.
“Man, the first 2 seasons were a lot of fun. But then shipping took over and it all went downhill,” another commenter shared.
16. Game of Thrones
One person shared, “I didn’t mind Bran as a character until that moment. Then I wanted him to get crippled all over again.”
Another replied, “Dude came with his own throne.”
Then the third added, “‘Why do you think I came all this way.’ Basically implies that he orchestrated literally everything in the show to make himself king. Bran is one of the greatest villains in TV history.”
View the original Reddit thread here.
10 Terrible Fads People Are Glad Died Out
Every fad has its time in the limelight, but some of them come and go faster than others; and some just need to die out right away. Check out this list of fads of which people were happy to see the last.
These are 10 Things That Completely Destroyed The Love in a Relationship
There’s no question that relationships can be confusing, but here are some of the top things to avoid if you want to keep your relationship healthy!
10 Actors and Actresses People Refuse to Watch Ever Again
We all have a favorite actor or actress, but most of us have a least-favorite as well. Check out this list of actors and actresses people never want to see performing again!
Top 10 Worst Human Inventions of All Time
Some inventions are world-changing, and some of them, well, they change the world in the wrong ways. Here are some of the worst inventions Redditors could think of.
10 Famous Celebrities Who Look Like They Smell Terrible
We’ve all had moments of hygiene faux pas—but these celebrities just look like they don’t take care of themselves at all.
When you’re young and adventurous, international travel is the dream. You jump at any opportunity to go abroad without a second thought, start packing your suitcase, and promise yourself you’ll work out the details later.
But traveling — especially post-pandemic traveling — requires a bit of planning if you want a safe, inexpensive, and (relatively) stress-free trip. ️
Whether you’re traveling with friends or going solo, staying for one week or six months, traveling is much easier when you plan ahead with money-saving tips. Here are our best ideas to make your next international trip easy on your mind and your wallet.
What’s Ahead:
1. Be flexible with your dates and destinations
If you have flexibility in terms of where and when you travel, you have a major advantage: the ability to plan your trip around whatever amazing deal you can find. Without limitations on where and when you can travel, you can search within a specific timeframe or geographical area and shop around for low airfare and accommodations.
If you’re totally set on a particularly expensive destination, try to plan your trip for the off-season. You can often save big by traveling during less popular times, even in expensive areas. Conversely, if you have a specific window of time for travel, shop around for a destination that offers a good bang for your buck for that time of year.
A little flexibility goes a long way when you want to save on international travel.
Read more: Affordable international travel destinations that won’t empty your wallet
2. Decide what’s important to you and prioritize your spending
Before you hop on a plane with cash burning a hole in your pocket, take some time to think about your spending plan while you’re away.
I don’t necessarily mean you have to budget — although if that’s your style, stick with it. What I do suggest is you think about how you want to spend your money while traveling — starting with what’s most important to you.
Do you want a direct flight, or is a layover okay?
Do you love museums, or is seeing one enough?
Do you want to stay in a specific neighborhood, or wherever’s affordable?
Are you a big foodie, or is your dining experience an afterthought?
For example, if food is your thing, plan to spend big at restaurants. You’ll probably have to cut back in other categories — like lodging, cultural attractions, or transportation — but that’s okay. Giving this some thought before your trip will help you prioritize your favorite things.
Read more: How to travel for cheap: 7 ways to see the world for less
3. Get travel insurance
If you’ve traveled at all since COVID-19 upended the world, you know how different it is. After months — even years — of lockdown, many of us are jumping at the chance to travel abroad again. But after enduring such a lull in travel, it’s even more disappointing when things don’t work out.
That’s why travel insurance is a lifesaver.
The last thing you want is to plan an epic trip and miss half of it due to a flight cancellation. So even though you might bristle at the added expense of travel insurance, work it into your budget and enjoy the priceless feeling of security should something go wrong.
Like credit cards and bank accounts, there are lots of options when it comes to travel insurance. Several popular credit cards provide travel insurance, so you might already be covered. If not, shop around for a policy that fits your needs and budget. Sites like SquareMouth.com, TravelInsurance.com, and InsureMyTrip.com can help.
Read more: Best credit cards for travel insurance
4. Save digital copies of important documents
You know that feeling when you misplace your phone? Your stomach kind of drops, and panic sets in. (And approximately 12 seconds later you find it on the kitchen table.)
Imagine that feeling — x100 — when you misplace your passport while traveling internationally.
I know — you’ll do your best to keep all your stuff secure and organized. But things happen, you misplace this, you forget that. You’re human, and you should have a backup plan.
Make digital copies of all your important documents before you leave. Store them in multiple places, and make sure they’re accessible to you while abroad. I suggest making copies of the following documents:
Passport
Travel insurance paperwork
Vaccination information
Visa
Driver’s license
Travel itinerary
Store photos on your phone, in your email, in the cloud, and give copies to a trustworthy person at home.
5. Learn language basics
If you’re traveling to a country that speaks another language, take some time to learn key phrases and words.
Learning a new language opens all kinds of doors when you travel. The better you can communicate with locals, the more you’ll get out of your trip. Plus, having some basic language skills means you can better navigate outside of the main touristy areas — potentially saving you money by staying, eating, and shopping in under-the-radar locales.
Learning language basics can also give you a better cultural understanding of wherever you’re traveling. Not to mention locals will appreciate your interest in their language and culture.
If you’re thinking there’s no way you’ll ever learn to speak another language, start small. You don’t have to be fluent to reap the rewards of language skills. Instead, think about some simple words and phrases you know you’ll need often.
There are tons of accessible, free ways to learn a new language these days. You can download an app like Duolingo or Memrise, join a language exchange, or even take a community college class.
6. Have some local cash before you land
There are a million and one things to plan when traveling abroad, and it’s easy to neglect to get local cash before departing. You might just plan to use your card and withdraw money when you get there — but you can’t always count on this strategy.
You never know when you’ll have trouble with a card, and you’ll definitely need money when you land — to feed yourself and get to your lodging, at a minimum. So take the extra step of getting some local currency before you even step foot on the plane. And be sure you have enough to get situated when you get there.
Oh, and don’t wait until you get to the airport to exchange your cash. If you go to your bank or credit union, you’ll pay a lot less in fees and pay lower exchange rates than you will at an airport kiosk.
7. Get a local SIM card for your phone
Roaming data and temporary data passes are expensive, and there are better — and cheaper — ways to use your phone abroad.
Of course, you can always connect to Wi-Fi. But if you want to be able to use your phone without a Wi-Fi connection — say, to find the nearest pub while walking the rural English countryside — you can avoid exorbitant roaming fees by buying a local SIM card instead.
After you land at your destination, go to a local telecom store and buy a SIM card. Look for a pay-as-you-go or temporary SIM, which you might see being marketed to travelers. Choose a popular telecom store with lots of locations — that way, if you have issues later on, it’s easier to find help.
All you have to do is replace your regular SIM card with the temporary one (unless your phone allows dual SIM cards — then you can have both in at once) and make sure your roaming data is turned off. Voila! You’ve got yourself a working phone.
8. Stay in a local neighborhood
Rather than paying an arm and a leg for a bland hotel in the main tourist zone, look for a rental in a local neighborhood when planning your accommodations abroad. Aside from getting a unique experience, there are lots of benefits to doing this:
You can often save money by staying even a short walk from the hot spots
You’ll experience more of the local culture and cuisine
You can meet the locals — whether it’s an Airbnb host, a barista down the block, or a neighbor
If you’re traveling somewhere for an extended period of time (and depending on your risk tolerance), you can wait to find your long-term accommodations until you get there. Find a place to stay for a week or two while you get a feel for the area and chat with the locals. You’ll have a much better idea of where you want to be — plus some insider tips — by getting situated first.
9. Book a walking tour
If you ask me, there’s no better way to explore a new city than on foot. You see more, you start to orient yourself, and you can stop in whatever shops, cafes, and museums you see along the way.
To start your trip off on the right foot (literally), book a walking tour as soon as you arrive. They’re a great way to immediately learn about the city and scope out the places you want to revisit. Plus, walking tours allow you to meet other travelers. If you’re traveling solo, you’ll likely meet other people interested in exploring with you.
They don’t cost much — in fact, a quick Google search usually turns up lots of free walking tours.
10. Use local currency when paying with a credit card
When you’re traveling abroad and paying with a credit card, you may be prompted to choose between local currency or U.S. dollars when checking out. You may not realize it, but you’ll likely pay more by selecting your home currency.
Even if your card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, there’s usually a fee associated with paying in your home currency. The only real benefit is seeing what you’re paying in terms of the currency you’re familiar with. But this convenience comes at a price — usually around 3% of the charge — which can really add up over time. If prompted, always choose the local currency when paying with a credit card.
11. Use public transit
One of the best ways to save money when traveling abroad is to use public transit. And I promise it’s not as scary as it seems!
The reality is, Ubers, Lyfts, and cabs will quickly eat away at your budget. While convenient, they’re not cheap. If you can, rely on public transit to get where you need to go.
Depending on where you’re traveling, public transit may include:
Trains
Buses
Subways
Trams
Ferries
The ins and outs of navigating public transit vary widely, but it’s not as intimidating as it looks. Taking public transit will give you a chance to practice a foreign language and give you more of a local’s perspective on the city.
Plus — and I can tell you from experience — you’ll feel a huge sense of accomplishment (and relief) after navigating a foreign city’s public transit system.
One more note: it’s not a bad idea to set aside an emergency stash of money for a cab. If you’re out late or, for whatever reason, don’t feel safe taking the bus or train home, a cab is always worth the peace of mind.
12. Make use of grocery stores
No, you don’t have to go full Julia Child while abroad, but grocery shopping and cooking in a new country is a worthwhile adventure in itself. Plus, shopping for snacks, groceries, and ingredients — and cooking meals yourself — can save you a fortune while traveling.
When I went to Iceland, my flights and rental car were relatively inexpensive. Meals out, however, were pricey. I ended up saving a lot of money by shopping for groceries and cooking at home. There were some… interesting meals, but I saved money I wanted to spend on other things — like museums and awesome lodging.
If your hotel room, rental, or hostel has a kitchen, you can cook simple meals at home. Have fun browsing the shelves at grocery stores, specialty shops, and farmer’s markets for fresh and exotic ingredients, and see what culinary masterpiece you can cook up.
If your lodging doesn’t include a kitchen, you can still stock up on snacks. You can easily piece together a cheap and delicious picnic with grab-and-go-items.
Read more: 9 ways to save money on food and drinks while traveling
13. Check out local meet-ups
No matter how far from home you are, you can find community at a variety of local meet-ups. A quick online search can help you find free local meet-ups in whatever city you’re in — no need to spend on every experience while traveling. Plus, if you’re traveling solo, you’re almost guaranteed to meet other solo people with similar interests as you.
Not sure where to start? Check out these ideas for inspiration:
Creative Mornings — a live gathering of creatives who want to inspire, connect with, and learn from one another.
FuckUp Nights — a series of events showcasing stories of professional failure, vulnerability, and empathy.
MeetUp.com — a platform to help you find groups, events, and activities wherever you are.
If you meet locals during your stay, ask them about local events and meetups. It goes without saying, but stick to gatherings that feel safe.
Summary
International travel isn’t out of reach — especially if you take the time to plan wisely. There are lots of great ways to save on flights, food, transportation, and accommodations, as long as you’re willing to do your research.
Remember to take care of yourself and be a responsible traveler, too. The more effort you put into planning a safe, responsible, and wallet-friendly trip, the more enjoyable it will be.
That’s how New York University professor Sewin Chan described the traditional retirement path at a symposium several years ago. However, that path may be changing. Her research indicates that approximately one-third of retirees from 1992 to 2004 reversed their retirement. Today, the path might look more like this (as Chan illustrated in her PowerPoint presentation): “Work, work, work. Retire (for a bit). Work. Retire?”
I re-discovered these little quotes by reading through past issues of my newsletter, which is about planning for — and living in — retirement. However, as I’ve written before, I’m a retirement expert who doesn’t plan on retiring. I’m not sure it’s best for most people’s health or wealth. And it might be just too dang risky. Plus, I like what I do, where I do it, and the people I do it with. Of course, I still save for retirement because who knows if I’ll feel the same way 30 years from now.
On the other hand, “work, work, work, work, work, work” doesn’t sound like much fun, either. But as Chan’s presentation suggested, the traditional work/retire chronology may not be the best model. Rather than saving all the retirement for the end of your life, perhaps it’s possible to rearrange the order by taking a break mid-career, gradually ratcheting down the work week, or working fewer weeks out of the year.
With this in mind, I flipped through the pages of my newsletter (eight years’ worth), looking for examples of people who have taken the retirement road less travelled. Here are a few tales I uncovered.
That “Work Just 48 Minutes Each Weekday” Guy The first example came from an article I wrote in 2008, about a book you’ve likely heard of: The Four-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss. How was then-30-year-old Ferriss able to support himself on less than a day’s worth of work per week? He created his own business and then outsourced everything else. Ferriss checks email just once a week. Another option he suggested: Become a key employee, and convince your boss to let you work from home. But instead of being at home, you’re in Berlin, Beijing, or Buenos Aires. Again, outsource as much as you can by engaging the services of companies such as Your Man in India, and email your work to the office.
While not a realistic plan for most people, Ferriss makes some worthwhile points for those looking for an alternative to “9-to-5 till you’re barely alive.” He distinguishes people who are “deferrers” — those who lead hard-charging careers in pursuit of the Holy Grail of retirement that is decades away — from the “New Rich,” who have loads of time and flexibility, and “distribute recovery periods and adventures (mini-retirements) throughout life on a regular basis and recognize that inactivity is not the goal. Doing that which excites is.”
“Personally,” he writes, “I now aim for one month of overseas relocation or high-intensity learning (tango, fighting, whatever) for every two months of work.”
My first reaction to reading his book was: Clearly, this person doesn’t have children. (I have four — that I know of.) But beyond that, Ferriss makes some provocative arguments with some catchy phrases. There’s much more to his philosophy, tips, and tricks. You can read more of what Ferriss thinks of retirement from this this interview J.D. did with him in 2008.
Supersave Your Way to Early Retirement I’ve spilt a good deal of cyber-ink writing about safe withdrawal rates in retirement — the amount retirees can spend each year and be reasonably sure their portfolios will last as long as they do. For many years, I cited the work (and the actual words) of John Greaney, who retired from his engineering career in 1994 at age 38 and founded RetireEarlyHomePage.com. How did he do it? Once his school loans were paid off by age 25, he began saving 25% of his salary. As his income increased over the years, his savings rate reached 40% to 50%.
Reduce Living Expenses, Retire Sooner Fred Brock, author of Retire On Less Than You Think, moved to Kansas after retiring from The New York Times. He sold his house in New Jersey and bought a newer house in Kansas with cash. “The absence of a mortgage payment was effectively an increase in salary,” he wrote. “In addition, our property taxes dropped from $9,000 a year to about $2,700.”
Live All Around the World Keeping housing costs down is also how Ferriss is able to work so little, but he does it on a global scale. He calls it geoarbitrage — “to exploit global pricing and currency differences for profit or lifestyle purposes.” This strategy is also used by Motley Fool contributors Akaisha and Billy Kaderli, who retired at age 38 and live on less than $30,000 a year by staying in low-cost but exotic countries, such as Thailand, China, and Ecuador. You can read more about how they do it in this GRS interview from last summer.
Reduce Living Expenses by Living on Wheels You know the cliché about people retiring to an RV? People really do it — and it’s inexpensive. Ron and Barb Hofmeister did it for 14 years after retiring in their 50s. They explain in their book, Movin’ On: Living and Traveling Full-Time in a Recreational Vehicle, that their living expenses ranged from $1,500 to $3,000 a month, but it can be done for much less. “The lifestyle can be adjusted to almost any income,” Barb told me in 2005. Those numbers have likely risen bit over the past seven years, but not drastically. One strategy they used: When gas prices were high, they stayed in one place longer.
Change Careers Instead of Retiring A few years ago, Sheryl Garrett, founder of the fee-only Garrett Planning Network, told me the story of a 52-year-old woman who made just $13,000 a year. She had saved $55,000, and asked Sheryl what to do with it. Sheryl asked her, “What would you really like to do in life?” She responded, “I have always wanted to be a nurse.” After running the numbers, they decided that spending that money on a nursing degree was the best investment. Now the woman has a higher income and a new career, one she says she could enjoy well into traditional retirement age. As even Ferriss conceded in The Four-Hour Workweek, “Full-time work isn’t bad if it’s what you’d rather be doing. This is where we distinguish ‘work’ from a ‘vocation.’”
Turn Your Hobby Into Your Income Back in the early days of my newsletter, a subscriber named Doug Short became very active on our discussion boards, providing excellent answers to a whole range of financial questions posted by other subscribers. Doug started out as an English professor, and then became a consultant for IBM, mixed in some work at GlaxoSmithKline, and eventually retired. Along the way, he built up his website construction skills and financial know-how, eventually combining the two to create a little site that conveyed economic data and history visually. It eventually showed up in places like CNN and Barron’s, and the site was bought by Advisor Perspectives (which now pays Doug to actively maintain the site in his “retirement”).
Closer to home, the founder of the very site your eyes now gaze upon might have a thing to say about turning a sideshow into the main event.
It may take years, and may never completely replace a full-time salary, but having a source of income from doing something you enjoy can add a very interesting variable to your retirement calculus.
The Retirees, They Are A’Changin’ We will see a continued variance in what “retirement” looks like over the next couple of decades. Some of that, frankly, will be due to millions of people not having enough to retire, and fewer traditional defined-benefit pensions to save them. But it will also be due to people re-thinking the whole idea of retirement. According to the Kaufmann Institute, the 55-64 age group accounted for 20.9% of new entrepreneurs in 2011, compared to 14.3% in 1996. Starting businesses isn’t just for young folks.
And you? What kind of retirement do you have planned? Know of any other examples of folks who worked a different path? Perhaps we’ll start a retirement revolution!
For new college graduates, receiving that first post-degree paycheck can be almost as exciting as getting the diploma itself. But it also presents a challenge: Given the many demands on a young person’s budget, how should those funds be managed?
We asked five money experts to share their best personal finance strategies to help this year’s college grads successfully launch their financial lives. Here’s what they said.
Find your budgeting style
To figure out how to allocate your money toward needs, wants and everything else, Erin Lowry, author of the “Broke Millennial Workbook,” says that instead of following the latest budgeting trend on TikTok, it’s helpful to just sit down with a pen and paper. “Write down what your big expenses are,” she says.
After accounting for large items like rent, car payments and food, you can then see what nonessentials also fit. “You might want to go out to dinner with friends, build up new work attire or adopt a dog,” Lowry says. Writing out the budget helps you figure out what you can afford and when, she adds.
“We conceive of budgets as restrictive things that keep us from having fun, but you should be thinking of it as a way of controlling how your money is spent. If you don’t know, you’ve sacrificed all control,” Lowry says.
Factor in taxes
Melissa Jean-Baptiste, a financial educator and the author of the book “So… This Is Why I’m Broke,” says it’s easy to forget to account for taxes, so you might have less take-home pay than you anticipated. Retirement contributions and other deductions can further lower that amount.
Jean-Baptiste suggests setting aside some time to really understand your first paycheck and all those deductions. “Take yourself on a money date so you understand how much you’re bringing home and how much you have left to save and invest,” she says.
Save smartly
Even if they’re paying off debt, Alex Rezzo, a certified financial planner and the founder of Andante Financial in the Los Angeles area, urges new grads to start saving for retirement right away. “There will always be a more immediate excuse to delay saving for retirement,” he says, but he urges people to find a way to save at least 1% of each paycheck and to increase that amount over time.
He also suggests parking your direct-deposited paycheck funds in an online bank that offers a competitive high-yield account and is backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. That way, the money likely will earn more than it would sitting in a traditional bank’s checking or savings account.
Protect your credit
As you build your independent financial life, making at least the minimum payments on your student loan and credit card accounts can help protect your credit. Missing a payment, Lowry says, could damage your credit score. She suggests focusing on paying down any high-interest debt first to reduce the total amount going to interest.
Lowry also suggests freezing or locking your credit, which makes it much harder for identity thieves to apply for new credit in your name. Just remember that if you freeze your credit, you’ll also have to thaw it if you want to apply for credit yourself, she says, adding, “you might want to wait until you’re through a period of time when you’re applying for new accounts.”
Make mistakes and learn from them
Kennedy Reynolds, chief education officer at Acorns, a financial services company, says mistakes are part of the learning process, whether it’s overspending or accruing credit card debt, but the key is to learn from the experience. “If you have debt to pay down, take that paycheck and split it up” toward those bills until they are paid off, she says.
“Try to picture yourself later and know that the choices you’re making now will have a long-term impact,” she adds.
Look beyond your paycheck
Linda Whiteman, a personal finance teacher at Outschool, an online learning platform for kids, teaches her students to think entrepreneurially. After all, she tells them, most millionaires are business owners.
“You don’t have to work for someone,” she says. She asks her students to consider what they can teach others, whether offering piano lessons online or creating digital art. Pursuing additional income streams outside of a paycheck can help grow wealth, she adds.
Jean-Baptiste found success doing exactly that: She used her experience as a teacher to create and sell lesson plans online. “I was bringing in $10,000 a year that I could put toward debt,” she says. Her lesson plans eventually turned into the financial literacy business that she operates today.
Earning additional income outside of a paycheck, she says, “can be a game-changer” — financial wisdom that applies at any age.
This article was written by NerdWallet and was originally published by The Associated Press.
If you follow us on TikTok or Instagram (@mortgageeasier), our Employee Spotlight may look familiar. Kristen Karam works in our Marketing department as one of our Social Media Strategists creating the fun content you’ve all come to know and love. We sat down with Kristen to learn more about her; take a look below.
Where are you from originally? I’m originally from upstate NY. I went to college in LI at Stony Brook University before ending up in CT.
What brought you to Total Mortgage? I joined total mortgage because I love the work environment. Before my 1st interview, I could tell that Total Mortgage truly cares about its employees. I have never felt more supported than I do here at Total Mortgage. I am so grateful to be a part of the team and to be able to work with such incredible people.
What was your first job? My first job was working as a Lifeguard in HS at the Corning YMCA in upstate NY.
What’s a fun fact about you? I’m a stand-up comedian in NYC!
Do you have any nicknames? Everyone calls me “Krick” which is short for “Kricket”. When I was like 7 I ate a cricket because some kids dared me to and since then the name stuck.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time? I love practicing guitar, writing jokes, hiking, reading, and playing call of duty.
What’s one thing you’re proud of? Buying my first house/ investment property at age 25 with my girlfriend Annie. You can read about that here.
What is the first thing you would do if you won the lottery? I would use it to invest in Real Estate and go on vacation to the Maldives.
What’s on your road trip playlist?
Earth, Wind, and Fire
Peter Frampton
Hootie & the Blowfish
Kendrick Lamar
Stevie Nicks
Tyga
SZA
Tch N9ne
ODESZA
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Eagles
If someone were to come to your town, what is one local spot you would send them to & why? I was born in Elmira, NY. Unfortunately, there isn’t much left there now. I would recommend my favorite pizza place, Pudgies! They have the best pizza I have ever had in my life.
There are tons of amazing TV shows that set the world on fire with their stories but, for some reason or another weren’t continued. It’s tragic enough when a long-running series gets curtained, but it’s even more heartbreaking when a stellar show begins to hit its stride, and then gets abruptly canceled. We turned to Reddit to find out which canceled shows people miss the most. Whether you’re mourning a beloved show, or want an introduction to some television gold, here are 10 series that came and left far too quickly!
1. Mindhunter
One user said, “Probably anything canceled by Netflix.”
Another user replied, “Mindhunter has entered the chat.”
A third added, “Mindhunter is the first series I actually got super bummed out about being canceled. The story, actors, and music. Shame.”
One Redditor commented, “Soundtrack was elite. Almost got lost in the shuffle of everything else is so well done.”
Another user shared, “Inside Job made it two seasons before getting axed on a cliffhanger. I still want to know what happens.”
One commenter replied, “This is how I found out Inside Job got canceled… sigh.”
2. Rome
One user exclaimed, “ROME!!!!”
One commenter added, “Yes. Rome! It was Game of Thrones before Game of Thrones.”
One user replied, “Rome walked so GoT could run….into a post.”
“Yeah, the later seasons weren’t as good, but I don’t know how much better they could be considering everything that happened behind the scenes… Though I guess the real weakness was injecting Caesar and that one guy’s the stupid horrible son. Ugh…yeah…now I’m remembering everything…geez… you’re right…I was only thinking about the first season and the prequel,” one user responded.
3. 2003 Teen Titans
One user posted, “This may seem a bit childish, but Teen Titans—the original one from 2003…”
Another replied, “It’s a bummer because every character got one season where they were the focus of the ongoing plot. Season 1 was Robin, season 2 was Terra, season 3 was Cyborg, season 4 was Raven, and season 5 was Beast Boy. It was set up perfectly to have a 6th season focused on Starfire, and we never got it.”
One commenter added, “Rewatched the whole series reasonably recently. It really was such a unique show for the time. I remember seeing reruns on Boomerang after the series had finished airing on CN. Unfortunately, they no longer air anything from the original series or movie. Season 5 absolutely ended in a way that demanded something more, and the movie did not scratch that itch.”
4. Reaper
“Reaper—Absolutely loved that [show], oh and Firefly, but everyone says that,” one Redditor posted.
Another user added, “I hate that they don’t cast Tyler Labine in more comedy stuff. Reaper was a fantastic showcase of his hilarity, and one of my all-time favorite movies is Tucker and Dale vs. Evil.”
One user commented, “I can’t believe Reaper was so far down the list.”
Another added, “From what I remember, it was canceled because they wanted The Vampire Diaries in that time slot. Guess they made a good move, considering the success of TVD. But I still hate them for canceling it.”
One user added, “The network canceled it, they tried to syndicate to SciFi, but the cast would have to take pay cuts, so they weren’t on board, and then the showrunners were going to produce a comic book to at least wrap the cliffhanger they left us on, but… nothing. They did at least do an interview where they revealed the secrets behind Sam and the devil’s deal, his parentage, etc., if you’re interested. (Warning: spoilers for a show canceled 14 years ago).”
5. Jericho
One user posted, “Jericho.”
Another added, “Every time I see this thread, I come just to upvote or add Jericho. Nuts to CBS.”
One user also commented, “Same. I keep scrolling until I see Jericho, and then I upvote.”
“Let’s be honest. This would be one of the best ‘remakes’ of our time. Jericho and not just season one and a half. But seasons 3, 4, 5, and 6. Let’s see how the country is rebuilt. I would watch every last second of this. I also really like that long before preppers and all this other [stuff]. They were doing things that were way ahead of their time. Granted, they were probably public knowledge to somebody, but they weren’t mainstream. And I thought that was really cool that they were touching on a lot of topics. I think this show was ahead of its time, and it was canceled during a writer’s strike, and that [was terrible],” one user responded.
Another user concluded, “I think HBO or Paramount would do a good job on a Jericho reboot. However, if it ever does happen, I hope they use the original cast.”
6. Venture Bros
One user posted, “Venture Bros.”
One of the users then shared, “Venture Bros was easily a solid decade ahead of its time.The Boys, Invincible, Harley Quinn, Doom Patrol, Peacemaker. All these shows deal with deconstructing the superhero mythos, and the Venture Brothers did this in 2004. At least we’re getting a movie.”
“Venture Bros started as a pitch-perfect parody of old Hanna-Barbera cartoons and went on to skewer every element of pop culture they could get their hands on while maintaining well-written, context-driven comedy. It was never cheap. It was well-acted and scripted. It grew and evolved and allowed its characters to step outside the narrow channels they were born in, developing them from single characteristic, classic archetypes into something more complex. I [really] love the Venture Bros. Dead excited for the film, but I’d equally take another few seasons,” one user replied.
Another user concluded, “Honestly, the fact that most (all?) VB characters have some sort of arc is part of what makes the show great. Most shows (especially adult cartoons) have these flat, static characters. Venture bros are nothing like that.”
7. I Am Not Okay With This
One user shared, “I Am Not Okay With This.”
Another responded, “It had so much potential, not to mention they left so much unanswered at the end of the season purposely so they could make a second one.”
One Redditor commented, “Netflix does not [care at all] about finishing a story. It is not worth investing any time in any of their content, even the stuff that looks good.”
One user replied, “This cancellation made me give up on Netflix. I just can’t get excited by anything on their platform at this point because I know whatever I get interested in, no matter how good it is, will get dropped without a conclusion. I WON’T LET THEM HURT ME AGAIN!”
8. Pushing Daisies
One Redditor posted, “Pushing Daisies.”
One user replied, “Definitely this one. I loved the series and wanted to see where it was going.”
Another user seconded, “This and Dead Like Me. Both sensational shows.”
Another commenter responded, “I’ve just come to accept that anything Bryan Fuller makes, I’m going to love and then be heartbroken when it’s canceled too soon.”
One user commented, “Or when he’s ousted from it. American Gods took an extreme nosedive when he left.”
One user also shared, “I don’t really fault Fuller for Discovery. After all, CBS dropped him early in development, and they only used some of his outlines. As a result, the final product is different from what he was originally going for. As an example, he wanted to do an anthology series that explored many different eras of Star Trek.”
One user concluded, “Yeah, I thought he was there for the whole production of season one, but reading the Wiki page, it looks like there was a lot of turmoil early on.”
9. Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency
One of the Reddit users shared, “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. Edit: so many people didn’t like the 2nd season, which is entirely fair. It’s hard to live up to the expectations of such a solid first season. The reason I personally would like a 3rd season is that the cliffhanger is so damn tasty. Also, I want more Rowdy 3 (6?), Alan Tudyk, and Tyler Labine.
“I recognize that it deviates completely from the source material, and I understand why a lot of people are upset by that. There are a lot of examples where I hated the adaptation (looking at you, World War Z), but I personally believe this is a perfect example of how you take inspiration and run with it.
“A dark, gritty version where Dirk was the fat slob the books described him as might also be fantastic, and I’d probably watch… it. However, I think this adaptation perfectly captures the whimsical nonsense of Douglas Adam’s writing, and I’m ok with it. It’s just a shame that the show was attached to such a scumbag. Otherwise, we might have seen that 3rd season that gave us all the answers they teased.”
One user commented, “That show is still my absolute favorite. With absolute [great lines] like, ‘The Rowdy Three!’, ‘But there are 4 of them!’, ‘I’m WILDLY aware.’
“They captured Douglas Adams’ whimsical nonsense so perfectly in that show. I feel like the second series went completely off the rails, but I still loved it.”
“This was so gloriously, bizarrely brilliant. It was completely different from the (excellent) books, but it took on some of the core ideas and added a bunch of its own, then ran simultaneously with them in multiple directions. It was a joy to watch and made me feel an almost childlike wonder. It surprised and delighted me; a modern-day fairy-tale for grown-ups. Gutted it was canceled,” one user replied.
Another user added, “It was a book adaptation done right. Borrowed concepts from the book, but instead of trying to squeeze the book’s story onto the screen (which would have been a… trainwreck), they went their own way and made something unique.”
10. Better Off Ted
One Redditor posted, “Better Off Ted. The show was a brilliant satire of corporate business that was far too funny. The amazing cast was incredibly quotable and ended far too soon. Punisher should have had a season 2 with more gang/mafia shenanigans. Altered Carbon should have been able to wrap up its story. Rubicon. It didn’t have to be a continuation, but I would love to see more like it. Edit: I have corrected it. Punisher had a season 2—my mistake.
Another added, “The episode where they installed motion detectors for everything that didn’t see black people, so they had to assign every black person a white person to open doors, but then because of diversity rules, they had to hire more black people was phenomenal.
Ted: ‘That’s more than weird, Veronica. That’s basically, well… racist.’
Veronica: ‘The company’s position is that it’s actually the opposite of racist because it’s not targeting black people. It’s just ignoring them. So they insist the worst people can call it is indifferent.’
Ted: ‘Well, they know it has to be fixed, right? Please… at least say they know that.’
Veronica: ‘Of course they do, and they’re working on it. In the meantime, they’d like everyone to celebrate the fact that it sees Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Jews.’”
One user concluded, “Definitely. Whenever people ask me about good, fun TV, they usually know the standards like Office and 30 Rock, so I point them to Better off Ted and outline this specific episode. And each time, they are eager to check it out. It’s such an unusual, new trope that hits all the right points.”
Source: Reddit.
More From Finance Quick Fix
Top 10 Most Excruciatingly Boring Movies Ever Produced
Some celebrities definitely seem to enjoy the limelight and keep working to stay in the public eye. While others quickly move out of the spotlight.
10 Celebrities Had Their Big Break Then Dropped off the Face of the Earth
Here are 15 movies that are objectively terrible, but that people still love watching over and over again.
15 Terrible Movies That Are Amazingly Enjoyable
10 Absolute Worst Actors and Directors to Work With
While some actors and directors have earned a reputation for being easy to work with and respectful of their colleagues, others have earned a reputation for being difficult and unprofessional.
10 Absolute Worst Actors and Directors to Work With
By Peter Anderson5 Comments – The content of this website often contains affiliate links and I may be compensated if you buy through those links (at no cost to you!). Learn more about how we make money. Last edited May 27, 2010.
Learning To Invest
A while back I talked about investing tips that we learned in our Financial Peace University class. Among the key things we learned was that you should be out of debt before investing (except mortgage), you NEED to diversify your holdings or risk losing it all, and only work with financial advisers with the heart of a teacher.
He also talked about his preferred method of investing – mutual funds. He believes that long term they hold the most value for the average consumer. There are a ton of other options out there, but they all have drawbacks and catches. Sticking with mutual funds is probably your best bet.
Before you even decide what mutual funds you want to invest in, you need to decide where you’ll be buying those shares. Ramsey suggests that people invest up until the maximum of their company match in a 401k, then switch to funding a Roth IRA. Once the Roth IRA is maxed out, switch back to the 401k all the way to the maximum. If you can, you should try to do this for 15% (or more) of your income.
I like Ramsey’s plan, and it certainly makes it easier for me as an investor to just go along with his plan as it has been tried and true for many, many people.
So what kind of funds should you buy in your Roth IRA or 401k?
Deciding what type of investments to choose within your Investment vehicle of choice can be a daunting task. There are international funds, small company funds, large company funds, etc etc. For a new investor it can be enough to make you throw up your hands and give up. I know I have been close to that point at different times in the past few months. Ramsey makes it a bit simpler for us and suggests that you follow this rule of thumb – 25% of your allocation should go to each of these categories:
Growth and Income Funds
Growth Funds
International Funds
Aggressive Growth Funds
Choosing such an allocation helps you to be diversified across a broad category of company types, and should help to keep your investment portfolio going up.
Are you obsessed with checking your balance like me? Just set it and forget it.
I know that one problem I’ve run into since starting to invest is that I constantly have to resist the urge to check my 401k balance, to see what funds have gone up, which have gone down, and then try to outguess the market by re-balancing the amounts. When the balances go up, it can be fun. But when the number in that account goes down as it has this past year, it can be quite scary.
I’ve found that the best thing that I can do is just make my investing automatic. I pay myself first, and then I only check my 401k every few months, instead of every day. I need to remember that investing is for the long term, and as long as I stick with it, and keep putting money in, I’ll be fine.
What is your investment strategy? Do you have a hard time not keeping a super close eye on your investments – and are you able to set it and forget it?
A paint job that doesn’t require the peskiness of taping off? Need we say more?? This weekend’s task of meticulously applying blue tape to every edge, corner and cranny of a room that just needs a simple fresh coat of paint- is poof, gone. Because if you’re as adventurous as we hope you are, you’ll love this super fun, super edgy – we’re not going to lie – avant garde paint idea!
Go bold this fall in a media room, guest room or any room that you’re looking to add a “wow” factor by painting a wall a little less than 3/4 of the way up and leaving it “unfinished”. The confident and gutsy lines of the paint brush or roller bring a whole new meaning to an accent wall – and we are so in love with the look.
What do you think? Would you pass or play? For more Ideas to Steal, you’ll want to check out our backlog of brilliant inspirations.