A Guest Post from Shawna Davies -

Estate sales can be intimidating, and they tend to happen in the midst of challenging circumstances; but whatever the reason, planning an estate sale can provide much-needed financial help at a difficult time. If you need to plan an estate sale, have a look at these tips to make it as painless and effective as possible.

1. Don’t assume everyone shares your taste

If you’re preparing to move a parent into a retirement community, there may be quite a few things around their home that you think are tacky or undesirable, that you may be tempted to throw away; but as long as the item is functional, resist the temptation! Many people shop estate sales in search of retro furnishings and curios, and if your crowd is large enough, you’re virtually guaranteed a few surprises.

Get the estate clean and presentable, of course—but the time to haul working items off to the thrift store or junkyard is after your sale is finished.

2. Have a careful discussion with any involved parties

Discussing beforehand what you will sell, and at what price, is an important step to avoid hurt feelings or disagreements in the course of your estate sale. It will also provide a stronger bargaining position—antique dealers and collectors can be highly-motivated and will often haggle aggressively, so it’s important to present a united front when the time comes to discuss price.

3. Provide food

A couple boxes of donuts and a pot of coffee will draw traffic and keep customers browsing, as well as contributing to an open, friendly atmosphere in which more people will feel comfortable buying. If you have kids, encourage them to set up a little concession stand with candy bars and drinks. These little investments will be well worth the cost, and you’ll clear out a lot more of your inventory.

4. Get a mobile credit card reader

Hardly anyone regularly carries cash anymore, and you’d be amazed at how many people will pass over your sale rather than make an extra trip to an ATM. Taking checks is more risk than it’s worth, of course—and most people don’t carry their checkbooks around anyway—but Square, PayPal, and Intuit all offer a free card reader and mobile app that allow you to start taking credit cards face-to-face at your estate sale. You pay a small percentage on each swipe (around 2.75%), but your sale will be far more successful.

5. Display items attractively

Any item that you expect to bring in more than $5 or $10 should be dusted and cleaned off before your sale, and displayed at eye level. If you have items that you think are worth a little more, consider printing out positive reviews from Amazon. For TVs or other consumer electronics, have them running so that people can get an idea of display quality, etc.

6. Determine the reason for your sale

Estate sales can be an excellent way to raise money or clear out clutter, but if you know which one is your primary goal, you’ll be more successful. If your main concern is clearing out the estate as quickly as possible, price accordingly. If you need to turn a significant profit from the sale, you can set prices higher—but be prepared to defend those prices by talking up your items, interacting assertively with customers, and putting on a bit of a show.

Shawna Davies is a staff writer for Going Cellular. She has a talent for organization and helping people navigate new technology. She’s a confessed gadget freak—her latest toy is an iPhone credit card reader for her Etsy home business—but when she gets out of the house, she loves spending time at the lake with her husband and young son. They live in Beaumont, Texas.

written by Joe \\ tags: estate-sale

A guest post from Patricia Shuler -

Take a bite out of your student debt load with these simple tips

Your college years are a tight squeeze, financially—your expenses have never been higher, and your earning power isn’t much more than it was when you were flipping burgers in high school. For most students, that means debt, and lots of it. These money management tips can save you thousands of dollars over the course of your university experience—dollars you won’t be paying interest on when you’re 35. I’ll only mention money-saving moves that will save you over $1,000. There are other ways to cut costs, but these are the big ones.

1. Submit a FAFSA
This is a huge one; a Federal Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) provides access to Pell Grants and subsidized student loans that can make college affordable for almost anyone. If your parents aren’t paying for your college tuition, make sure to mark that on your FAFSA, and you will almost certainly qualify for a grant (unless for some reason you’re already earning middle-class wages after school).
If you’re working a low-paying, part-time job, you can generally qualify for $5,500 a year in Pell Grants, along with $10,000 in yearly subsidized, low-interest student loans—loans that don’t even start accruing interest until you graduate. Over the course of a four-year degree, that adds up to $22,000 in no-strings grant money, along with $40,000 in subsidized loans if you need them.

2. Pick a starter school
If you plan on attending an expensive school, there’s very little reason to complete your general education requirements there. Instead, pick a smaller, two-year school that will provide an “Associate of General Studies” or similar degree for a fraction of the cost, and then transfer to your dream school. Four-year universities generally waive the general-education requirements for students transferring with a two-year degree, so take advantage of the savings. Once you’ve brought home that degree from Stanford or Georgetown, no employer is ever going to ask if you were a transfer student.
Depending on how pricey your school of choice is, this option can save you tens of thousands of dollars over two years, and if your high school grades were less than stellar, it gives you an opportunity to boost your GPA and qualify for better financial aid.

3. Don’t pay full tuition for your internships
In order to work without pay legally, you have to be enrolled at school so the company you intern for can justify the internship as “training”. But the good news is, most companies don’t care what school you’re enrolled at during the internship, and most community colleges will let you enroll in a dirt-cheap summer “class” to cover your internship period, so you don’t have to pay summer tuition at your prestigious, expensive university. Even more so than finding a starter school, this tip is almost always a good idea.

4. Ditch textbooks, buy a tablet
The average student spends $1,200 on textbooks every year—many of which are unhelpful, and almost none of which will be resold at a fair price. Meanwhile, e-book versions of textbooks are routinely priced at one-half to one-third the cost of hard-copy editions, especially if you go with “rental” versions whose rights expire. Over the course of four years, buying e-book editions at half price will save the average student $2,400. Tablets won’t replace laptops, at least not for a couple years, but the extra money you’ll put down for a tablet will be made up in textbook savings within the first year.

Patricia Shuler is a BBGeeks.com staff writer from Oakland, California. She’s an admitted tech-junkie who’s quick to share her honest opinion on all things consumer electronic—including up-to-date news, user reviews, and “no holds barred” opinions on a variety of social media, tech, computer, and mobile accessories topics.

written by Joe \\ tags: college

A Guest Post from Nick Simpson -

An office party is a wonderful way to let your employees know how much they mean to you, and to help build camaraderie. Providing employees the opportunity to interact with one another in a less formal way, and involving their families, helps them work together the rest of the time. Whether it’s an annual holiday party, summer picnic, or other gathering, employee parties can be a valuable tool. Employee parties can also be expensive, at least if you want to do them right. Fortunately, there are some ways that you can save money on the cost of your employee party, and make sure that you’re able to deduct the lion’s share of the costs from your taxes. Here are some steps you need to consider:

• Consider having the party at the office. Chances are that your business already has some space that’s dedicated for the use of employee meetings. By having the party at the office, you save significantly on the cost of the site to host the event. You’ll probably spend more on decorations, but it should be a net gain.

• Invite all of your employees. Events that all of your employees are invited to generally qualifies for a 100% tax deduction, whereas smaller events that only involve some employees or that also involve other business-related people are only deductible at 50%. Talk to your tax expert about this, of course, to make sure that you’re following all of the established rules. This is the one area where you can save significantly.

• Alternatively, hold the party in a restaurant. By having your employee party at a restaurant, you trade the catering charge for a per-person charge – which will usually save you around 10% on the cost of the food and venue combined. Many restaurants have private event spaces that are perfect for employee parties.

Some rights reserved by Phil Sexton

• Look into a daytime party. As a general rule, having a lunchtime meal is almost always less expensive than having a dinnertime meal. The lunch menu is simply cheaper, whether you’re talking about restaurants, caterers, or even hotel banquet services. In addition, a daytime party will increase participation. Be careful here; if you’ve always held parties in the evenings in the past, the noticeable change of time could send an unintended signal to the employees that cost is a problem.

• Carefully select your catering choices. You can often make small choices in terms of your catering selections that can provide significant savings. For example, you can go from seven courses down to five. You can go with lamb chops instead of filet mignon. Two dessert choices will be more cost-effective than four. Generally speaking, your caterer will work with you on price, helping you to get the right menu for your budget.

• Choose a DJ over a band. A DJ is always less expensive than a band. In fact, even a well-known DJ in your area is still going to be between 25% and 50% of the cost of having a full band. This is a significant savings, and one that generally won’t significantly impact your employees’ enjoyment of the party.

• Control costs of decorations. If you’re having your employee party at a hosted venue, you’re going to have to rent linens and provide centerpieces, typically. Still, you can save some costs here. Consider using candy bowls instead of flowers for a centerpiece, and use complimentary linens instead of upgrading. Be careful here, because the wrong linen selection can sometimes be something of an eyesore, and might be viewed very critically.

• Require or request a contribution for guests. This one isn’t as touchy a subject as it used to be. Consider asking employees for a contribution for those attending form their families. This is also important for tax purposes, because it will help the accounting department when they put together the amount of the event that’s deductible. The IRS says that only expenses for employees should count, so asking for a guest contribution is one way around that. Realize, as well, that this might ruffle employee feathers, especially if guests have been complimentary in the past.

Just because you want to save some money doesn’t mean you don’t value your employees. An employee party can be a wonderful tax deduction, and it can also help to keep your employees’ spirits up and improve morale. Follow these steps to control costs, and to make sure it pays off at tax time.

Nick Simpson is Social Media Coordinator at SavingStar, a leading provider of grocery store coupons. SavingStar has built cutting edge systems for coupon savings and has a rapidly growing customer base of happy shoppers that save money with their store loyalty programs.

written by Joe \\ tags: Frugal, office, party

Blogging at A Young Investor, Tony shares his investment strategies and his thoughts on the financial markets -

Investing is an extreme game: when you lose, you feel like crap, but when you make money and outsmart the market, you feel like you’re king of the world. So how should you emotionally deal with both situations? Do you bang your fist against when table and scream insults when you lose a chunk of money? Should you party for a week after making a huge profit? The answer to both is no.

Losing Money

1. I admit that I’m no novice when it comes to losing money. It feels like you’ve been punched in the guts and the wind’s been knocked out of you. Many investors dwell on the pain, unable to get out of the “losing psychology” trap. Here’s what you should do.
2. Stay calm and keep your emotions in check. A lot of money is lost when investors make investments solely based upon their emotions.
3. Many investors make the mistake of investing after they’ve been hit with a loss in hopes of making back what they lost. Doing so will definitely magnify your loss (hence why people say “losses beget more losses“). The important thing right now isn’t to make back the money you lost – the important thing is to rebuild your self-confidence. Confidence is key when it comes to investing, because you’ll have the conviction to stick to your position through rough times.
4. Do something to take your mind off the markets. In order to calm down and take measure of the situation, you need to step away from your investment. Do something fun that you enjoy.
5. Once you feel calm, take some time to think about why your investment lost money. What something in your original market hypothesis wrong? What can you do next time to prevent a similar mistake?
6. Like I said, it’s imperative that you regain the confidence you’ve lost. Instead of investing like you normally would, wait patiently for a golden opportunity, one of those investments that have a 95% chance of working out. Making some money (no matter how little) will help you rebuild your confidence.

On the other hand, booking a large profit is a totally different feeling. The thrill, the excitement… Here’s what you should do.

Profiting

1. It’s a common mistake among investors to become overconfident. Overconfidence leads to arrogance which leads to disaster. That’s why after every successful investment, I like to take some time to let the excitement wear off. Don’t jump right back into the markets – overextending a position can lead to disaster.
2. Now comes the hard part. Ask yourself (honestly) – did I make money because I was lucky, or because I was right? How do you tell the difference? Before you made the investment, you should have a list of reasons explaining why you believe this investment would work out. Now, count the number of reasons you wrote down that actually did happen. If more reasons on your list didn’t happen than those that did happen, than you were probably lucky as opposed to skillful.
3. Invest more heavily than you normally would when you’re on a winning streak. As they say “winning begets more winning” because you’re more confident about your decisions. Second-doubting is detrimental to successful investing.

written by Joe

A guest post from Julia Peterson -

Get your finances in order and keep them that way with these simple tools

It’s amazing how much further your money can go when you plan it out ahead of time. If a smartphone fits in your budget, these apps can help you set firm goals and stick to them. We’ve checked out the cream of the crop, based on price, features, and simplicity; here are the very best budgeting apps on the market today, for iPhone and Android devices.

1. Mint (Android, iOS)

Mint is, in our opinion, the best personal finance app for either iPhone or Android. Like most apps, it allows you to track and categorize your expenses, but the real selling point of this app is the visual aids—progress bars that fill as you approach (or exceed) your budget for various categories, and a pie chart displaying where your money is going—both of which can be a very persuasive argument for sticking to a budget, or reevaluating your expenses. It also compares your monthly budget with how far along you are in the month—so if your fast food budget is almost full, and it’s only the 10^th, it can help you notice the need to reconsider things. You can sync it with your checking, savings, credit cards, investment accounts, and lenders to get a complete picture of your personal finances, as well as setting long-term goals. The only major downside is that the app doesn’t have the full functionality of the Mint.com browser service, and the app offers “advice” (sales pitches) based on your expenses. (Cost: free)

2. Money by Jumsoft (iOS)

This is a somewhat fancier app, with a higher price tag and a more complex interface; but the effort it takes to learn the app is a worthwhile investment. You can make more complex budgets, schedule monthly transactions, and even create business budgets if you’re self-employed. Otherwise, it is very similar to Mint—attractive graphs, trend analysis, and bill scheduling to keep you on top of your expenses. Because of the price, limited availability (you have to buy the app separately for your iPhone and iPad), and confusing user interface, it’s number two on our list; but still a great option for Apple fans. (Cost: $1.99)

3. Pageonce (Android, iOS)

This app is great for managing your bills, because instead of just tracking your expenses and obligations, Pageonce actually allows you to pay your bills through the app itself. Like Mint, it allows you to sync to your banking services, so you don’t have to input all entries yourself. (Some sync errors have been reported on Android devices; HTC users may still have trouble, but the errors are confirmed fixed on LG and Samsung phones). It also shows more specific, narrow breakdowns of the bills you pay each month, so you can see which bills are eating up more than their share of your income. The app is free, and if it weren’t for the $0.30 service fee for each bill you pay through the app, this one might be our #1 or #2 pick. (Cost: free)

4. Moneywise (Android)

This app was rated “The Best Budget-Tracking App for Android” this year by LifeHacker; and while we might not go that far, it’s definitely a contender. One of the advantages it has over Mint is a better ability to visualize changes over time—Mint can do that on its browser service, but not on the app. It also supports multiple currencies, for users outside the US, or those who do a lot of international transactions. It certainly isn’t as pretty as other apps, and requires a great deal more user input than Mint or Jumsoft, but if you like that hands-on experience of balancing your own checkbook, this is a great option. (Cost: free)

Julia Peterson is a writer for AndGeeks.com, a popular website that provides up-to-date news, detailed commentary, and unbiased reviews on cell phones and related topics. Julia resides in Galveston, Texas in a cozy little house in the country with her husband, young son, and their Labrador retriever, Darby.

written by Joe \\ tags: budget, Finance, Savings, software