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Jobs that Pay You to Travel

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We understand. Dealing with the daily grind out there in Cubicleland can definitely take a toll – especially if you’re the type of person who loves to travel. The good thing is that there are a gazillion ways to travel – and travel jobs – for those who suffer from severe wanderlust. If this sounds like you, here’s a quick look at a few of them.

Travel Nurse

Travel nurses are in short supply right now as boomers continue getting older. Hospitals are hiring more and more nurses of this type and a travel LPN salary is pretty decent. Nurses of this type tend to work on a temp basis – typically with contracts of around 13 weeks, there is the ability to bounce from one city to the next quite often. Remember that in addition to your degree, you also need to be licensed to practice in whatever state you’re in.

Uber Driver

If you like to drive and meet new people, this might be the option for you. Uber drivers do just that. All you need is a vehicle in good condition, a driver’s license, a smartphone, and car insurance and you can be a driver anywhere in the US. This gig is great because you work when and where you want to and can have another full-time job as well with no problem.

Archaeologist

To do this job, you can be stationed permanently at a college, lab, or museum. Alternatively, some archaeologists do a lot of work in the field. If this is you, you’ll collect and study artifacts right at sites with historic significance and then present your work through publishing in trade journals or at conferences. You will need either a Ph.D. or a Master’s degree in archaeology to work as an archaeologist.

Travel Agent

This job is another one that doesn’t require too much in the way of qualifications or degrees. Most companies simply require their travel agents to have a high school diploma or the equivalent. That being said, customer service skills are also a must. The thing is, if you’re going to provide your customers with quality service, such as arranging their transportation, admission to activities, and lodging, you need to have more than a passing familiarity with the particular venues and what they do. This means you’ll have to take scouting trips in order to garner this information firsthand.

Event Coordinator

To be an event coordinator, you’ll more than likely need at least a Bachelor’s degree. It would also help if you’ve had experience within the hospitality industry. Event coordinators typically organize things like company retreats, conferences, and meetings for all sorts of businesses. Due to you needing to visit prospective venues and meeting sites, this career can involve quite a bit of traveling.

Event coordinators are also known for planning private events, which can also be lucrative. These would include things like weddings, bar mitzvahs, and any number of different types of parties and events.

Travel is a good way to make the day-to-day existence on the job a bit livelier and easier to bear. As you can see from the above paragraphs, there are a variety of jobs where you can have this particular perk. Now what you need to do is to garner a bit of attention in the field in which you desire to work. Let hiring managers know that not only are you interested, but you’re also packed and ready to head out. Just be sure to have the qualifications they’re looking for before submitting your resume. Do your research and start out on your adventurous career now.

Filed Under: Make Money

5 Tips for Getting a College Degree Without Accumulating Lots of Debt

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To make more money over your lifetime, it usually helps to have a degree from an accredited university. This can not only make it easier to land your first job, but also to move up the ranks and earn more as the years go by.

However, while spending money on education is a worthwhile investment, you do need to avoid coming out of university with serious amounts of debt that you’ll never be able to pay off, or that will take you a large amount of your career to get on top of. To help you on your way, read on for five key tips you can follow today to get a college degree without lots of debt.

Study Online

For starters, it pays to think about choosing a degree offered via online study. There are lots of courses available this way nowadays, from online MBAs with no GMAT required, to degrees in marketing, arts, education, engineering, and most other areas of interest.

When you opt for an online course rather than one that requires you to go to a campus each week, you can save money, and reduce your debt, in multiple ways. For example, rather than having to move away from home to attend university, you can study from anywhere, which means you can stay at home for longer and save money on costs such as accommodation, food, laundry, and utilities.

Another benefit of online programs is that their flexibility means you can still work in a job while you study. You don’t have to be on campus on specific days or for set times, and can instead work your studies around your own, personal schedule. This, in turn, means you can earn an income as you learn, and avoid having to rack up so much debt.

Choose the Best Course and University for Your Needs

Next, keep in mind that different universities can charge very different levels of fees for attending their institutions. As such, it can be worthwhile choosing a more affordable college. Most will be accredited in just the same ways, and will all provide you with the same kinds of opportunities (although you do need to do your research on this front to make sure your choice is adequate).

While you might like the idea of attending a prestigious university that’s well-known around the world, it’s quite possible your job prospects won’t actually be any better from choosing a more costly one. This is something to weigh up when making your decision.

Furthermore, be as sure as you can about the particular type of course you’re choosing too. If you want to avoid racking up huge debt, try to pick the best course for your needs the first time around. Instead of enrolling in a program just because your family pressure you to do so, or because you think it’s a “safe” option, find something you’re actually interested in. This will help you complete the whole degree, rather than wasting time and money on classes in the wrong program, and then having to start all over again with a new one.

Try to Reduce the Total Amount of Time You Spend Studying

studentdebt

It’s also helpful if you look for ways to reduce your overall time spent studying. Each month you’re paying for courses, accommodation, books and other expenses, and not out in the workforce, adds up. Think about opting for a combined degree, rather than finishing one and then starting on a second one (this can often save at least a year); or choose an accelerated program. You can also apply to receive college credit for prior knowledge, or gain extra credits for taking additional classes outside of normal term hours.

Find Financial Support Options

To reduce the amount of debt you walk out of university with, you should investigate financial support options too. There are numerous national, state, and local government scholarships, grants and other funding which can be applied for, as well as programs run by private organizations and colleges to support local students. Most of these types of funds never have to be repaid, and they can cover various expenses like tuition, books, and board.

Be Frugal

Lastly, while you’re at college, look for ways to be frugal with your spending too. Try to find the most affordable accommodation possible (this might mean boarding with numerous roommates), and avoid spending hundreds of dollars on partying, new clothing, and other unnecessary expenses. Consider cooking for yourself rather than eating out all the time; and save money by purchasing second-hand textbooks, instead of new ones.

Filed Under: Make Money

Why you should get started with investing

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Investing has never been easier. You don’t need to be wealthy and you don’t need to have any prior experience. There are more options and more choices than at any other point in time. So just how should you start investing?

Build Up that Starting Capital

You need to begin with some starting capital. These days you get started with just a few hundreds. Try to save up as much as you can through building up a savings plan. Start a savings account and wait until you have at least a little extra money on top of an emergency fund. You don’t want to invest it all, get a market low, and exit at a loss.

Find a Brokerage Account

A brokerage account is your main source for buying everything from shares to bonds to funds. Many brokers require you to have thousands of dollars to get started with. But these days, there are brokers specially geared towards those with low starting capital.

They’re different because they don’t offer expensive financial managers or high management fees. Be aware that you’ll have minimal help along the way, however.

Go here to compare the best online brokerage accounts and find the one that best suits your needs.

Know What You Want to Invest In

One of the biggest mistakes people make is to pick a random company or fund and invest in it. This is a sure-fire way of losing your money. You need to educate yourself as to what a company does and what’s likely to influence the value of their shares.

You can do this through the company’s financial information. You don’t need to be an expert in how they do things, just what their financial health looks like. All this information can be found online for free. Don’t fall for the people who demand lots of money for detailed reports.

When you first get started with investing, you should opt for low-risk investments such as index funds through a robo-advisor. Here is a review of Motif Investing where you can get a $150 bonus to sign up.

Use Dividends to Up Your Returns

Remember that investing is a long-term endeavor. When you make your investments, you should think about the impact of dividends. If you have 50 shares in a company and they deliver a dividend of $1 every year that means you can expect to get $50 for doing absolutely nothing. And this is on top of the increasing value of your shares.

The best way to handle dividends is to instruct your broker to automatically reinvest that money. Your returns will increase every single year if you do that.

Don’t Invest Money You Can’t Lose

It’s always nice to be positive about investing, but the reality is you can lose money from it. That’s why first-time investors should stick to low-risk investments. For example, you should invest in an established company and not in that hot new startup . Yes, the returns are lower, but you’re likely to get back at least what you put in.

Have a look at long-term performance when determining whether an investment is a worthy one.

Go Now!

The true value of investing is in compounding. For compounding to work effectively you need to get started early. The longer you procrastinate, the more time it’s going to take to reach your target figure. Those who start investing in their 20s can make millions through low-risk investments, but someone starting with the same strategy in their 50s will barely earn enough to cover a few years worth of expenses.

It’s Easier Than You Think

The message to take away from this guide is that investing is easier than you think. You don’t need a lot of money, a lot of time, or a lot of expertise. Some basic research is all that’s needed to start making your initial investments and securing you and your family’s future.

Are you ready to make the investment in your financial future?

Filed Under: Make Money Tagged With: investing

Stop Predicting The Future, You’re Terrible At It!

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Coffee and Journaling

We humans are really good at convincing ourselves of our “upper hand” — that we can see the “truth” when others cannot. We repeat stories of winning hands, the right stocks, and big paydays with our closest friends. Examples and supposed successes of prediction are trumpeted in our skewed media landscape, too.

For instance, CNBC and other financial news networks feature stock chartists who create lavish drawings of candlesticks, moving averages, and support levels. Lines are drawn and circles made on fancy touchscreens. When a stock fails to perform as predicted, it’s written off as a statistical anomaly. And nobody returns to the err. The reality is that any stock-picking strategy is fallible because the herd knows about it (or soon will). These technical mavens’ moves are already priced into stocks.

Scientists can also be poor predictors of future technology and advancement. As an astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson, explains, “…what happens is, if you try to go too far into the future, there is no way you are going to predict the cross-pollination of ideas and fields that produce things that are not extrapolations of anything going on at that time.” He exemplifies this technological development with the iPhone, as it wouldn’t have been created without GPS satellites, cell towers, and the commercialization of space. Variables needed to coalesce and come together to make the idea possible. Predicting each of these individual components is nearly impossible.

Predictive ability chart
Variability shifts from 0 to ∞ across time. From short to long-term periods, our ability to predict what’ll happen next suffers. Also, what do you think of my chart-drawing skills? 😉

Psychologists are another fallible group that’s highlighted for near-telepathic powers. Popular culture seems to hold high esteem for their predictive abilities. They are depicted as readers and savants of the mind. Watch what you’re thinking, they might just read your body language, thoughts, and emotions! The reality is that psychologists aren’t fantastic at predicting behavior; slightly better than the lay public, but that’s not saying much. At their best, psychologists center on past behaviors as predictors of future behavior. Much like the stock chartist or scientist, psychological/behavioral prediction is sort of like analyzing an historical stock market chart and looking for patterns.

In failing to see our losses and failures of prediction, we risk creating confirmation biases. These psychological tricks of the mind make us think we are right — that our hypotheses have time and time again come true. We repress our failures in favor of successes, but in doing so, jeopardize our ability to accurately plan for the future. That’s when we stand to lose boatloads of money.

The fact is, we are fallible creatures. Seemingly, we are basically limited by the amount of knowledge available on the world. At a long enough timeline, nearly everyone fails.

By accounting for predictive limits, we can protect and preserve our wallets. Now, it’s all about what we do with this realization. These are five fast rules for managing your money without genius predictions:

1. Budget based on present day information

The present day includes your current income and expenditures. If you’re budgeting for a car, Christmas presents, or anything else, your budget should account for today’s income — not chances for the future. This will always keep you within limits. Unfortunately, many people use pay raises and predicted promotions to account for future purchases. This mentality can lead to excess debt and complicated repayment plans. Avoid the drama by budgeting based on today’s information — not what tomorrow might be like.

2. Be careful with retirement predictions

Companies like Betterment and Wealthfront have some sexy chartists! They beautifully illustrate the capability of compounding interest and continued investments in average performing stock markets. However, this tends to smooth over the swings of market swings and does not account for the unexpected. In fact, Betterment has a tool that attempts to predict with 50/50 accuracy how your money will perform over a set period, but it’s better to make consistent investments and look at the principal — not the predicted total.

3. Build up emergency funds

From a car accident to strange toenail fungus, you never know when you’ll need to pay for some extra costs. We cannot predict when an accident or the end of a job could occur. To account for our predictive inability, let’s build emergency funds. Most financial experts suggest people maintain about 3 months of solid income, which would cover expenses while you search for a new job or deal with an accident.

4. Avoid following interest rates

Tens of “online banks” are propping up with teaser interest rates. Instead of chasing the next biggest thing, stick with the consistent. For example, Ally Bank has earned my trust and respect after years of solid performance and service. This online bank doesn’t have wacky fees, gives me free checks, and pays a solid interest rate in both checking and savings. When you find a solid, long-term rate, stick with the bank. It pays to find a good company and then worry about making more income elsewhere — not following the next greatest interest rate.

5. Invest regularly – don’t chase bottoms

This tip comes from one of my hardest investing lessons. When it comes to putting money in the stock market, don’t call bottoms. Humans inability to predict is never worse than right here. If you think the market has crashed, you’ll likely be proven wrong. The stock market has tons of false bottoms and tops. Prediction isn’t generally your friend. Instead, I use average investment amounts and make regular investments. When the market suffers, I tend to invest more. But avoid the chase and focus on making consistent investments.

Filed Under: Make Money, Save Money Tagged With: bank accounts, Checking, cnbc, future, Investments, management, money, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Prediction, Psychology, savings, science

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