One-third of the year is already over, but you still have two-thirds left to achieve big things. Here are some useful ideas and info for the rest of the year.
You Should Know
The Federal Trade Commission has banned non-compete agreements between workers and employers. Companies must notify current and former employees that existing non-competes will not be enforced.
The U.S. Dept. of Transportation set a new rule that airlines must provide prompt cash refunds to passengers in cases of cancellations, significant delays or failure to deliver baggage.
Mother’s Day is this Sunday (May 12). TCBY is giving a free cup/cone of frozen yogurt to moms. Lowe’s is giving moms a free 1-pint flowering plant. Register here.
Save Big with Last-Minute Bookings
Certain industries, like hotels, airlines, and live entertainment, have perishable inventory – a seat or room that’s wasted if it isn’t filled by a deadline – and high-fixed costs. These costs must be covered, so the business operator is highly motivated to dump the inventory at ever lower prices when the expiration date approaches.
These last-minute deals are great for budget minded, spontaneous consumers. Here’s how to find travel or entertainment opportunities at the eleventh hour.
Cruises
Cruise lines offer deep discounts on unsold cabins close to departure to fill their ships. The best cabins and itineraries are likely to be booked well in advance, but if you’re getting 70% off, who cares? Check out these last-minute cruise deal finders:
VacationToGo.com 90-Day Ticker – a great search engine for soon-to-embark cruises.
Holland America StandBy List Program – for $49 per person per day, you can get on a Holland America Cruise if you agree to be on standby. The standby list is reviewed 7-2 days before your cruise; you’ll be notified to pack if there’s space or hear otherwise 2 days in advance.
Direct-to-consumer last-minute cruise sites: Royal Caribbean, Princess Cruises, Celebrity Cruises
Hotels
Last-minute hotel deals aren’t easily predictable, but if you’re willing to play a game of chicken, you can snag some good deals. Timing is everything. Many hotels will offer deals on booking sites for what would have been empty rooms, but you need to check frequently throughout the day to make sure you’re seeing the best deals. Here are some booking sites that specialize in last-minute hotel deals:
HotelTonight – offers deeply discounted hotel rooms for same-day or next-day stays. You can book a room until 2am during the first night of your stay (local time, based on the hotel’s location).
Priceline Express Deals – save up to 60% off on a hotel stay, but you won’t know the exact hotel until after you book.
Hotwire – same thing as Priceline Express Deals (book same-day or next-day stay, but the identity of the hotel is mystery until you make a reservation).
Air Travel
There are countless tips across the web about how to book cheap last-minute flights. In general, if you’re set on a destination, keep your timing flexible. Literal “last minute” flight deals don’t exist anymore because airlines now have sophisticated dynamic pricing technology. Airlines usually jack up ticket prices the final weeks to make business travelers and can’t-miss-it flyers pay through the nose. Therefore, you should book at least 30 days prior to the flight. Finally, search for one-way flights instead of round-trip flights, since you need the ability to mix and match airlines to minimize your total spend.
If you’re looking for ideas handed to you, Skyscanner last-minute deals search is a good place to start. Kayak Explore caters to travelers willing to go anywhere (as long as it’s cheap). Just enter your departure city and find great places you can fly to within your price range.
If you’re feeling “wild,” Frontier Airlines offers an all-you-can-fly Summer Pass (unlimited travel for $399). The catch – you have to book your flight one day ahead of the flight departure.
Live Events
Two last-minute deal finders for concerts, sporting events, and live shows that are particularly reliable and safe are:
Gametime – a resale market that focuses on last-minute tickets for sporting events and concerts in the U.S. and Canada. You can even buy tickets after games have started. The site has a lowest price guarantee. If you find a lower price elsewhere, they’ll make up 110% of the difference.
TodayTix – finds discounted Broadway/live theatre tickets on the same day as the performance (or up to week in advance). Tickets available in many cities.
Make Extra Cash
Five Surveys – Earn $5 for every 5 surveys you complete. Pretty straightforward. You can cash out instantly via PayPal, bank transfer, or gift cards. There is no minimum amount required to withdraw.
PeoplePerHour – Lets you find high-paying freelance projects with businesses. The site connects 1 million large and small businesses with expert freelancers in numerous fields, such as design, marketing, social media, music, programming, writing, etc.
BeFrugal – Get a $10 bonus instantly when you sign up for this free shopping rewards site. You’ll earn up to 40% cash back when you buy items at over 5,000 qualifying stores.
Here are some great cash sweepstakes to enter: Nescafé Your Success, Your Way Contest (grand prize winners get $5,000, plus 50 first prize winners get $100 gift cards) , Fingerhut (one winner will win $10,000), Valspar Made For More Sweepstakes (one grand prize of $4,000 with weekly winners receiving $100 Lowe’s gift cards), Ramsey $3,000 Cash Giveaway.
Take Note: August 17 Will Change Home Buying and Selling Forever
If you are going to sell or buy a home, mark your calendar for Aug. 17 – the home buying/selling process will be fundamentally changed (for the better!). Let us explain…
Back in March a historic settlement shook the foundations of the U.S. real estate market – the National Association of Realtors (NAR), which represents more than 1 million realtors, agreed to put in place a set of new rules which would end the ~6% broker commission scheme when homes are sold/bought.
For many years, agents who listed a home for sale on a Multiple Listing Service (MLS), a database of homes for sale in a geographic region operated by realtors, listed a commission that they would offer to agents of homebuyers. That commission is usually 3-2% of the home sale price. Typically, the home seller pays their listing agent, who then splits the 6-5% commission with the buyer’s agent. Advertising the 3-2% commission to homebuyer agents on an MLS kept the kept commission artificially high, since homesellers felt they would lose buyers if they advertised a lower commission rate.
The NAR recently announced that Aug. 17 will be the deadline for properties listed on any MLS to remove an information box specifying how much buyers’ agents will make in commission when the home is sold. This little change gives homesellers and buyers more freedom to negotiate commission rates without pre-set offers influencing the conversation.
Going forward, homesellers won’t be forced to pay the buyer’s side of the commission, and homebuyers will negotiate with their agents over what services will be provided and how much they’ll be paid. Overall, the total transaction cost of selling/buying a home will go down, helping both the seller and buyer save money.
This Stock Is the King of Dividend Payments
If you’re looking for passive income from basic investments, you can either invest in bonds/CDs/high yield savings accounts or dividend paying stocks.
The consensus is that interest rates in the U.S. have maxed out, so if you can stomach the volatility of stocks, chasing stocks with a high dividend yield is a solid option for generating decent passive income.
The dividend yield is the percentage of a company’s share price that it pays out in total dividends each year. Dividends are typically paid quarterly, but some companies pay annually or semi-annually. For example, if a company has an $80 share price and pays a quarterly dividend of $1, its dividend yield would be 5% ($4 divided by $80).
If you’re wondering which stock among the largest companies has the highest dividend yield, the answer is Altria Group (NYSE: MO). The company currently sports the highest dividend in the S&P 500 with a sizzling yield of about 9%. No high yield saving account or certificate of deposit can beat that.
Altria is America’s largest tobacco company, owning popular brands like Marlboro, Virginia Slims, Benson & Hedges, and Copenhagen. Because many people believe smoking is a declining (and harmful) market, the company offers an ultra-high dividend yield to attract stock investors.
Keep in mind many companies that offer high dividend yields have lower growth potential, and their stock price may be declining. Also, dividends are taxed as ordinary income, like interest income, so taxes will meaningfully reduce your overall return on investment.
Crack the Costco Code: How to Decipher the Meaning Behind Costco’s Price Tags
There’s a cryptic system of pricing codes right under your nose when you shop at Costco. Understanding these codes can unveil valuable insights into Costco’s pricing strategies and help you make the most of the Costco shopping experience.
Here’s how to understand what the price tags at Costco mean:
Price ending in .99 – regular/full priced item with no special discount applied.
Price ending in .97 – item is on sale. These are store manager deals, which are exclusive to that store and are likely to be short-lived.
Price ending in .89, .79, or .49 – special promotional offer straight from the product’s manufacturer. These products are on a trial run to assess their popularity.
Price ending in .00 – clearance sale going on. This item is being discounted to clear out remaining stock. It might be a seasonal item or one that’s nearing its expiration date.
Asterisk (a.k.a. “the death star”) in the upper right-hand corner of the price tag – the item is being discontinued and won’t be restocked. It doesn’t necessarily mean there is a special discount applied.