Tag: money

Fashion-Forward But Budget Friendly: How to Save on Outfits

When your birthday money from grandma is burning a hole in your pocket, you may get the urge to update your wardrobe with some new threads. You do not have to spend a lot of cash to update your look on a dime. Here are some fashion-forward and budget-friendly places to pick up some new, or new-to-you, trendy pieces.

Consignment/Thrift Stores

Shopping for new-to-you pieces at thrift and consignment stores is an affordable and fun way to update your wardrobe. Bring along some friends and try on one-of-a-kind clothes that have been gently worn. Consignment stores hand pick the brands and items they carry, so you will easily find lots of top brand names and trendy pieces. Consignment stores may be priced a little higher than thrift shops, but all of the merchandise has been thoroughly inspected, and you will not have to spend hours sifting through the racks to find unique pieces and top brands.

Thrift stores are all about the thrill of the hunt. If you have a few hours to kill with friends, pop in to a thrift shop and let your imaginations run wild. Thrift stores have affordable prices, but you have to prepare to so some digging and sifting through the racks to find cool new pieces.

Online Discount Boutiques

Online discount boutiques and fashion apps are a fun way to shop for fashion. You order from a curated collection of hand-selected pieces, and the companies send your new duds right to your home. You can try them on in the comfort and convenience of your home and send back any pieces that you do not like for a refund. It offers a risk-free and affordable way to update your wardrobe.

Fast-Fashion Mall Shops

Fast-fashion stores offer a plethora of options for updating your wardrobe. From basics to lounge apparel, career attire and casual wear, fast-fashion stores in the mall showcase a wide range of styles and sizes in clothing from floor to ceiling. You will be inspired, and probably even a little overwhelmed, by the abundance of options. These stores have a fast turnover rate, marking down clothing often, so apparel is priced to sell fast.

 

Even if you are low on cash, you can still put together some fun new outfits that your friends will want to borrow. From online to thrift to fast-fashion stores, there are a plethora of inspiring places to shop to add new life to your closet.

6 Ways to Make Bank While Still in High School

Many famous entrepreneurs got their start at an early age. They often cite starting a service based business or online shop as their first venture. Even if you aren’t aiming to become a CEO in the near future, earning some extra cash on the side can allow you to save for items or experiences without relying on your parents. Parents may be inclined to veto certain purchases or outings, but they are generally more likely to support their children’s choices if the student has shown discipline and maturity in earning and saving responsibly.

There aren’t as many options for high school students to earn as there are for college graduates working full-time, but don’t let that discourage you. There are also many opportunities available for high school students that aren’t readily taken on by adults.

Sales

When brainstorming business ideas, make sure you are adhering to all school rules and laws. Selling gum, candy or baked goods is a common suggestion for teens who want to make money. However, many schools have policies in place that prevent anyone besides the school from selling food on campus. In some cases, you won’t get in trouble, but your parents can be held responsible. Networking with family and friends and selling security cameras or MLM products such as doTERRA oils or Mary Kay products can be highly lucrative.

House and Property Care

High school students are very capable of doing most household tasks like cooking and cleaning. In many families, each member is expected to perform certain chores without pay. But it doesn’t hurt to ask if you can pick up more than your assigned share in order to make some extra cash. With your parents’ permission, you can also offer these services to neighbors. You can also add services like mowing lawns, helping with household technology (setting up new purchases, troubleshooting computers, etc), and driving errands (if you have a license).

Academics

You can profit from the work you do in your own classes. You can offer tutoring in classes you have already completed and done well in. You can also sell notes and study guides you have created (just make sure they don’t break any academic rules your school has). You can make multiply your business by offering these services to groups.

Use Your Skills

Think about what you enjoy and what you’re good at. This could be typing or computer activities, art, etc. Think of how you can profit from these skills and/or do a little research to see what you come up with. Many online sites will pay on a per-job basis for things like transcription (listening to an audio file and typing what you hear), translation, data entry (for example, re-typing a page of text that has been scanned from handwritten notes or a pdf), and more. You can generate sales by making a website or contributing to a blog that already exists.

Retail / Food

Part-time jobs like dishwashing and folding clothes are common for people who are still in school. These jobs tend to pay less per hour than other opportunities mentioned in this article and they can be stressful since you are working for a real company. However, the benefits are a steady paycheck without having to set-up your own client base or online shop, as well as a solid role to add to your resume.

Work for Someone You Know

Chances are, someone you know has a business they could use some help with. It could be a friend, a family member, a friend’s parent or a parent’s friend. By looking within your own social network, you may find an opportunity that no one else knows about. Working at a real company can give you great insight into what type of work you may or may not like to take on after high school.

If you’re like me, you crave independence. Your age doesn’t need to be an obstacle to getting a head start on your financial success. Financial coach Chris Hogan says “There’s no present like time.” The sooner you can start raking in the dough, the sooner you can learn how that process works, which will set you up for decades to come.

5 Ways to Avoid Bankruptcy

Declaring bankruptcy is one of the most negative life-altering events you can experience. For teens, the consequences of filing for bankruptcy can last well into early adulthood. Not exactly the best way to start your future. Below, there are five ways to avoid bankruptcy. They will help.

Live on a Budget

Budgets are super easy! At the top of the page, try to figure out how much income you’re going to get this month. Even if this number is the same every month, your expenses won’t be, so make sure you do a new budget every month. Now, you need to try and guess how much you’re going to need for all your expenses. These are clothes, dating, eating out, entertainment and recreation, savings, and any other expenses you are responsible for. Allocate every dollar of your income to these categories, and withdraw that amount of money and put it into an envelope. Try not to overspend in any category – that’s how debt happens! This process is even easier with tools like Mint or Everydollar that will help you figure out your expenses and can even deduct the money from each category as it comes out of your bank account.

Avoid Debt

We’ve done extensive research, and it turns out an astonishing 100% of bankruptcies happen to people who borrow money. Our culture and probably even your parents have always told you that there’s no way to get an education or buy a car without going into debt, but this is just not the case. Most Americans today are living paycheck to paycheck and using their credit card as their emergency fund. All of these things can be done much better by saving up and paying cash. “Building credit” is a scam that has sentenced too many young people to a life of financial servitude. Don’t get a credit card, don’t pass go, and don’t collect $200 in late fees.

Settle and Negotiate Your Debts

Essentially, debt settlement is making a deal with your creditors, and sometimes it takes some creative negotiating. If they are faced with never getting their money back or a reduced payment plan, lenders will obviously choose to create a reduced payment plan. Some creative negotiating tactics work well like asking for a waiver of current payments but agree to make larger ones later. If creditors are calling all the time and demanding money, there’s a high likelihood they’re actually violating federal laws. You may consider contacting Collection Bully – not just to hit back against abusive collectors, but sometimes they can even help get some of your debt forgiven!

Sell off Property

In Chapter 7 cases, the court appoints someone to pick property and sell it off to cover debts. Look at the bare minimum of what you need and sell off the rest. Then, use the cash raised to pay off some debts. Even if you are unable to raise a lot, at least it is on your terms.

When all else fails, remember that bankruptcy is not the end of the world. According to Eric Severeno, “When you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy or for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, all of the creditors who have been hounding you and performing collection actions against you will be legally forced to stop. All financial proceedings against you…will come to a halt.” Whether you can get current and pay off the debt, or whether you need to file in order to escape, either way the goal is to start adulthood with a fresh start. The important thing is for you to change the behaviors that put you here in the first place, or the whole cycle will start again.

How Teen Drivers Affect Your Insurance Rates

You want to be a good parent and do everything right by your child, and while all parents strive to do just that, it can sometimes feel impossible. One thing a lot of parents want to do for their children is add them to their car insurance policy once they become a driver. Nothing wrong with that except that this can cause those premiums to nearly double in a lot of cases. But how do you know if your rates will really be affected? Here is what to keep in mind when making changes to your policy.

Why Teens?

Teen drivers are among the most dangerous on the road. They are inexperienced and are still learning how to grow up in general. It is hard for insurance companies to justify covering them at all if they do not charge very high rates. This is why even parents with excellent driving records can see a big increase in their premiums by adding a teenager to their policy.

What is it Based On?

The rates you can expect to see your premiums increase by vary based on the part of the country you live in, but according to NBC News the average across the states is about 80%.

The younger the driver that one adds to their policy, the more they can expect to have to pay on their premiums. Sixteen-year-old drivers add around 90% on average to premiums paid. Nineteen-year-olds by contrast add about 60% to the policy premiums. That is still a big increase, but below the average for all teen drivers. The insurance companies see the data and understand that the older the driver is, the less likely they are to have an accident on the road.

Other Increases

In the event that something terrible does happen out on the road involving a teen driver, you might want to get an attorney right away. Insurance rates will be the last thing you are worried about if your teenager is involved in an auto accident but they can help with the damage that might be done to your policy afterward in some cases.

It is difficult to express how important it is to have all drivers on the road insured. It is against the law to not be insured when you are driving, so you should consider this when looking at those such higher premiums. If you are able to convince your teenager to hold off for a while on driving then you will come out better money-wise.