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  • Grow Your Business NOW! A How-to-Guide

    Grow Your Business NOW! A How-to-Guide

    Successfully growing your business in a global pandemic is challenging. However, some of the most impressive businesses, inventions and innovations were born in times of distress and hardship. 

    We’ve put together a guide to help you chart a course for customer growth through adhering to strategies and tactics applied to the customer journey to engage with your business. 

    Attracting and retaining new customers is much different today versus the days of taking out an ad in the local newspaper and hoping for the best. Today, business owners of all sizes across all markets need creative marketing strategies to compete in the current, dynamic market.  

    In a time of uncertainty, two things remain the same: 

    1. Consumer expectations remain high:  You must deliver a product or service that is efficient, has timely and courteous customer service, provides transparency, and creates a 1:1 relationship with the customer.
    2. Winning at the “basics” is key to success. 

    Achieving this may sound daunting, but with a healthy appreciation of the five stages of the customer journey and the key marketing actions within each, success is more than achievable. We’ve outlined the five stages and key marketing actions below. 

    Your marketing plan must address each phase of the customer Journey

    1st: Discovery– how consumers discover your product  

    • Achieved through:  Online lists social media & search engine optimization 

    2nd:  Validation: how consumers validate why you are the best choice 

    • Achieved with: Education via blogs, online guides and live chat

    3rd: Conversion- helping consumers make the purchase and gaining the right insights

    • Achieved by: Customer relationship management (CRM)

    4th: Retention- maximizing the post-purchase experience 

    • Tools used: Email marketing and data analysis 

    5th: Loyalty-Retaining customers and turning them into advocates 

    • Key Tactic: Influencer marketing 

    To further define: the customer lifecycle is a term that describes the different steps a customer goes through when they are considering, buying, using, and remaining loyal to a particular product or service. 

    This lifecycle has been broken down into five distinct stages: reach, acquisition, conversion, retention, and loyalty.

    1. Discovery

    This is when a customer begins searching for a product or service.  It is said that discovery most often begins online.  This is when customers compare products across competitor brands, as well as research  customer reviews, ratings and articles. Eventually, the customer will reach out to a certain brand with questions and concerns.  When your marketing materials and content are in the “right places” this will make you more discoverable and help potential consumers become aware of you. 

    Ways to Improve your discoverability: 

    Local Listings
    There are three major online local listings you should be represented on. Firstly, and most importantly, there’s Google Places. You want to show up on Google searches, and you want to be included in online listings, so you need to be registered on Google Places. This is doubly important if your business is a retailer or a restaurant.vThe other online listings are Yahoo! Local and Bing’s online listing. All three of these online listing services are free, and they’re a great way to get your business out there. Consider getting your online presence up and running through these services.

     

    Social Media: If you are not engaging on social media, now is the time. There’s no two ways about this: either your Facebook, Instagram  and Twitter accounts need to be on point or you’re leaving money on the table. Social has replaced many forms of traditional marketing (e.g., newspaper advertising) and helping many companies achieve great success.  If you are debating hiring a social manager or agency, it is worth the investment.  

    • B2B MUST:  Make sure your company LinkedIn profile is professional and clear.  Have all employees update their personal profiles with the same brand message. 

    Search Engine Optimization
    Search engine optimization, or SEO, is a process of making your website’s pages easier to find in search engine results. This involves using specific keywords and repeating the keywords in headers, titles and meta descriptions. A web developer, site designer or some similar type of professional would be ideal to tap in this sort of marketing push.

    Consider hiring a freelance web designer to make sure your business has a webpage that is ideal for search engine optimization. They’ll be able to go in and make your site look great, and make it more searchable on sites like Google.

    2. Education

    This is when and how a brand “responds” to “inquiries” from the potential customer, as well as inquire for more information on the customer’s needs. Following that, the brand will offer the best products or services to satisfy the customer’s needs, as well as educate the customer on the uses of those products or services.   Responding comes in many forms and businesses are smart to offer multiple response styles (e.g., online materials, live chat, easily accessible customer service phone lines or email). 

    Online materials: For example, if a customer is exploring new sneakers a running company would be wise to provide a product comparison chart addressing typical runner demands – tread, ankle support, width, etc. 

    Live chat:  Zendesk offers real-time out reach – reach out and talk to customers before they even ask a question. Innovative clothing rental company Le Tote uses an automated trigger to offer help to customers who are lingering on the checkout page. By proactively engaging customers during the buying process, Le Tote is able to reduce cart abandonment and increase conversions.

    Accessible customer service: Sometimes “picking up the phone” is the easiest way to confirm your questions. Business with clear contact information and smart, well trained customer support ready to help will have better odds at winning the customer, building loyalty and gaining advocates. 

    Services like Ruby help make this possible, even if you are a 1-man show: 

    Ruby is a 100% US – based virtual receptionists business service specializing in making the most out of every customer conversation. They understand that when clients call, it’s important, urgent, or both and offer  daytime and after-hours call support, helping put customers  at ease, taking  down messages and information, and answering questions. Ruby’s got you covered 24 hours a day with live coverage. They can direct calls to you, your staff or take messages at any time everyday of the year. 

    Blogs
    Another great way to support the education phase is a blog, it also helps drive SEO and your google rating.  Things that a blog could cover are quite varied and could depend on your business’s specifics. For instance, if your business is a restaurant, your blog could cover recipes, specials, events and news relating to the restaurant. Whatever makes your business tick, that’s what you should blog about.

    3. Purchase

    Wohoo!!!  You won them over, they have all the information necessary and make the big purchase or commitment.   Congratulations, your marketing efforts to attract them worked!  Now the fun begins, it’s time to keep them, encourage repeat purchases and turn them into brand advocates.   This is more easily achieved when you have the right tools integrated into your purchase platform, so that when they make the purchase you gather the key information from the get-go. Thankfully, many ecommerce and POS systems offer CRM (Customer Relationship Management)  solutions or have an open API system to allow for integration. 

    A great example of a CRM tool provider is bridg.com. Bridg helps gain rich insights into your entire customer base (known and unknown), segment and create optimized audiences, and drive direct revenue generation through targeted personalized marketing with closed loop measurement.  

    4. Post-Purchase Engagement (phase II of your marketing strategy)

    This is when you begin building a lasting relationship with your customer. Great ways to engage are email followup asking for feedback on the customer service experience, their level of happiness with the brand and/or if they would be willing to follow you  on social media. This information can also help you improve your product, service or gain insights on more needs.  You should also plan to follow-up in the next 30-60 days to introduce a new product or additional service. 

    • ENGAGEMENT TIP: Take a look at your customer orders to see if certain products pair well together and create your own “Regularly bought together” or “Customers who purchases, also liked” 

    Email Marketing
    Email marketing allows you to email your customers directly when they’re on a mailing list. You could email them news about new offers and deals, or coupons for hot new items. You could also email them to keep them abreast of news relating to your business, potentially increasing customer engagement with your brand.

    5. Retention & Advocacy 

    Retention begins when the customer is happy with their first purchase or engagement, feels good about their purchase and feels as though that you took care of them or listened to their feedback. The customer feels like an important asset to the brand and makes additional future purchases with the brand.

    From a local popcorn shop to a venture backed technology advocacy is one of the best forms of marketing.  This is the stage of the relationship, where the customer feels fully vested with your product or service and even if there is no need for them to make an immediate secondary purchase, they are happy to recommend your business to their friends, family and colleagues. Spreading awareness amongst social circles is easy to do once a customer is loyal to a brand, and if they continually spread positive recommendations, their extended network is more likely to convert as well.  This was the original form of “influencer” marketing. 

    TIP:  Influencer marketing is a hot topic these days, but it simply bowls down to advocacy, which we know is critical.   In the world of social media, “influencers” those who have a large following or are admired for their style or professional experience (think a successful marathoner or photographer), it often requires a financial investment as well as free product/services. If you are not ready to go down the paid path, you can engage your customers and encourage them to share their experience with shopping with you. This might not have the same impact as someone with a huge following, but it does help your brand get in front of more eyes.  


    In short, there are a number of ways you can leverage the internet to make your business more recognizable and to increase your business’s performance. Really, the biggest mistake you could make is ignoring your online presence. 

    There’s money to be made: you only need to capitalize on online marketing so you can make it!


  • Best Deals for Visiting Las Vegas

    Best Deals for Visiting Las Vegas

    You know what they say: what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas! Some of the most exciting shows and attractions can be found in the desert oasis that is Las Vegas. Whether you prefer concerts, theater, magic shows or sporting events, there’s a good chance you’ll find something you’re looking for somewhere in Sin City.

    Yes, pool parties, Vegas shows, gambling, food, music and top stars, are all awaiting you on a Vegas vacation. All you have to do is find a four-star Vegas hotel room and a cheap round-trip plane ticket. Fortunately, there are many great resort hotels in Vegas that offer experiences. For help sorting through the options, we’ve compiled a list of the best Vegas hotel deals!

    Best Las Vegas Deals

    Kayak.com

    The first site for Vegas deals we’re highlighting is Kayak. Kayak.com offers some great deals on hotels and travel to and from Vegas. This covers hotels and flights and can included tours and packages, as they are actually a conglomeration of several other travel and booking sites. They way it works is that instead of having to go to several different sites, you just go to one and punch in what you want, in this case ‘Vegas.’ Kayak crawls the other sites and brings up the various Vegas deals being offered at the time, with links to those sites.

    Vegas.com

    Vegas.com is a great destination for those looking to make Vegas their trip destination! Jokes aside, this site is wonderful if you’re trying to find deals for traveling to Vegas. They market their site as a way to see “Vegas from the Inside,” and, for what it’s worth, it’s pretty accurate. The site offers a ton of great insider info on tickets for shows, deals at hotels and venues for parties! They even help you find cool activities you might not have thought of and help you save money while you’re at it! Vegas.com also offers a ‘Best Price Guarantee’ that matches competitor’s pricing.

    LasVegas.com

    Not to be confused with Vegas.com, LasVegas.com offers a rather similar service to its similarly-named competitor. The difference, however, is that LasVegas.com is the official tourism site of surrounding Clark County, Nevada. The site offers vacation packages, hotel deals, tours, show offers and tickets, restaurant deals, resort packages and even planning tools to help you plan your Vegas getaway. They’re a great way to find deals on visiting Las Vegas!


  • How to Sell Your Home Fast!

    How to Sell Your Home Fast!

    Selling your home is a big deal. You want to be able to sell your house quickly and find the right people who buy houses in your area. You want to get your home looking nice and sell it for the right price, but all of the work seems overwhelming and like it will take up too much of your time. The good news is with the right plan and the right real estate agents near you, you will be able to get that home on the market and sold in no time.

    Some of the steps to consider when you are ready to sell your house quickly include:

    The First Steps When You are Ready to Sell Your Home

    When you are ready to sell your home, there are a few steps that you must keep in mind. Knowing how these steps work and being prepared for them is one of the best ways to get the most out of the sale and ensure that you can get moved out quickly. Some of the steps to take to get the most out of your real estate investment includes:

    Working with a Real Estate Agent

    One of the first things that you should do when you are ready to sell your home is find real estate agents near you. Some people want to go the “for sale by owner” route, but this can take a lot more time and effort to complete than doing it with an agent. Be aware that it does cost a commission, or a percentage of the sales price, to hire a real estate agent. But considering they often take on all the work and can handle the showings, the legal documents, and more, they are often worth it to get results.

    How an Agent Can Help You

    There are a number of benefits to hiring a real estate agent rather than trying to do it all on your own. Some of these include:

    1. They help you list your home at the right price. This helps you to get the highest price possible, without your home sitting on the market forever.
    2. They can present your home in a way that makes it more appealing to potential buyers. You love your home and that is great, but a real estate agent knows how to make it shine to a buyer.
    3. They can bring in more potential buyers. Most buyers like to work with an agent. And many times your agent will already have a list of people who may have some interest in the home. This helps you to get the best offer possible.
    4. They handle all of the paperwork for you. This is one of the most difficult things to do when you try to sell your home on your own. With the help of a real estate agent, you will not have to worry about all of the paperwork and legal stuff because they will do it all.
    5. The agent can get the best offer from each buyer. When the home sells for more, the agent earns more. This incentivizes them to get a better offer on your home.
    6. Can negotiate after the inspection. While you most likely will need to get a few things done on your home after the inspection, an agent will make sure the work is kept to a minimum.
    7. Speeds your closing time. This helps you to get the home closed on and the money in your account so much faster than before.

    Typical Costs for a Real Estate Agent

    There are several factors that will come into play when you have to pay for your real estate agent. Some agents will charge more if the sale price is below a certain threshold and then will lower the rate if the price is higher. Some may have other deals and incentives to get sellers to work with them. The average commission for most real estate agents is 6%.

    Before you sign with an agent, take the time to ask about the commission they will earn. This helps you be prepared and can make it easier to factor in this cost when you finally get an offer on the home. You as the seller will be the one who will pay the commission to the real estate agent. This 6% is often split between the buyer’s and the seller’s agent, but the seller is still responsible for the whole amount.

    Picking a Good Sale Price

    The next thing that we need to take a look at is how to pick out a good sales price for your home. There are a lot of different things that go into determining a price for your home. While you want to get top dollar for your home, you do need to be realistic about what a buyer is willing to pay.

    To determine the price of your home and what to sell it for, you must consider its location, how big the home is, how many rooms and bathrooms, any upgrades, and even what other homes in the area are selling for as well. And since each home is a little different and very unique, this can be hard.

    One way to figure out a fair sales price on your home is to perform a “comps” analysis. This is when you and your agent will look at some of the recently sold comparable homes on the market. While it may be hard to find one exactly like your home, it can give you a better idea of how much similar homes in your area have sold for.

    This is also why it is important to work with that real estate agent we talked about earlier. They know how to handle the pricing of your home and will help explain it along the way. They can take in all of the factors for you and come up with a fair price that is likely to sell your home quickly.

    Staging Your Home

    If you have already moved out of your home and no longer live there, one way to sell it faster is to stage the home. This helps to give your potential buyer a look for how the home can be used and gives them a vision of all the potential in the home. Never leave the home completely empty because this slows down the process.

    List the Home and Start Showings

    When you are ready, your agent will come over and sign some paperwork with you. This helps both of you be on the same page the whole time and can avoid confusion later on. The agent will also take pictures of the inside and outside of the property so they can show potential buyers, both online and in person. It is then time for the agent to list the property and wait for the calls to come in.

    At some point, you will need to show your home. The days of  an ‘Open House’ are gone for now, and most agents will hold private showings. The agent can handle this, but you must make sure the home is clean and ready to go. And you may have to be out of the way for a bit. Sometimes it only takes a few showings and sometimes you may need to deal with quite a few showings. But these are the best way to sell your home. All buyers will want a chance to look through the home and see if it is right for them.

    Accepting an Offer

    At some point, you will get an offer on your home. If the offer sounds good to you, you can accept it and move on with some of the inspections and other things that need to get done. You can also provide a counteroffer to better meet the needs you have if the buyer’s offer is close to your original offer. If the offer is way off, you can choose to decline the offer.

    The offer will often include information on what the buyer expects. They will say what they want to purchase the property for along with the preferred closing date, any inspections they want, and other contingencies. The most common contingencies including the buyers securing their financing and the buyers selling their other home.

    The Different Types of Inspections

    Your buyer may choose to do a few different inspections to make sure the home is safe and secure. If there are some major problems with the house and they are found during the inspection, then you will be responsible for them. Most home buyers choose to do a full home inspection that checks out quite a few different things, but they can also do a few other inspections based on their needs. The most common inspections include:

    1. Pest and rodent inspection
    2. Radon inspection
    3. Chimney inspection
    4. Roof inspection
    5. Lead-based paint inspection
    6. Flooding damage inspection
    7. HVAC inspection

    As we mentioned, the full-home inspection is the most common, though some may choose the others if these problems are common in your area. The buyer will usually put this in their offer so you can decide which inspections you want to participate in ahead of time. The cost of the inspection falls to the buyer. The cost to fix anything falls to you.

    If there are some repairs necessary on the home, you can typically negotiate these. When the buyer has some minimal repairs to do, you may consider doing them and finishing the process. Other options are to offer the home “as is” so you won’t do any repairs or offer a credit for the work to be done. The credit may work if there is a time crunch on the sale and you don’t have time to get it done. Homes sold “as is” often take a lot longer to sell.

    Closing On Your Home

    Once all the inspections are done and you have moved out of the home, and your home buyer has secured their financing, you can close on the home. These often happen at two different times. You will meet with the lender or a title company to sign off on the home and agree to the sale.

    Later, sometimes the same day and sometimes later depending on the schedules, the buyers will go in and complete their paperwork to buy the home. The funds will go to pay off the rest of your mortgage, your real estate agents fees, and any other closing costs that are necessary. Whatever is left will be deposited in your account and can be used for purchasing your new home, paying off debt, or other uses depending on your needs.

    Typical Closing Costs

    There are a few closing costs you will need to pay before you get any money from your home sale. Some of these include:

    1. Any attorney’s fees for writing up the documents.
    2. Credits towards the closing costs that you and the seller agreed on.
    3. Any HOA fees if applicable.
    4. The prorated property taxes.
    5. Any escrow that is agreed on and other closing fees.
    6. Title insurance
    7. Transfer tax
    8. Agent commission.

    There are some other fees that may be required based on the bank you work with and where you live. You and your agent can discuss these fees before closing so you aren’t caught by surprise.

    Are the Rules Different in Each State?

    There are a few things about selling a home that will vary based on the state you live in. In fact, depending on where you live in each state the rules may be slightly different as well. Knowing what these differences are in your local area can be tough, but this is another benefit of working with a real estate agent to get things done.

    First, the amount in taxes you pay will vary based on one state to the next. Some states will require the seller to pay taxes on the home up to a certain point and others will require the buyer to handle this. Some states, including California, have a special tax on any home sold that may add to the closing costs you must work with.

    Most states have requirements that the seller needs to include any information about the property that may deter the buyer from making the purchase. This is often presented to a potential buyer before they even put an offer in on the home. This could include any updates you did on the home, along with any potential problems that you know about.

    You may also need to work with an escrow account. The way that this is used will depend on the state you live in but allows a little protection on both sides. It ensures that both parties know where the money is and they can get it back if things go south during the deal. Talk with your real estate agent to find out if an escrow account is necessary for you.

    Where is Everyone Moving During the Covid-19 Pandemic?

    Due to Covid-19 pandemic many Americans are ready to live the cities and move somewhere more rural. This is great news if you have a home for sale in a rural area as you are more likely to attract a good buyer for a good price.

    In fact, six out of ten Americans have said that they would consider moving to a less populated area. Some may have been considering this before. Some may be tired of living with all of the health mandates. And some see these rural areas as safer areas to be because with fewer people there, it is a much safer place to be right now.

    This is a common trend no matter which state you live in. Rural homeowners who are looking to make a switch and get out of their home into a new one will find that is a sellers’ market and they will do well. In fact, it is likely that you will have a few offers to sweeten the pot.

    Selling your home is a big experience. You have to get the home prepared and looking nice while cleaning. You need to find a good realtor who will work with you and find the best deal. And you need to finish all of the inspections and other work after you accept an offer. But when you have things organized and ready to go, you will find that it is easy to sell your house quickly.


  • Treadmill Workouts for People in a Hurry

    Treadmill Workouts for People in a Hurry

    Making time to monitor your health and fitness can be quite difficult. If you’ve got a busy schedule, you’ve likely found it’s very difficult to get time to focus on your exercise.

    However, having a treadmill in the house is enough to get you started with a few easy workouts. Remember, every little bit helps! Even a few minutes of cardio can be a huge help for your health.

    Treadmill Workouts

    Side-Stepping

    Get started by walking at a normal pace for a minute, then move to a gentle jog for two-to-four minutes. Next, go back to walking speed and turn to the side. Use the side rail, squat down, and do some side-shuffling. Do this for about half a minute.

    Then, return to a standing position and walk normally. Move up to jogging again, or running if you’re looking for a more intense workout. Keep this faster pace for about two minutes, then go back to walking speed and do another thirty seconds of side-stepping on the other side.

    Round this out with a nice five-minute cooldown walk.

    Sprinting Intervals

    Get started by walking at a normal pace for a minute, then move up to a jogging pace for about five minutes. This is a good warm-up for a workout.

    Then, up the pace to something close to full-tilt running and keep this pace for thirty seconds. Then, go back down to jogging for a minute and a half before cranking it back up to full-tilt for another thirty seconds.

    Repeat this process for as many times as you have time for. Ideally, you’ll want to get around eight or nine repetitions of this cycle in. Remember, if you don’t have the time, however, that any amount of cardio is good cardio!

    Finish your exercise with a cooldown walk. Take about five minutes at an easy pace to cool down from your workout.

    Classic Jogging

    Finally, a classic jog is great when you don’t have a ton of time. Start at a walking pace for a minute, then crank it up to a jogging pace for four minutes. Next, crank it up to a run for two minutes. Finally, take it up to a sprinting pace for thirty seconds.

    Once you’ve finished the sprint, work back down to a running pace for a minute. Then, work your way back into a jog for two minutes before finishing with a cooldown walk. Make your cooldown around four minutes. This is a great quick workout for when you only have about 15 minutes to dedicate to exercise.


  • Crazy Ways to Get a Good Scholarship

    Crazy Ways to Get a Good Scholarship

    College is expensive. There’s no two ways about this. The ballooning costs of a college education are a serious problem in the US. While there are loans available for students, they’re generally not a great idea. The interest rates and penalties on private loans are downright predatory, and government loans don’t usually cover everything. To help you out, here are some crazy ways to get a good scholarship!

    Great Websites for Finding a Good Scholarship

    Collegeboard.org

    This site has a great number of features for you to check out. The site is primarily aimed at being a college planning site, but it has a whole division set aside for scholarship. Fill out your profile as accurately as you can and it will help you sniff out great scholarships! If you’ve been in extracurricular activities, have a high GPA or were on a sports team, include that!

    Even students who didn’t do any of those things might find good scholarships. Make sure you fill out all the info about your background, your family and where you’re from. There are scholarships for all kinds of things! You never know what types of markers you might have that make you a good candidate for a scholarship. That’s why it’s so important to fill out the paperwork as accurately and thoroughly as you can!

    Scholarships.com

    It should come as no surprise that a site called Scholarships.com can help you find scholarships. Jokes aside, this is a fantastic resource for college hopefuls. The site features scholarships from a wide variety of sources, and you’re bound to find something that applies to you.

    There are a ton of search criteria you can use to try to find a scholarship for you. Everything from scholarships for academics, sports, clubs and even backgrounds can be found on Scholarships.com. That’s not to say you shouldn’t also make a detailed profile! Again, you can never know just how many great scholarships are just waiting for you!

    Chegg

    Chegg is a cool site for a few reasons. The first reason is pretty evident right away: they’re a great site for finding textbooks! While getting textbooks for your classes is going to be expensive, it’s well worth it. You’ll usually fall behind your classmates and fail the course if you try to wing it without a textbook. It can be tempting to try to find the book for free online, but that’s not always an option. Some books are hard to find, and others are far too big to parse in PDF form.

    All that being said, Chegg is a great place to buy college textbooks from. They have good prices and a great search function. Whether you’re a freshman going in or a returning upperclassman, you should check out Chegg’s bookstore. As for the scholarships, they have a wide variety you can search on their site too!

    Simply go to the homepage and select “colleges.” Then, in the drop menu, select “scholarships.” As you would expect, there are a number of criteria you can search through to find a scholarship that’s right for you. They even have a “top scholarships this week” filter to help you find some of the most popular options among other students.

    As with the other sites in this list, you can also make a detailed profile. Make sure to include all pertinent information: it can help you get the best scholarships! Every little bit helps!

    The U.S. Labor Department’s Free Search Tool

    It’s good to check with this free search tool, as well. If you’ve already applied for FAFSA, this should be your next step. The government has a number of programs in place to help you figure out good ways to pay for college. Remember: people want you to succeed. Your success is important! Government programs like this is funded by taxes and made to help the people. That’s you!

    If you still need help after checking all of these sites, consider speaking to your university’s financial aid office. It can be really difficult to find enough assistance to pay for school! Just remember that you can take government subsidized loans out relatively safely. Just be really careful that you don’t take out more loans than you’ll be able to pay back!


  • 7 Ways to Fly for Cheap

    7 Ways to Fly for Cheap

    Cheap airfare, it’s something we’re all looking for. Finding decent prices on flights can be difficult though. It is human nature to want to travel, to explore your horizons and see new places, or perhaps, to return to the places you once knew.

    Whether you want to visit home or see an exotic location, airline travel is fast, but costs a lot of money. What is the best way for finding cheap airline tickets? How do you even start? Whether you are traveling for work, for vacation, or to visit family or friends, finding cheap airfare can help you save on what’s often the largest expense of your trip.

    If you’re trying to take a trip and keep finding it difficult to get a decent price, you’re probably looking for some new travel hacks to help you save some money. Well, the good news is that we’re here to help. Let’s talk about the best ways to fly for cheap! Read more below to learn about who is offering the best rates at an amazing price $73 and $39 for one-way flights!

    Best Ways to Fly for Cheap

    Compare Airfares

    Airfares vary widely, and discount airfare is out there for those who know where to look. The most important thing is that you make sure to compare airfares. The rates offered by one airline may be much higher or lower than the rates of another. If you use one of the popular travel sites, you can easily compare airfares from different airlines.

    Also, if you have any flexibility in your schedule, try putting different dates into the sites’ ticket finders to see if that makes a difference. For example, currently, Southwest Airlines is offering flights as low as $73, and Delta is offering flights as low as $39 during the holiday season.

    Use Reputable Flight Search Engines

    Some flight search engines actually get a cut from airlines when they help generate sales. That means that you could search for “budget flights” and have normal or even premium flights show up. In order to counter this, use reputable search engines that don’t mislead you. Great options are Skyscanner, Momondo, AirWander and JetRadar. Like we said previously don’t be afraid to shop around to find the best price.

    Get Tickets Early

    Get your tickets early — but not too early. You may think it would be smart to buy tickets six months in advance, but in fact, getting tickets more than five months before you need them may keep you from getting the best fares. Aim for two to four months in advance, if possible. If you can’t plan that far in advance, at least try to avoid the two-week period right before a flight, when ticket prices tend to go up.

    Specialty sites like “air fare watch dog” provide a medium for you to search for deals between two specific locations, and also can send you alerts when prices drop to a much more affordable rate. This is perfect for those who know where they want to travel, just are not too concerned about when. They can snag a great deal and plan their trip once they get that informative e-mail from the website.

    Airport Selection

    Fly in or out of airports that are not in your destination city. If you are flying into New York City, you may be able to get cheaper fares at the Newark airport than you would in New York City’s JFK Airport. If you are going to or from San Francisco, try the Oakland or San Jose airports. Many other cities also have airports that are nearby but outside of the city limits. Flying out of an alternate airport isn’t even necessarily a hardship. For example, If you are going to some parts of Manhattan, ground transportation may get you there faster from Newark than from JFK.

    You will benefit on price, though, because not as many people will think of using the other airports, so the seats won’t sell out as quickly. Always think in terms of supply and demand when trying to find cheap airfare.

    Non-Direct Flights

    Accept a little inconvenience in exchange for a cheaper price. You may be able to save money on long trips by taking routes where you change planes rather than taking a non-stop flight. If you’re not in a hurry, you don’t need to pay a premium for the faster route. Try traveling lighter to avoid the luggage fees that so many airlines are charging now. Be creative in figuring out how to get by with fewer things on your trip.

    Incognito Mode

    Lock up your search history tight and don’t look back. When you start looking at flights and trips, make sure you’re in incognito mode. When you search for flight prices, sites use cookies to track how many times you’ve looked at the flight. Each new time you look, the price goes up. Why? Well, to get you to buy as soon as possible so you “lock in the lowest price.” Yeah, it’s dirty, but you can fight back!

    By browsing incognito, you won’t have any cookies tracking you. This allows you to bypass this dirty trick and get a better price for your flight!

    Find the Cheapest Days to Book

    Try to fly on a Tuesday or a Wednesday, if possible. Those are often the cheapest days of the week. If possible, avoid Fridays and Sundays, when rates tend to go up. Flying right before a major holiday, like Thanksgiving or Christmas, is going to be very expensive. But if you are able to fly on the day of the holiday itself, you can usually pick up some very cheap fares because not many people want to fly then.


  • 4 Secrets to Save the Most $$$ on a Flight

    4 Secrets to Save the Most $$$ on a Flight

    Everyone loves traveling, and the most time-efficient way to go large distances is by flying. However, flying can be expensive, especially if you don’t fly frequently enough to rack up frequent flyer miles and earn savings that way. If you don’t fly often but want to find the best deals, where should you start? Today we’re answering just that with our guide to low-budget flights and saving money while traveling.

    Saving Money on a Flight

    Fly Coach

    This might sound like pretty obvious advice, but our first tip is that you fly coach. While it can be tempting to fly first class to make the trip plush and nice, there’s nothing wrong with saving money by buying the least expensive ticket you can find. After all, the more you save on the flight, the more you can spend when you get to your destination!

    There’s nothing wrong with hanging in the back of the plane in a smaller seat with less fancy amenities. It’s not like you’re going to have to spend more than a few hours in the plane, so why spend as much as double the ticket price just to get a bigger seat and a bit more legroom? In either case, you’re on the same plane, going to the same destination, taking the same amount of time.

    Search Incognito

    When you’re searching around to find the best deals on plane tickets, make sure you’re doing so incognito. To open an incognito window, just click in the top right of your browser’s settings and hit “open new Incognito Window.” This makes it so sites can’t track your cookies and keep up with who you are, allowing you to go under the radar.

    This is to help you get the lowest price by sidestepping a sneaky airline trick. Airlines will continually jack up the price of tickets the more you view them online, in order to get you to panic and buy them sooner rather than later. To avoid paying this extra amount, shop incognito to keep them from tracking your browsing habits.

    Stay Off Major Search Engines

    Sorry, Google, but you’re not great for airline prices. Most major search engines get a cut of ticket prices when they help generate sales, so the prices you’ll see through them are also inflated. This is another scummy upcharge that you would do well to side-step entirely in order to find the best price. Instead of going through major search engines, you can look for budget airlines through broader engine searches.

    These include options like SkyScanner, which helps you find the best deals on specifically airlines, and Momondo, a broad search engine that can sometimes fetch budget airlines even cheaper than SkyScanner. Other great options you could check out include AirFare Watchdog, JetRadar, AirWander and Cheapoair. Remember, no one search engine is ideal: you’ll likely find the best results by using a combination of all of these options.

    Find the Cheapest Booking Days/Times

    It’s no secret that the prices of airline tickets can change dramatically based on when you buy them. The time of week, the time of day, the length of time until the flight leaves, all of these factors have a role to play in the cost of the ticket. Narrowing down the best time to fly out can feel a bit more mystical than scientific, though.

    There are a few things you can do to make sure you’re getting the best price based on the date you buy your ticket. One of the best resources is actually the SkyScanner website, which can help you narrow down the best days and times to buy, showing you an easy-to-read calendar with clear indicators of prices. It’s really the best way to shop for airline tickets!


  • How to Save Money on a New Car

    How to Save Money on a New Car

    Buying a new car comes with a huge cost. You shell out tens of thousands of dollars, or take on the burden of an auto loan. Being able to afford a new car requires years of saving money, researching your options, and digging deep to find the right deal.

    Yet there’s something you should know: car manufacturers are cutting prices. A new car doesn’t cost as much as you might think. Thanks to increased competition among automakers, prices are dropping. Every car manufacturer wants your business, but they know you’re too smart to go after the first low price you see. You want the lowest possible price and the best car in the market.

    The average car on the road is about ten years old. Cars are becoming less expensive across the board to compensate as manufacturers struggle to get new cars on the road. Dealerships are even scrambling to get old cars off of their lots to make room for new models. Are you taking advantage of this advantageous climate? Here’s the insight about the auto industry you need to stay ahead of the curve and take advantage of these incredible deals.

    How to Save Money on a New Car

    Different Choices Equal Lower Prices

    Every car company is trying to stay ahead of the pack by creating more new options every year. This could work to your advantage. With so many different options, you could choose anything you want. Want an SUV or crossover? There’s one available from every car manufacturer, from affordable to luxury. Looking for a sedan or convertible? Each automaker has their own take on these types of cars. Special features, add-ons like warranties and maintenance packages, even upgrades on car interiors can all be compared too.

    Car manufacturers are at war over their prices. Facing stiffer competition across the market, car companies know they need to capture your attention. No one manufacturer wants to miss out on luring new customers, new car buyers–and when one automaker is lowering its prices, the rest of the pack follows. This trend could potentially save you thousands of dollars.

    You Can Afford a Luxury Car

    Luxury car brands are competing with each other as well, trying to offer the best features at the lowest prices. They know you have a lot of options to choose from, so they want to stay ahead of the game. Affordable automakers’ cars are catching up to luxury brands. With fancy, tech-savvy features like backup cameras, lane assist, and infotainment systems now the norm, luxury brands are starting to scramble. They know you could score a similar car from another company for less, and they don’t want to lose your business.

    Anyone can afford a luxury car thanks to this race amongst automakers. You simply need to know what a brand’s competitors are offering for a given model, and you can use that information to get a significantly reduced rate on the luxury car you’ve been eyeing for years.

    Do Your Research

    Don’t just walk onto a dealership lot looking a good sticker price. You’ll end up overspending by a lot and driving home with an outdated model you spent too much on. Car salespeople are really good at hyping up nothing at all and getting you to part with your hard-earned money. Before you get swept up by a sales pitch, do your research. You’ll want to know all of your options.

    Get a feel for what different brands and features cost. If you like features like lane assist, back-up cams and infotainment systems you’re in luck. Those features have become standard on pretty much every car. From luxury cars to affordable options, high-tech features are now the norm.

    Compare and Shop Online

    You don’t even need to head into a physical dealership. You can shop for cars entirely online if you so choose. That way you not only avoid the salespeople but you also get to shop at a slower pace. Slower paced shopping means you get to compare prices at your leisure and decide on which features you really want.

    Talk to Your Friends

    If your friends have nice cars or recently bought new ones, talk to them! They’ll be able to tell you way their shopping experience was like and how much they spent. If you’re looking to upgrade to a new vehicle this is a good way to get a feel for what people like. Your friends can even tell you which features they use a lot and enjoy and which ones aren’t really worth the money.

    Just remember that you should shop at your own pace! You’re in no rush to get a new vehicle. If you shop at your own place and avoid the typical car-buying process you’ll end up saving a lot of money.

    Local Dealerships Don’t Want You to Know About These Deals

    Visit your local car dealerships, and you won’t find these amazing deals. Why? They’ll lose money if they let you in on their secret and sell you a car at the manufacturer’s reduced rate.  If you walk into a car dealership today, they will try to sell you a new car for the highest price possible. You could spend all day at a dealership trying to convince a salesperson to lower their price.

    Why waste your precious time when there’s an easier way? Armed with the right research, you can skip settling for bank-breaking dealerships. There are other options for buying a car at significantly lower prices. If you follow the tips above and do your research, shop online for different prices and talk to friends you will be armed with everything you need to know–and they’ll show you sticker prices far less than those at the dealership.

    Stop being jealous of all the new cars on the road–you can purchase one too for the best price on the market. You simply need to keep searching the top money-saving sites. In the age of technology, there are many online resources to help you buy the car of your dreams!


  • The Best Real Estate Apps to Find Your Forever Home

    The Best Real Estate Apps to Find Your Forever Home

    If you’ve been looking for a home to call “forever,” you’ve probably noticed how hard it can be to find the right one. Whether it’s because the prices aren’t right, the neighbors are too noisy or some other reason, shopping for a home can be a difficult process. However, today we’re here to help you find the best real estate apps for finding your forever home. Let’s find an app to help you get settled in somewhere for good!

    Best Real Estate Apps

    Century 21 Local Listing Search

    Our first app is ideal for searching in your local area and finding a home that is nearby. Not everyone wants to move across the country, after all! For the people looking to just move within their area, this is a great app to start with. Expected search features, such as number of bedrooms and bathrooms, are all present here, of course.

    The app also lets you check the area for nearby restaurants, grocery stores and schools, ensuring that the listing you’ve found isn’t too far from civilization. If you prefer, you can even draw in your own search area to find how far from given locations a home is. If you’re looking for a specific part of town you want to move to, this is a great app for that laser-precision.

    Xome

    Xome is a great app for those who love having options for selecting the best home for their unique needs. You can use the great “Xome Zoom” feature to zoom in on a listing and get a feel for where it is in the community. You can see the home’s score based on walkability, nearby schools and other factors. This tells you whether the home in question is good for families, for easy of walking to nearby parks and shops, and how much traffic you could expect in the area.

    Another great feature of Xome is the Xome Concierge service that allows you to go through a real agent to answer your questions regarding a listing. If a listing has a more complex feature or unusual setup that you need more information on, or if you’re simply having a hard time understanding something, this is a great service. You can even set up live walkthroughs of listings via Xome, making it a great all-in-one real estate app.

    Homes.com

    The aptly named Homes.com app is a great place to start for any prospective home buyer. You get access to a robust suite of search features, allowing you to see the relative value of given neighborhoods based on nearby property values. You can search recent foreclosures if you’re looking to save a bit of money, and you can even narrow your results by likely mortgage payments. That’s thanks to the Homes.com calculator, a big selling point of this app.

    Homes.com’s app is also well-regarded for its robust stats and pictures of every listing. You can find detailed and in-depth stats for the homes, including sale prices over the years, damages and upgrades reported, and even more. The pictures are also very illustrative, capturing the home and its rooms from many helpful angles to help you get a clear idea of what the place is like.

    Redfin

    Redfin is a golden standard for real estate apps. This is a very “big-picture” app, helping you find the right criteria and showing you the best ways to save on a great home. The first way it does this is through features like a foreclosure notifier, allowing you to scope out homes that might be on the market for much less than you expect them to be. You can also set up notifications for when a home goes up for sale by the owners, as well as for when short sellers make alterations to a listing.

    Redfin has a robust suite of search features that allow you to select based on nearby schools, home property values and the like. This way, you can be sure when you’re searching for homes that the home you’re getting is right for you. The app even has a built-in realtor feature that allows you to set up visits to homes so you can see if you like it in person!

    The cherry on top is the robust social and sharing features the app offers. If you find a listing that you really like you can send it over to someone you know via text, email or even through your preferred social media. This is really the best overall app for finding your forever home.


  • Best Outdoor Storage Options

    Best Outdoor Storage Options

    There are a wide range of backyard storage sheds to choose from, but which are the best outdoor sheds worth investing in? Which will continue to look great in 5-10 years?

    Choosing the best outdoor storage shed for your needs may seem difficult at first. They are made from all sorts of materials and some are better than others.

    If you’re tired of cluttering your yard, garage, or basement with supplies or tools that you only use outside, a storage shed could be the ideal addition to your backyard. I have broken down a few of the best options to meet your backyard storage needs. Lets take a look at the best Best Outdoor Storage Options.

    Shed: Suncast Tremont Shed

    These are large outdoor sheds, and the 8 X 10 foot version provides a lot of storage. One thing about having such a large structure in your back yard is that you don’t want an unsightly shed. Here, the Suncast BMS range rises to the occasion. It has a classic look and won’t look out of place in any yard. While looks may be important, practicality and durability are equally, if not more important. In this regard, I’m solidly in favor of this outdoor shed range.

    The Suncast has a steel reinforced double wall resin construction. This makes it incredibly sturdy and highly durable. If you’re concerned about rain and snow, this shed will hold its own in all weather. The shingle style metal reinforced roof panels are excellent and are going to stand the test of time. This is an important thing to look at. You want your shed to last and remain looking good for years to come. This design will most certainly do just that.

    Storage Tent: The YardStash IV Storage Shed Tent

    Part shed, part tent, this one requires little commitment. Not only is it relatively inexpensive, it’s also easy to set up (10 minutes or less, no tools required), move and store. Made of tough vinyl tarpaulin with a patented snow-shedding roof design, it’s tough enough to withstand weather of all sorts, but it’s also lightweight and extremely versatile compared to other metal or wooden sheds.

    It’s great for storing bikes, tools, lawnmowers, toys and more, and it also includes a carrying bag, so you can take it on the go or store it easily when it’s not in use. It’s big enough to hold a considerable amount of stuff (74″ x 32″ x 68″), but it can also fit in small spaces. If you’re looking for temporary storage from time to time or don’t want the commitment of a more permanent shed, this one may just be right for you

    Life Time Storage Sheds

    Lifetime’s 12.5′ x 8′ Polyethylene Outdoor Storage Shed in Sand is an attractive and durable storage option. This Shed comes with two shelves, a tool pouch, a storage pouch, and six wall hooks. This will allow you to customize the storage to your specific needs. Built with steel reinforced walls, shelves, and roof provide durability for many weather conditions. Lifetime Storage Sheds allow you sturdy storage solutions for your outdoor storage needs, and a padlockable latch on the doors offers security

    Steel Sheds: Arlington Steel Outdoor Storage Shed

    Arlington Steel Shed has an attractive, high gable-style roof and a 62 in. wall height makes the Arlington a perfect place to store lawn tools, garden equipment and other seasonal items. A baked-on enamel finish assures a quality storage solution year after year.

    Portable Units : PODS

    Portable On Demand Storage, more commonly known as PODS, is one of the most well-known companies in the moving container and storage industry. Prominence aside, PODS has the most variety in its container options—allowing you to choose the container that best fits your yard best. While these are designed for movine and temporary use, there are options for permanent placements.

    Garden Sheds: Horizon Structures

    Garden sheds and tool sheds make excellent potting and storage sheds for the avid gardener. In addition to its attractive appearance, these garden potting sheds offer many practical elements such as a built-in workbench and lots of windows. A garden shed is the ideal place for starting tender seedlings and nurturing plants with ample space left over for storing your gardening tools and equipment.

    Garden storage sheds and tool sheds are available in many different exterior and roof/trim color combinations. Vinyl and wood siding are both available. There are options to  match your new garden shed to your home, or other buildings on your property.