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  • Do You Get Enough Vitamins? Try These Vitamin Subscription Services

    Do You Get Enough Vitamins? Try These Vitamin Subscription Services

    Everything has a subscription these days. You subscribe to a video streaming service like Netflix. You could have a shave club subscription, or maybe a makeup subscription. Maybe you get meal boxes in the mail, or something more fun like a Loot Crate-style grab bag. But do you get your vitamins delivered to your door?

    Most people don’t get nearly enough vitamins, and it shows in their overall health. After all, it’s hard getting enough vitamins in a normal diet. Don’t worry: today we’re going over the best vitamin subscriptions for those trying to get healthy.

    Vitamin Subscription Services

    Why Get a Subscription?

    Personalized vitamin subscriptions are an important service when you compare them with a normal multivitamin. Mass-market vitamins have to appeal to the widest number of people, but that means that they could be full of stuff you’re already getting enough of.

    Subscription services are wonderful because they’re personalized. You get exactly the vitamins that your diet is missing, so you’re that much healthier! Not to mention, it’s nice to get them delivered right to your door. You don’t need to remember to go out and get them, or be bothered with a trip to the supermarket.

    The Best Subscription Services

    Generally speaking, you want to go with a service that fits your budget and offers you the best value. Some of the more well-regarded vitamin subscription services are HUM Nutrition and Persona Nutrition, both of which offer you access to professional nutritionists. These two services are a bit on the pricier side, however.

    If you don’t care about having contact with a dietician or nutritionist, Rootine offers a subscription service of personalized vitamins for $60 per month. Similarly, Vitafive offers less expensive prices for vitamins in gummy form, and even offers support for Amazon Prime users.

    Other services that get good reviews and offer personalized services are Care/of and Ritual. Care/of sends you multiple pills or powders for your vitamin regiment, whereas Ritual just sends you one pill that has all the stuff you need in it.


  • Could a Job as a Truck Driver be Right for You?

    Could a Job as a Truck Driver be Right for You?

    Maybe you’ve been looking into a job as a semi-truck driver and thinking about what it would mean for you. What kind of money do truck drivers make? What kind of hours do they work?

    In short, you’re wondering if a job as a truck driver would be right for you. Let’s look into that very question.

    Truck Driver Jobs

    Requirements

    First, before you can even be a professional truck driver, you need to get licensed to drive a semi-truck. The license you need is called a CDL, and usually, you want a Class A. Sometimes you have to get your license yourself, but some companies will sponsor you while you get your license.

    Aside from having the right license, there aren’t really any other requirements for becoming a truck driver. Companies usually prefer people with high school diplomas, though even that isn’t set in stone. A GED would work just as well as a diploma for most prospective drivers.

    Job Responsibilities

    Depending on the company and type of work you’re getting into, your job responsibilities could vary. However, generally, the responsibilities of a truck driver include hauling cargo from one place to another. Some drivers will work in smaller areas and could even go home every night after their route.

    Other drivers do “long-hauls,” staying on the road for days at a time to carry cargo cross-country. These drivers tend to get several days in a row off when they return home. On some occasions, these drivers will pick up hauls at their own discretion.

    Generally speaking, truck drivers don’t sweat the loading and unloading of cargo into their vehicle. The hard part of their job is all the time spent out on the road.

    Average Salaries

    Truck driving pays relatively well for what could be considered a blue-collar job. On average, student drivers make $41,000 per year. CDL drivers, who are licensed and more experienced, make an average of $66,000 per year.

    OTR CDL drivers, who have a ton of experience and complex licenses, make an average of $82,000 per year, making their job position a desirable one for drivers.

    Bottom Line

    A job as a truck driver could be right for you if you don’t mind being alone, on the road and far from home more often than not. If you can handle that, then there’s quite a bit of money to be made for an experienced driver with good endurance.


  • Get Tax Help for Seniors

    Get Tax Help for Seniors

    There’s a reason most people get help filing their taxes: taxes are really, really complicated. Between social security, tax credit, exemptions, deductions, property taxes, there are a ton of complex things to keep up with. It’s no surprise that a number of seniors get intimidated when it comes to filing their taxes. There are changing technologies, changing tax rules, and fixed incomes can all make tax season difficult for seniors. Here are some of the best ways to get tax help for seniors.

    Get Tax Help for Seniors

    AARP Tax-Aide

    Whether or not you already have an AARP membership, or know someone who does, this is a great way to go. The AARP Foundation has tax aide services that can be a lifesaver for seniors. The best part is that you don’t even need to be an AARP member to take advantage of this great service! It’s available for anyone over 50, free of charge. You can meet with these tax professionals free of charge online or in person, whichever you prefer! That way, if you would rather talk face-to-face, or if you prefer to file form the comfort of your home, you’re set either way!

    The volunteers who work for the AARP Tax-Aide program are also IRS-certified tax professionals. These aren’t amateurs who are going to mess up your taxes, these are people who are certified and know what they’re doing! That way, you can rest assured knowing you’re getting the help you need with your taxes and the peace of mind that includes.

    If you go for an in-person session, you’ll be glad to hear that they’re available all throughout tax season, from January to April 15th. Generally, these visits occur in convenient and public locations. Community centers, public libraries, banks and shopping malls are all common locations for these visits, so you need not worry about meeting in person. These locations are in public, well-lit and easy to access, so you don’t have to worry about getting to the meeting location.

    Best of all, the online side of this tax service is available year-round to answer your questions about taxes. If you have any burning questions you need answered and want to be ahead of the curve, this is a great way to go! That’s what happens when you go through an organization as helpful as the AARP.

    Federal Government Tax Assistance

    There are two tax services offered by the IRS. There’s the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program and the Tax Counseling for the Elderly Program. If you go through the IRS website, you can find in-depth information on both of these programs. Both the VITA and TCE programs have physical locations throughout the country you can visit to receive direct, in-person help with your taxes.

    Firstly, the VITA is a good program for those seniors who still earn some income, such as through a part-time job or perhaps through owned property. The VITA program typically helps those who do not speak English fluently, disabled people, people under a certain income level and the elderly. These services are primarily geared at seniors who make an amount of money under a certain threshold. Generally, those seniors who make more money than this threshold should consider going with professional paid tax services.

    The TCE, for its part, is geared more for seniors who aren’t sure where to turn for tax help. The service is specifically for seniors of age 60 or older who are on a fixed-income. These types of people are the exact ones that the TCE was created to help. If you or someone you love lives on a fixed income and needs income tax help, the TCE is the right call to help. They help seniors with things like retirement income and pensions, as opposed to traditional income methods. The free service is also volunteer-based and offers help during tax season. The volunteers are all IRS-certified professionals.

    State Taxes

    Both the VITA and TCE programs offer help with state taxes as well as federal taxes, so this usually shouldn’t be a huge concern for seniors. However, beyond this, some states do offer a state-specific tax program to help seniors if they have state-specific tax questions. While such situations would be rare, if a senior needs help with complex aspects of their state taxes in particular then they should look into whether their state offers a tax program.

    In the event it doesn’t, don’t panic! The bar association of your state may provide pro-bono legal help to seniors seeking tax advice. Local CPAs or other professionals may also offer help for seniors at no cost, so consider looking into these avenues!


  • Smart Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund

    Smart Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund

    If you’re expecting a tax refund this year, you’ve probably got a few ideas as to how you’re going to spend it. Maybe you’re looking to get a new tattoo, or maybe you want to buy some video games or new rims for your car. Maybe before you get your sights set on a frivolous purchase, however, you should start thinking about smart ways to spend your tax refund. There are better ways to spend a sudden windfall than on something frivolous and goofy!

    Smart Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund

    Set Up an Emergency Fund

    Do you have a savings account with $1,000 in it? No? Okay, here’s the first thing you need to do with that money. Take your tax refund, set aside $1,000 and save it. If you have money leftover after that, pay bills with it. Easy! See, having a savings account with a good little chunk of money in it is a good way to insulate yourself against those dumb, random things that are going to happen and drain your checking account.

    Your car is going to break down. Your heater is going to stop working in February. Or, your AC is going to bust in July. No matter what it is, some stupid happenstance will come along and smack you with a huge bill. Be ready for these frustrating moments by having money set aside to deal with them when (not if) they show up.

    Pay Down Debt

    That debt you have hovering over your head like the Sword of Damocles isn’t going anywhere until you do something about it. Kick that debt to the curb by paying your tax refund into it! The sooner you start paying down those big debts, the better. The longer your let those debts float by with minimum payments, the higher and higher the interest gets.

    That means that by focusing a large sum, like your tax refund, you buy back all the money that interest would have eaten up down the road. Why let interest compound and cause you issues down the line when you can buy back your money now? It’s the definition of a win-win scenario.

    Fix Up Your House

    You spend a lot of time at home. Make sure it’s a place you like being. By making your house nicer, you’re actually helping yourself in two ways. The first way is pretty straightforward: you like living in your house, so make it a nice place. The second is a bit more financial in nature. If you invest in your home, it’ll be worth more down the line!

    This especially goes for homes in areas that have ever-increasing property values. If your home is always going up, up, up in value just because of where it is, you can multiply this value a lot by just doing a bit of work on the place. A new roof, repairs to older sections of the house, a kitchen remodel: all of these things can add a ton of value to the place. What better time to do this kind of work than when you have the money free at hand?

    Travel Somewhere

    Rather than spending your money on something like a new TV or a down payment on a car, you could instead opt to go on a trip. There’s nothing quite like traveling to a new place and enjoying the scenery! Whether that’s some beautiful tropical island, a mountain ski lodge or just a city you’ve been dying to visit.

    See, when you buy “stuff,” the fun of buying the new thing wears off sooner rather than later. Then, you find a few months down the line wishing that you hadn’t spent all that money on something you’re just going to replace next year anyway. If you pay for a trip, however, you’ll make memories that will last you a lifetime.

    Donate the Money

    Do you have a hard time figuring out what to do with a sudden windfall? Maybe you’ve got a good bit of money in savings and you don’t really have the time to go out of town for a long trip. Maybe your house is already up to a great standard and you’re at a loss for what to do with the money.

    Well, good news! You can donate that money to a good cause. If you’re passionate about a social issue of some kind, like homeless shelters or cancer research, you can donate that tax refund money and make a difference in the world! You can even write it off on next year’s taxes and repeat the cycle of giving.


  • The Secret Hack To Getting Your Taxes Done During Coronavirus!!

    The Secret Hack To Getting Your Taxes Done During Coronavirus!!

    It’s that time of year again. Tax time, the time when you know you need to get out and get your taxes prepared. Maybe you’re notorious for putting it off, since it can be pricey.

    However, there are a number of ways to get your taxes prepared for FREE during COVID-19! In fact, you can even get your taxes prepared online for completely free today! Here are some of the best sites to use for free tax preparation during this pandemic.

    Free Tax Preparation During COVID-19

    FreeTaxUSA

    FreeTaxUSA is a user-friendly and well-made site for tax preparation. The site is very straightforward, easily walking you through filing your taxes step-by-step. If you’re worried about your taxes being too complex to fill out online, don’t. This site offers you a very thorough helping hand in getting everything filed easily.

    While the federal return is totally free through this site, filing a state return through this site costs money. On average it costs about $12, so make sure you factor that in when you’re considering your tax filing. Keep in mind that it’s most likely that any tax prep site you use will require a small fee for filing a state return.

    H&R Block

    Many people are much more familiar with H&R Block due to their physical tax preparation locations. However, H&R Block also offers a free tax filing service through their website. While preparing online might not sound like the normal H&R Block, it’s actually a rather streamlined and easy-to-use site.

    Not all types of returns can be prepared on the site for free, however. As with most sites, state returns will still require a fee to be sent in from their site. Additionally, more complex tax returns could include a fee for filing.

    The upside to H&R Block is that if your taxes prove too complex to fill out online, you can go to one of their physical locations. Then, a tax-preparer can get you set up in-person! Keep in mind, however, that using in-person tax preparation won’t be free.

    TurboTax

    As their numerous commercials have proclaimed, TurboTax allows you to file your federal return for free. As you might expect, this doesn’t apply to state returns, which include a small fee. Much like FreeTaxUSA, TurboTax offers a great user interface for inputting all of your tax information.

    You won’t have to worry about forgetting something or getting lost. If you miss a box or need to input more info, the useful client will remind you. You can rest assured with TurboTax that your return will be accurate before you submit it!


  • The Best Reasons to Take a Cruise Vacation

    The Best Reasons to Take a Cruise Vacation

    Are you in serious need of a vacation? We can’t blame you for that, as everyone needs a break from time to time. However, what kind of vacation is the best for you? Many people love heading to the beach, or to exotic locales. Others prefer to go to resort hotels and enjoy the pool, the spa and the bars. What if you could get all of that and more on a single vacation?

    Why You Should Take a Cruise Vacation

    Stress-Free

    One of the biggest reasons to get out to a cruise boat and kick back in style is that a lot of the normal stresses of a vacation wash away when you get on the boat. You’ve got nothing to worry about: the boat is out at sea and all the luxury you could want is around you. There’s no need to drive anywhere or make travel plans: you’re already traveling!

    There’s nothing to stop you from just taking it easy, drinking however much you’d like, enjoying the comedy shows and clubs, and just generally taking it easy. It’s like being in a luxury resort that goes to all of the exotic locales you’d like to see during your vacation.

    Food Included

    Most cruises include all of your meals in their cost. That means that you get to eat at numerous tasty restaurants and don’t have to worry about the bill! Many cruise liners also have specialty restaurants that cost extra to dine at, but those are usually well worth the price. In either case, you get to sample tons of delicious food while enjoying the laid-back atmosphere of the boat. What’s not to love?

    Typically, the dinners that are included with the cruise are delicious and high-end. Most boats have a fancy dining room where guests are encouraged to come in formal wear, allowing for a very exquisite dining experience. It’s like getting a taste of how the other side lives, all while floating across the ocean.

    Exotic Locales

    No matter whether you take a Caribbean cruise, an Alaskan cruise, or a cruise throughout some other locale, you’ll get to see fantastic and exotic locales. While many vacations have you only visiting one or two locations for the sightseeing and fun, cruises allow you to visit numerous locales scattered across the region you’re visiting.

    Not only do you get to experience all of these great locations, you don’t have to worry about the travel to get there. The boat will take you right to the islands or locations you’d like to visit, and all while you’re relaxing and taking it easy on the boat.

    Amusement Park Meets Luxury Hotel

    When you’re on a cruise boat, you’re essentially on a giant, floating luxury hotel that is attached to an amusement park. Many boats have numerous attractions such as rock-climbing walls, water slides, hot tubs, pools and theaters with fun shows. Even on days that the boat is at sea, with no stops at exotic locations, you’re still enjoying the fun of the boat’s various attractions!

    There are also ample bars, clubs and activities to be found on the boat. If you fancy a drink at a cabana, you can find that below decks. Likewise, if you find yourself longing for a bit of nightlife, there are clubs you can go to dance and meet people.

    In short, a cruise vacation is likely the best of all types of vacations you could be considering going on. Taking a week to simply float on the ocean, enjoy luxury food and drinks, and have fun in the sun sounds like the ideal version of a week off. Not to mention, cruise vacations are usually more affordable than other types of vacations. What are you waiting for? Book yours today!


  • Reduce the Cost of Pre-Medicare Health Insurance

    Reduce the Cost of Pre-Medicare Health Insurance

    If you retire early, or you are self-employed, and you’re looking for health insurance, you might find it difficult to save money. A lot of people who retire before 65, when they become eligible for Medicare coverage, may find themselves spending an arm and a leg for insurance. If you feel like you’re paying way too much for your pre-Medicare health insurance, you’re not alone. Many people have felt the squeeze of rising inflation rates with insurance lately. Here are some ways you can save and reduce the cost of your health insurance.

    Reduce the Cost of Pre-Medicare Health Insurance

    The Problem

    Many people who are retirement-age, or who work for themselves, are finding it difficult to get affordable health insurance. These people who need pre-Medicare health insurance find that it is incredibly difficult to get coverage with a decent deductible that doesn’t cost an exorbitant amount. While the ACA has helped some people in this boat, there are others who don’t qualify for the subsidies on ACA plans.

    Instead, these people have been experiencing ballooning costs for premiums and watching as deductibles are slashed as health insurance companies try to squeeze more and more money out of them. The future hardly looks bright for the ACA marketplace: the current administration has vowed to stop protections for those with preexisting conditions and next year the penalties for having no insurance will fall away. This means that many healthy people may ignore the marketplace altogether, making premiums that much higher for those who use ACA plans.

    Who This Effects

    This situation disproportionately effects people in their 50’s and 60’s who have yet to reach Medicare eligibility. These pre-Medicare health insurance plans are increasingly failing people in their 50’s and 60’s as they develop more serious medical conditions and have to pay more and more every year to keep getting medicine and treatment they need to survive.

    For many of these people, even those who don’t currently have any serious health issues, the ballooning premiums and absurd cost of healthcare makes them nervous. They can’t opt for coverage with bare-bones provisions as they may develop serious medical conditions sooner rather than later. However, they also can’t afford the existing plans. So what do they do?

    Check the Marketplace

    While you might think there’s no good coverage on the Marketplace, you’d be wrong. For some people there are great pre-Medicare health insurance plans available through the marketplace. According to some industry analysts, people over 50 who use the Marketplace to find health coverage are actually saving more money now than in the past three years. Since 2015, premiums for people over 50 have dropped nearly 40%, down to an average of about $60 per month!

    As for those dramatic increases in premiums, you need not worry about them if you get subsidies through the ACA. For people who receive subsidies, these increases won’t actually hit you. For a single-person household, if the income is below around $48,000, you’ll receive these subsidies. For two-person households, this threshold is roughly $66,000.

    Even if you’re only just above this threshold, speak to a tax advisor. There are some ways you can qualify for the subsidies even if you make a bit more than these thresholds if you do something like making an IRA account contribution or some similar method.

    Consider Direct Payment

    This isn’t suggesting you simply pay for your treatments outright. Instead, some people are sidestepping insurance altogether and opting instead to engage in “direct primary care.” This method sees the patient paying their doctor a flat fee, usually around $70 per month, that tends to cover some portion of typical doctor’s visits, check-ups and preventative care.

    Doctors who engage in direct primary care often take steps to make sure their patients pay less overall for most basic medical services. This may include buying medications from pharmaceutical companies at wholesale prices and then selling them at cost. Another common cost-saving method is through direct contracts with labs, allowing for less expensive lab results and radiology, passing those savings to customers.

    Those who choose to use direct primary care are often advised to get insurance with high deductibles so that they have an option in case they become seriously ill or otherwise take on some large hospital bill. Generally this method is advised for people who have found relatively affordable high-deductible pre-Medicare health insurance. While this might not work for everyone, for many patients it results in them saving more money in the long run compared to getting a high-premium, low-deductible plan.


  • Easy Ways to Start Arts and Crafts

    Easy Ways to Start Arts and Crafts

    Kids need to be constantly occupied. They are generally not know for sitting is quiet contemplation or meditation. If you don’t find something to expand their ever growing mind and keep them entertained problems arise. Thats where is good to know some arts and crafts for kids.

     

    CHildren by nature are exploratory and crafty. They are constantly looking to build and make and craft anything they can get their hands on. There is a litany of benefits for getting your kids started with some arts and crafts. It improves their coordination and fine motor skills. Arts and crafts usually require kids to use both hands in a certain manner, which can help them develop fine motor skills and bilateral coordination. It gives them a sense of accomplishment and releases the fear of trying something new they don’t know they can do. Then the Self esteem. Making something and finishing a project, then putting it on display in your home boosts your child’s self esteem. Lets take a look at some easy way to get start crafting with kids

     

    Paint

    Kids love to paint! Children of all ages love to paint! These painting activities for kids range from the simplest painting with a brush or hands to more elaborate spin art, marble painting, and painting a fort. Paint is an art material that is easily adaptable to a wide variety of kids’ art activities. Some of the best and easiest painting activities are tempera paint, acrylic paint,BioColor paint. OR stick with the old classic finger paint.

    Try this one to get started. You can paint fall leaves with coffee filters and a glue gun.  Help your kid by drawing the outlines of leaves on the coffee filters and help them cut out on the outlines. Let your kid make the lines on the leaves using a glue gun. Set the coffee filters aside till the glue has completely dried. Now help your kid color the coffee filter leaves using the water color shades of his choice. Its simple easy and fun

    Lastly try the  Batik Painting. Use Glue Gel (NB regular white glue doesn’t work for batik painting), a white t-shirt and acrylic paints. Draw your pattern on with the glue. Tip put a paper bag between the front and back of the t-shirt so the glue doesn’t go through both layers). Then once the glue is dry paint over the design (don’t layer on too much paint or it will be hard to get off), soak the t-shirts in warm water overnight and the glue will begin to dissolve and reveal the white designs.

     

    Drawing

    Kids have a natural instinct to draw. Try this experiment, place a marker and something really important of yours in place of a child. Watch as the child will quickly cover it with any kids of drawing they can fathom. point is they love to draw, any kind of drawing,  including observational drawing, drawing prompts, and creative drawing exercises and drawing games. It is a very easy and inexpensive arts and crafts for kids activity.

    Get Started with a Draw Me Paintings. You’ll need a huge piece of paper as big as your child. Get them to lie down and draw around their outline. Then they can paint and decorate themselves! If you don’t have long paper you can do draw around your hand outlines and paint and decorate your hands with rings and bracelets.

    I also like the  Draw Your Town project as well.  On a big piece of paper ask your child to draw their town out starting with your house and drawing on roads, buildings, parks and monuments. You might need to go for a few walks to remind yourselves where everything is.

    Origami And Hama Beads

    Hama bead are the latest and greatest arts and crafts for kids projects. Hama Beads burst onto the scene a few years ago. If your kids have forgotten them, it’s a good craft activity and there’s no limit to creativity and inventing shapes and designs. And once your child’s finished designing with Hama Beads how to iron them so the design stays together is a trick worth knowing.

    Origami is a classic. It is cheap easy and a lot of fun arts and crafts for kids.  Origami is a good craft to do with your child, as you get to sit down and interact while transforming a simple piece of paper into something beautiful.


  • Your Guide To Buying Clothes on a Budget

    Your Guide To Buying Clothes on a Budget

    One way or the other, you have to spend some amount of your hard-earned money on your wardrobe..  You can’t walk around without any clothes on, after all. But figuring out which pieces to save money on and which are worth the investment can be a tricky financial path to navigate.

    Timing Is Everything

    Retailers put out-of-season clothing on clearance to get rid of the stock from their stores. You can save a ton buying clothing when you don’t need them — like a winter coat in May or a swimsuit in December. Time your clothing purchases right and you can save hundreds on your clothing expenses.

    January and August seem to be the best months to invest in clothing, Thursday is the best day to shop for clothes, and there are certain days of the week that might be best for specific apparel types. In general, buying off-season usually gets you better deals than buying what’s hot and trendy in the moment, price-wise.

    Buy Quality Clothing

    Unless it’s practically free, you’re better off buying clothing items from good brands with a reputation for well-made items. If you give me the choice between a $10 shirt that’s falling apart after a few wears or a $100 shirt that still looks good after fifty washings, I’ll take the $100 shirt any day of the week.

    Wait, spend even more money on clothes? Yes, in general, you’ll get more value (or cost per wear) out of decent clothes that actually fit you and will last longer rather than doing the “fast food” approach to new clothing every year.

    Cheap T-Shirts, Premium Jeans

    Trendy clothes tend to cost more and have a shorter shelf life. You could spend hundreds trying to keep up with the fashion magazines, only to realize that you no longer adore that peasant skirt six months later. Stick to classic styles and basic pieces that will always be trendy. Just stack your wardrobe with t-shirts and jeans. This is what you will wear the most often.

    Splurge on one or two good pairs of really nice jeans.  Opt for premium denim with an attractive dark wash, with the right amount of stretch.  They should fit far better and will last longer than a cheaper pair. On the other hand, you shouldn’t judge t-shirts by their price tag. Find a cheap off brand tee that fits nicely and buy in bulk. This is because you tend to wash them more than other clothing, and they don’t have that long of a shelf life to begin with.

    Thrifty Thrift Stores

    Thrift stores sell gently used clothing at a deep discount. Many stores also have regular sales or a weekly special. For example, a thrift store in my area has a “50 percent off anything with a yellow tag” sale every Wednesday. Just make sure you’re shopping at a true thrift store and not a vintage clothing store. The difference: Vintage clothing stores sell trendier older pieces at a markup. Thrift stores sell older and newer clothes at a discount.

    If you’re smart about money, clothes shopping should start at thrift stores, consignment shops, yard sales, and the like. There’s a simple reason for that – there are people who tend to basically give away much of their stuff unused or barely used, so why not take advantage of it? Sure, you might browse through a thrift store and find absolutely nothing that works for you, but so what?

    You spent fifteen or twenty minutes searching for a bargain and came up empty. Move on. However, if you find even one or two items that work for your family’s needs and save 75% or more off of the original cost of the item, then the stop was well worth it.

    Sell It

    If you don’t wear certain items of clothing, drop them off at a consignment shop. When the shop sells your clothing, it will cut you a check for a portion of the profits. You won’t get the full amount, but you won’t have to do much work either. Consider going through your closet once a year. If you haven’t worn that sweater in 365 days, you probably don’t need it.

    Consignment is especially good for higher-end items like leather jackets and very lightly used party dresses. Make sure you bring the items to the shop clean and pressed to give them maximum appeal. If you don’t have local consignment shops, consider online stores that do the same thing, such as ThredUP, Poshmark, and The RealReal.

    On or Offline?

    Consider trying to shop in retail stores versus online. Online stores can have some great deals, and for people who know their sizes, it might work out most of the time. But by the time you pay shipping, realize something doesn’t fit and then pay to have the items returned, you might find that online shopping might not be as inexpensive as you think.  Make sure that you pay attention to shipping and return fees if you think there is a chance you might want to return the item.

    Online shopping for accessories, like purses, scarves, or brands that you know fit because you’ve worn them before would be your best bet. But also don’t forget the online version of your favorite local stores.  They’ve been known to also offer deep discounts and a larger selection than their brick and mortar stores on clearance items.


  • Top 5 DNA Tests for Ancestry

    Top 5 DNA Tests for Ancestry

    For centuries, genealogists have relied on oral and written records to trace their family trees. But around the year 2000, the age of genealogical DNA testing was launched. This provided genealogists and family historians with an opportunity to use well-established scientific methods to prove relationships and ancestry.

    Ready to take an ancestry DNA test to better understand your family’s past, but aren’t sure which one to choose? You’re not alone. Several excellent DNA tests for genealogy are now available for a reasonable cost, but picking the right one for you can be very confusing. Which DNA test is best?

    23 and Me

    Called 23andMe as a nod to each person’s unique set of 23 chromosomes, 23andMe is the only kit in this lineup to offer health screenings aside from autosomal testing.  Fill the tube with your spit, send it back for testing, and get your results in 6-8 weeks. Results are kept indefinitely, so you can log on at any time to see or update your family tree.

    23andMe’s health tests can give valuable information about genetic illnesses, health risks, carrier status on health conditions, or traits that may run in your family — providing you with an important heads up about any checkups you may want to schedule.

    23andMe is possibly the easiest to find, sold at retailers like Target as well as Amazon and 23andMe.com. Though the starting price on these sites is $29.99, the lab fee will add up to either $69 or $169 — $10 cheaper than the base price on 23andMe’s official website, depending on if you choose just the ancestry test or add the health screening to that.

    MyHeritage

    If you’re balling on a budget and are only looking for the autosomal testing, MyHeritage could be the DNA test for you. First timers may also find this kit the most appealing as it is the most user-friendly. Swab the inside of your cheek with the provided tool, send it back for testing, and have your results in 3-4 weeks. Results are kept for 25 years.

    MyHeritage is said to be the fastest and cheapest test, usually sending results back to participants in 3-4 weeks and not requiring a monthly-paid subscription to access results. MyHeritage also pulls from 42 graphic regions, the third highest number behind AncestryDNA and Living DNA. DNA can be linked online to create a family tree, and there is an option to upload raw data — so if you’ve gotten some sort of genealogy tests done before or have outside genetics information that you’d like to use, it can easily be included in results.

    Ancestry.com

    AncestryDNA makes it easy to explore your ethnic origins but can’t differentiate between maternal and paternal lineages. This test is great for tracing your ethnic roots and finding living relatives.  Though all of the DNA services provide broadly similar results for ethnic origins, AncestryDNA presented this data in a clearer manner and placed the information in a useful historical context.

    For people seeking distant cousins or even biological parents, the company’s claimed DNA database of 10 million customers—twice the size of its closest competitor’s—increases the odds of successful matches. Unlike the other services we tested, however, AncestryDNA cannot track your maternal and paternal heritage independently or trace your ancient migration path out of Africa. Ancestry.com also is one of the most affordable DNA tests out there, usually $99 but currently offering a holiday special for only $59!

    Family Tree

    Family Tree is a data trove for genealogists with a bigger budget. It has options for highly detailed analysis of maternal and paternal lineages. But the cost for the genealogist-oriented add-ons can add up quickly. Family Tree DNA offers a more comprehensive suite of testing options than any service we evaluated, with additional tools that should satisfy genealogy buffs looking to explore their connections to early human migration or find relatives from one particular side of their family tree.

    As you would at a good sushi restaurant, however, you’ll want to watch your bill. Family Tree DNA’s à la carte approach can quickly add up; you can easily spend more than than three times the testing cost of our main pick.

    Living DNA

    Living DNA is a UK-based genomics firm that offers autosomal DNA data, as well as a breakdown of matrilineal and patrilineal lines. DNA data is gathered through a mouth swab. We liked how shipping for the test kit is free.

    If you’re looking for a DNA service that can match you to other possible relatives throughout the world, Living DNA is not the service for you. While Living DNA is beginning to build up a family match database, there’s nothing there now to work with.

    On the other hand, Living DNA’s test is quite comprehensive if you’re researching your background without regard to finding long-lost cousins. The company tests 638,000 autosomal SNPs, 22,500 Y chromosome SNPs and 17,800 X chromosome SNPs, along with 4,700 mitochondrial SNPs.

    Of particular interest to those looking backwards throughout their history, Living DNA tracks DNA to 80 geographic regions, and, for those of you with a UK family history, can even can provide an map of where your ancestors lived on the islands.