How to Save Money on a Cruise: 15 Ways to Cruise On a Tight Budget

Cruising the ocean can be an expensive excursion or a reasonably affordable vacation depending on when you book it, what you choose to do on the ship, and several other factors. In this article, we’ll tell you about some options to consider and how to save money on a cruise.

Cruising has a reputation for an expensive way to take a vacation. But, actually, if you do it right, a cruise can be a great place to save money. It rolls most of your travel expenses and accommodation expenses into one, and if you book a full package you can even get food rolled into the costs, too.

Plus with the variety of cruises that are available these days, you can find something for everyone. Whether you want to go to an exotic beach and drink mojitos, get some much-needed quality family time, or see interesting European cities, there’s a cruise for you. And here’s how you can save on that perfect cruise vacation.

1. Be Open Minded About Your Cruise Options

As with any other type of travel, you’ll likely save money if you’re open-minded about where you cruise. You’ll find there are hidden gems of destinations where you can get the full cruising experience at a much lower price. Check out cruise-related blogs and cruise line websites to get an idea of destinations that might be more affordable.

It’s fine to determine the type of cruise you want, whether it’s warm and beachy or interesting and sophisticated. Just don’t get stuck on a particular location or area, and you’re likely to find better deals.

2. Understand Exactly What’s Included in your Cruise

When booking a cruise package, it’s absolutely essential that you understand exactly what’s included in that package. Many new cruisers think they’re getting certain meals or drinks included only to find out that this isn’t the case.

On this note, too, be sure you’re comparing apples to apples when pricing out different cruising options. A luxury line with included beverages and certain meals may be cheaper than a more affordable cruise line where you upgrade to get all the extras you want.

3. Consider the Beverage Package

If a major part of your ideal vacation involves drinking cocktails by the pool and wine at dinner, a beverage package can be worth the cost. However, if you’re not a big drinker, you’re likely better off skipping the package and buying drinks on special as you want them.

Remember, cruise line restaurants, just like typical restaurants, have specials and discounts. So you might be able to get a good discount on drinks while you’re eating out anyway. Or you could save your drinking for on-shore excursions to local dives.

Some ships also allow you to bring a certain number of non-alcoholic beverages on board. This will keep you from spending money on bottled water or soda. You can usually find the policy on what you can and cannot bring on board listed on the cruise line’s website.

4. Book Onboard Entertainment Ahead of Time

Booking onboard experiences and entertainment ahead of time will give you access to more options. Plus it can be cheaper to do it this way. One thing to consider is booking these things during hours when other guests are less likely to want to book these attractions. Booking when demand is lower can save you money.

5. Look at Restaurant Packages

Again, a package may or may not end up saving you money. But don’t discount it before looking into your options. On some cruise lines, booking a restaurant package ahead of time winds up being quite a bit cheaper than dining onboard on your own. If nothing else, it keeps you from inadvertently overspending by always choosing the priciest food at the most luxurious restaurant on board.

6. Use The Spa on Port Days

It stands to reason that most other cruisers are going to want to go ashore on port days. That makes these days the best time, typically, to book spa treatments in particular. This is also true of other on-boat attractions and entertainment. Look at the schedule to see which ports-of-call you’re less interested in visiting, and then book the treatments you’d like to get during those times.

7. Explore Ports On Your Own

Most cruise lines offer a variety of packages for exploring ports-of-call. But they’re typically more expensive than what you’ll pay if you explore the port on your own. You can save the most by simply experiencing the port like a local. Walk around and find some interesting restaurants. Ask the locals what they do for fun. Or see if there are any cultural attractions nearby that you can get to using public transportation.

Just be mindful of your time frame when planning port explorations, and make sure you get back to the ship in plenty of time.

8. Keep an Eye on Fares

Booking a cruise is similar to booking a flight. You want to keep an eye on the fares for a while to make sure you’re getting a good deal. If you’ve booked a few cruises, you might know about what the going rate is for the one you’re considering. But if this is your first cruise, you may have no idea what to expect.

If this is the case, spend a month or so looking at different cruises on different dates. Look at what the fares are, and get a feel for how they’re rising or falling for the cruise you’re interested in. Then when you book you can be reasonably confident you’re getting a good deal.

9. Book Early or at the Last Minute

Once you have a feel for the fares you should expect, it’s time to figure out when to book. You’ll typically get the best deals if you book really early or at the last minute. Booking a cruise several months out gives you access to generally low prices as well as more options for cabins and cruise activities.

But spontaneously booking a week or two in advance can also work to your advantage. If you can be flexible about your cabin, especially, you can take advantage of some steep discounts as the cruise company seeks to fill up still-open spaces.

10. Cruise in the Shoulder Season

Cruise seasons will generally sync up with typical tourist seasons for the destination areas. And cruising in the shoulder season–that time right before or right after the peak season for your destination–can save you a lot of money.

Just when the shoulder season falls will depend on the destination of your cruise. You might get good deals in Europe in the spring or fall, or snag an excellent fare for a Bermudan cruise in September or October. Just be sure if you’re buying when the weather might be really bad–like during hurricane season–that you consider trip insurance.

11. Limit Your Flight Time

It’s easy to get lost in finding the best deal on your cruise and to forget that you also need to look at the cost of getting to your port. If you live on the east coast and find a great cruise that leaves from California, that might not be such a savings after all. Luckily, more and more cruise lines are leaving from cities around United States coastlines, so you can probably leave from a destination fairly close to home. This can save you a ton on airfare.

12. Disconnect

WiFi still tends to be expensive on many cruises, and it can cost a lot to connect with your phone when you’re in the middle of the ocean. So take this time as an excuse to disconnect. You can always find an internet cafe when you’re in a port to hook up to your email or post a few pictures to Instagram.

13. Pack Light

Just like airlines, cruise ships have baggage fees. Even if you could pack your room full of clothing for every single day, that doesn’t mean you should. That extra weight and bulk will cost you. So it’s best to pack light. Pack versatile mix-and-match outfits, and plan to do essential laundry on board. To save even more, pack some laundry detergent and wash your clothes in the sink in the evenings.

14. Look For All the Discounts

A cruise is basically a mini economy once you’re on board. There are so many options of places to eat and things to do. And most of those options have demand cycles just like they would on land. So that means they often run discounts during slow times. Be sure to look around the cruise ship for these discounts whenever you’re looking for something to do or something to eat.

15. Don’t Forget Your Credit Card Rewards

You probably already know how to use credit card rewards to save on airfare and hotels. But what about using a credit card rewards system to save on a cruise?

Many cruise lines offer branded rewards cards, but they typically don’t give you a good value for your spending. Instead, look for a travel rewards credit card that fits with your everyday lifestyle, and then plan to use your rewards to pay for either your cruise or the airfare associated with getting to and from your cruise.

Or look for a card that specifically gives you bonus points for travel booked on the card, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred. Just be sure that the credit card company counts a cruise as travel, as not all do.

Finally, you can decide to use a cash back credit card, instead, and then use the cash back towards your cruise. This may not get you as much bang for your buck. But it leaves you with flexible rewards on everyday spending that you can save up and use on a cruise.

Bon Voyage!

Topics: Travel

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Simple Care Tips for the Bathroom Sink

Content originally published and Shared from http://perfectbath.com

At the end of a long day, all we want to do is relax in our comfort zone. However, a home with a dingy bathroom isn’t exactly what we have in mind when we think of comfort, right? Have a pristine, hotel-like bathroom by practicing these tips:

Photo by Dan Watson on Unsplash

Keep your sink from getting scratched
Avoid abrasive cleaners, which can scratch your sink. Those scratches become magnets for grease, soap scum and dirt. Scrubbing the sink with a solution of 1 tablespoon ammonia to 1 gallon of water will dissolve them and bring back your sink’s shine. A solution of 1 teaspoon of trisodium phosphate to a gallon of water effectively removes grease and soap scum build up as well. Also known as TSP, trisodium phosphate, a degreasing agent, can be found at most hardware stores in white powder form. Source: HomeGuides.SFGate

Maintain a clean sink
Regularly wash your sink with soap and water. You can prevent dirt and stains from building up in the first place by gently washing your sink after every use. Use a little dish soap and a soft, non-abrasive sponge, and rinse thoroughly with clean water.  Source: WikiHow

Remove stains right away
De-stain surfaces with lemon juice. We’ve got a sure remedy for stained sinks: Erase those spots with a paste made of one-half cup of powdered borax and the juice of one-half lemon. Dab a sponge in the mixture, rub, and rinse with running water—it’ll work like a charm whether your sink is made of porcelain enamel, stainless steel, or any other material.

Get rid of mineral deposits
Use vinegar on your lime. The white spots that you have so much trouble cleaning off the faucets are lime deposits from mineral-rich hard water. They’re very easy to remove with a secret ingredient that’s already in your pantry: vinegar. Soak a paper towel in vinegar, and wrap the towel around the spotted area. Wait 10 minutes and then buff with a dry paper towel. This works well on all fixtures except brass or colored fixtures; using vinegar on these surfaces may discolor them. Source: RD

Our selection of trendy ceramic sinks will surely fit your budget and needs. Take a look and call us if you need any assistance.

 

Contact:
Perfect Bath
Phone: Toll Free 1-866-843-1641
Calgary, Alberta
Email: info@perfectbath.com

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Cleaning Tips for Stubborn Toilet Stains

Content originally published and Shared from http://perfectbath.com

Are you finding it difficult to remove ring stains in your toilet? With the following ingredients, you’ll have plenty of effective solutions to choose from.

Image Source: Flickr

Coca-Cola
Get rid of stubborn toilet bowl stains with a 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola. Pour the full can around the rim of your toilet so it coats the toilet bowl and let the soda sit for an hour. The acid in the Coca-Cola will break down the stains. After an hour, scrub the bowl with a toilet brush and flush. Source: BrightNest

Vinegar
Most people reach for bleach to obliterate toilet germs and stains. However, Green living expert Mark Lallanilla says that plain old white vinegar is not only an effective cleaner, but also safer than chlorine bleach. To eliminate hard water stains, soak toilet paper in vinegar and place directly on top of the stain. Let the vinegar-soaked paper sit overnight. The next morning, flush to rinse and the stains should be gone.

Lallanilla says that full-strength vinegar also works great on grout and caulk. Use a spray bottle to saturate the area and let it soak in for at least an hour before rinsing. Source: TheSpruce

Water softener
Often times stubborn toilet bowl rings are directly the result of hard water deposits. While you can always take some time to clean the ring after it appears, it is usually better to stop the problem from ever forming in the first place. If you can afford to do it, install a water softener in your home and have it maintained properly. This should reduce a large number of water related problems not just in the bathroom, but throughout the rest of the house as well. Source: Cleaning.Tips

Borax powder
Borax powder is a very powerful cleaning agent that’s not found in a supermarket, but in a hardware store. Shut the water supply to the toilet tank and empty the bowl by flushing it once. Sprinkle the powder directly on the stains and rub them with a toilet brush. After scrubbing, let the powder sit for thirty minutes. Then reconnect the water supply to the tank and flush the toilet. Source: Home.HowStuffWork

Why not replace your toilet with top-of-the-line quality and design that still fits your budget? Choose from the ones we have on our website or call us for assistance!

 

Contact:
Perfect Bath
Phone: Toll Free 1-866-843-1641
Calgary, Alberta
Email: info@perfectbath.com

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When is it Time to Replace Your Car?

Driving an older car is a smart financial choice. But if your vehicle is leaving you stranded several times a month and is a source of great stress, put it in park. Let’s find out if it’s time to replace your car.

Buying a car is a huge financial decision. And it’s definitely not one you want to take lightly. Contrary to popular belief and practice, it is possible to go through life without a perpetual car payment. But that takes discipline. And it likely means that you’ll drive your current car until the wheels fall off, as they say.

But no matter how reliable your vehicle, chances are it’ll eventually need to be replaced. So is it really time to replace your car? Or should you just put some money into repairs and hang on for a few thousand more miles?

This is a personal decision with many factors that come into play. But if you’re considering replacing your car, read through these questions before you make the final call.

Is Your Vehicle Unsafe or Unreliable?

Of course, this decision should involve some math. But before you even start calculating whether to repair or replace your old car, figure out the answer to this question.

You may be able to salvage an unsafe or unreliable vehicle with some maintenance, even if it’s costly. And sometimes that may make sense. But if you cannot get your vehicle into a safe and reliable condition, it’s almost certainly time to replace the car.

The question of reliability is an interesting one, though. If your car dies once in a while due to a faulty something-or-other, that may not be the biggest deal in the world. Maybe you save up the money over a couple of months and then get the underlying issue fixed. But if you have a very high mileage car, you may be facing issue after issue.

Even if you can afford to keep putting money into the car to maintain it, the constant back and forth to the auto shop can become a problem. If your car problems are constantly causing you to be late for work or cancel plans, it’s probably time for a new-to-you vehicle.

How Much Are You Spending on Maintenance?

There are a few rules of thumb here to decide if you’re spending too much to maintain an older vehicle. Ultimately this is partially your own call, though. If you have a relatively reliable vehicle you love and it’s paid off, continuing to put money into maintenance may make sense. But at some point, you’ll want to step back and ensure that the money you’re spending on maintenance is actually worth it.

Here are two different rules of thumb to consider when it comes to this question:

Maintenance Costs vs. the Value of the Car

If your proposed one-time maintenance cost is more than half the current value of the vehicle (in working condition), it’s probably time to get a new vehicle. Say your mechanic quotes you $1,500 for some major necessary engine work. If your car is worth $4,000, that’s probably worth it. If it’s only worth $2,000, you might want to think twice before having the maintenance done.

Part of the problem here is that it’ll be hard to recoup the costs of the maintenance unless you have a guarantee that the car will continue running for several months or years after that cost outlay. Plus, as we’ll talk about in a moment, it may make more sense to save that money for your down payment on a new car. This is especially true if there’s a good chance your car will need even more work within a few months.

Maintenance Costs vs. a Potential Car Payment

Another way to look at maintenance costs is through the lens of a monthly car payment. The average monthly car payment on a brand new car is about $510, according to Edmunds. On a used car, the average payment is $361.

So let’s say you’re putting, on average, $2,000 per year into your used car to keep it in running shape. That’s a huge savings over the course of a year! Even a one-time large maintenance cost of $3,000 could actually save you money over the long haul.

Of course, the key is figuring out what you’re likely to spend on maintenance for the full year. This can be tricky. Have an honest conversation with your mechanic about potential other maintenance issues before you write a check for a couple grand to fix the current problem.

How Long Will the Maintenance Keep it Going?

Another question, referenced above, is how long your car is likely to keep running with the proper maintenance. If you do make the repairs in question, how many months can you expect to go before more major repairs are needed? It can be hard to tell, but, again, having an honest conversation with a trustworthy mechanic can help.

For instance, though, say you have some necessary work done on your vehicle for $1,500. Your mechanic thinks another $500 problem will need attention in a couple of months. That’s $2,000 in a short amount of time. But if that amount of maintenance will keep your car running well for a year, it may still be worth the money over the long haul.

One way to get a feel for the answer to this question is to figure out your car’s average life span. How many miles are other drivers getting out of the vehicle before it breaks down for good? One way to find out is to check out Consumer Reports’ car reliability guides. They can give you an idea of how many miles your vehicle is likely to last. If you’re getting close to that mark, it may be time to part with your car.

Should You Use Your Money For Repair or a Down Payment?

If you do decide to buy a new vehicle, having a large down payment will be helpful. So sometimes it’s important to frame the question of buying a new car or repairing the old one in these terms. You could pay $1,500 to repair your vehicle. Or you could sell the vehicle to your mechanic for $500 and then take $2,000 for a down payment on your next vehicle.

This question may be even more important when you’re not facing a large maintenance cost but are considering buying a new vehicle. It could be better to sell your current vehicle while it still has some trade-in value, which will only serve to boost your total down payment, lowering the payment on your next vehicle.

Of course, your ultimate goal should be to buy your next vehicle in cash. So if you’re close to being able to do that, saving money on repairs to put towards a cash payment for a vehicle may make the most sense. This is especially true if you have the money to get into a significantly lower-mileage or more reliable vehicle right now.

What Would Your Total New Car Costs Be?

Before you dive into the new or new-to-you car route, be sure you understand what your total costs would be. As we noted above, Edmunds data shows that the average car payment is between $380 and $510, depending on what type of car you’re buying and how long you’re stretching your financing.

Unfortunately, many more people are stretching their financing beyond the standard two-to-three year loan. Some people are financing for 72 to 84 months! Seven years is a very long time to make payments on one car, especially if you drive a lot of miles and may not get it paid off before it totally breaks down.

You can look at your total new car costs using calculators like this one on Edmunds. If you can’t afford your next vehicle budget-wise, figure out how to keep your current one running–even if you’re holding on parts with duct tape–until you do. The last thing you want is to get into more debt than you can reasonably afford just to upgrade your car.

Make the Decision Before the Car Makes it For You

With all this said, you want to make the decision to upgrade to a different car before you current vehicle makes the decision for you. Sure, you can drive your car until the wheels literally fall off. But if you’re dancing on that line of becoming unsafe or unsustainably unreliable, you may want to go ahead and trade in your wheels now.

Start thinking ahead of time about replacing your vehicle when it needs this, and then take the following steps to replace your current vehicle with your next new-to-you car.

Figure Out Your Down Payment

First, decide how much you can afford to put down on your vehicle. The obvious solution here is to dip into your mid-term savings account. (You do have one of those, right?) You can also figure out how much your current vehicle is likely to trade in for. Or try selling it yourself to get a better return on your investment.

In short, the larger down payment you have, the better off you’ll be. You’ll get a better interest rate on a loan, and you’ll be able to get a better car for your money.

Decide Whether to Lease or Buy

In general, buying a vehicle is a better option than leasing one. If you don’t have a large down payment or great credit, leasing can sometimes be a good option. However, if you buy another new-to-you vehicle and drive it as long as possible, you’ll ultimately save money in the long run. Potentially tens of thousands of dollars.

You can read our full breakdown of the lease vs. buy conversation here. But the bottom line is that leasing isn’t for everyone. And buying a used, reliable vehicle that you’ll drive for at least five to ten years is typically the best way to save the most money.

Buy at This Time

If your vehicle breaks down for good unexpectedly, you may not have much choice in when to buy your next car. But if you’re looking ahead a bit and expect to need a new car soon, planning when to buy can help you save.

According to Kelley Blue Book, there are three major times you’ll save more on a new vehicle: at end-of-year and holiday sales events, at the end of the month when dealerships are trying to meet their quotas, and right after a new model of that vehicle is released if you plan to buy the previous year’s model. Used cars have less obvious cycles, other than the month-end and year-end times when dealerships are trying to offload their stock.

Having an old car can seem like a drag at times, especially if your friends and neighbors all have newer models. But remember, you could save tens of thousands of dollars by hanging on to your paid-off beater as long as possible.

Eventually, though, all good things come to an end. And that includes your vehicle. Just be sure to think through your decision to be sure you aren’t making the new car choice for the wrong reasons. And once you have decided to opt for a new vehicle, make smart buying decisions you won’t regret.

Topics: cars

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Bathroom Ideas for the Modern Family

Content originally published and Shared from http://perfectbath.com

 

The bathroom may be the smallest room in your house, but it does not mean you can’t have a stylish and classy space. You can have it designed with new showers and bathtubs as well as tiles. Contact professionals and get ideas on various choices. Give your bathroom a modern look following below ideas:

Tub

There is so much fun in designing the bathroom. If you are looking for a bathtub and shower, visit showersly.com/best-freestanding-tubs-reviews and choose what suits your budget. A bathtub is a good idea to give your bathroom a modern look. It adds luxury to the household and it can be a place to keep warm during the cold seasons.

Mirror

You will need mirrors to make sure you clean your whole body properly before stepping out of your bathroom. Consider framing the mirror and sticking it on the bathroom walls. Mastic adhesive can be used to install a tile frame around it. You can also go for creative wooden frames or molding or have one customized for you. Add sconces to both sides of the mirror to brighten the space and remove shadows when looking into the mirror.

Tiles

There are different tile designs that will give your bathroom a beautiful look. Go for wall tiles that are long lasting, easy to clean and mold resistance. Give your bathroom floor a rough, colorful texture to avoid falls on slippery tiles. Do not overlook the aspect of safety, especially in homes with small children and older individuals. Safety and function should go together.

Storage

You will need space for your bathroom. Your modern family bathroom will want to have ample storage. Install shelving units and fixtures that are well suited to bathroom. No matter the size of the bathroom, you can make it stylish by choosing accessories and features that compliment your colors. Having storage is an important component of keeping your modern family bathroom neat and well organized. You can make a trendy modern family bathroom design in any room no matter what the size or shape.

Paints

What’s the best paint to use? Semi-gloss paint is a great choice because you can easily wipe down markings and stains e.g. from dirty/oily hands. This is important, especially if you have children, or someone working a ‘dirty’ job. If you use flat paint, the frequent wiping will cause the paint to chip, requiring a repaint soon after. In addition, semi-gloss paint has reflective qualities, and can help to boost your lighting, making the room warmer. Choose paints with that give your bathroom a smooth touch.

 

You can keep your bathroom looking good and modern by giving it a touch of class when remodeling it. It will save you some money if you plan on what to purchase for your bathroom as well. Make a budget and stick to it. Work on the cost of materials and labor and give your bathroom that wow look. It is very possible to give your bathroom a modern and trendy appearance without breaking the bank. Plan well and enjoy your baths.

 

Contributed by: Perfectbath.com  Foremost experts in Bathroom design and Bathroom fixtures.

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{#TransparentTuesday} Chivalry

 

Let’s talk about chivalry.

I asked for email topic requests in my Instagram stories, and a man asked me to talk about whether or not chivalry is “dead” in today’s new political climate, and if so what we should do instead. (More and more men seem to be reading my work– I see you and appreciate you, men!)

I have many thoughts on this topic of course, none of which have anything to do with this new political climate. The whole concept of chivalry has bothered me since I was child. Even back then, I identified it as an extension of the fucked up gender expectations and gender performances that were forced upon us and never quite fit.

So while I personally wish chivalry died a long time ago, I can certainly acknowledge that many people (male and female alike!) really like it, and don’t want to give it up. I see this being especially true among women who want to be treated “like a lady,” and men who appreciate having a code to ensure they’re treating people well.

That’s why, instead of simply going on a rant about how chivalry sucks, I think we should open up a conversation about how to examine and update this code as needed.

Let’s begin by defining chivalry, since I think people tend to mistake “chivalry” with “general kindness and friendliness,” which creates heated confusion.

You probably know that chivalry began with the Medieval knights, but when we use it nowadays we’re typically referring to the behaviors of a man who upholds the old-fashioned standards of character and conduct associated with being a gallant knight. It particularly refers to how he treats women, and most often with respect to the etiquette of heterosexual dating.

What people consider chivalrous can vary, but some common behaviors include: picking a woman up for a date instead of meeting there, paying on the first date, opening doors and pulling out chairs for a woman, waiting until she is seated to sit, walking on the street side of the sidewalk to keep her from getting splashed, standing up from a table whenever she arrives or leaves, walking her to the door after a date, and asking her father for his blessing before proposing.

Let’s bear in mind here that the etiquette we now think of as chivalry were created back in the olden days when privileged “ladies” could barely do anything (due to their nonexistent social privilege and restrictive clothing) other than sit around and fan themselves.

I mean… of course you had to pull a chair out for a lady, her whalebone corset prevented her from doing it herself. Of course you pay on a first date, women couldn’t have their own bank accounts. Of course you had to ask her father for permission to marry her, she was his property!

But nowadays, many people defend chivalry by telling me that it’s just about simple acts of kindness and respect.

I don’t buy that though. Simple acts of kindness (paying for the person behind you in line, offering to help someone struggling with something, or holding the door for the next person when they’re close) are awesome… but those things have nothing to do with chivalry.

Chivalry as we know it is about the appropriate code of conduct regarding gender roles, specifically regarding how men treat women. If you believe in chivalry but it’s gender-blind, then you don’t believe in chivalry. You believe in kindness. (So do I!)

Don’t get me wrong, I actually think how we view gender roles and gender performance is a super interesting and important modern topic worthy of examination. Which is actually my biggest issue with chivalry– it isn’t an examination. It’s a mindless rulebook, a stand-in for actually considering what we think counts as appropriate, courteous, and kind behavior.

I once dated a guy who was incredibly chivalrous. He was obsessed with treating his mama right, he held doors and paid for meals, and he once got in a fight to defend his sister’s honor. He was also an incredibly sexist asshole who fell back on this code of honor in order to walk around feeling righteous and better than other people. All I wanted was for someone to listen to me, but he was too busy “being a man” and protecting me from dishonor to do that.

Being chivalrous is too often like that- it gets in the way of genuine kindness and connection, instead of facilitating it.

Many people seem to think that we need to update which behaviors are considered chivalrous to “get with the times.”  But that still feels like missing the point. Why do we need to create a new rulebook to follow?

Having a rulebook– even an updated one!– still feels lazy and presumptuous to me, like a workaround so men don’t have to learn the important skills of being present, paying attention, and communicating clearly. A man can just do these specific things (whether or not they benefit the woman) and then rest assured that he is a good, upstanding man who did everything he could.

We can do better that that.

If men stopped presuming they know the right way to treat women, they would have to ask and listen to women instead. This is much more vulnerable, complex, and uncomfortable. It would be much more daunting, because it puts men in danger of “messing up” as they move through the messy grey area of trying to be a good person without a rulebook.

This is exactly what I propose men learn to do.

We don’t need updated chivalry, we need more courage, openness, and communication.

Note: If you’re a man who loves to spoil women with old-fashioned manners, or a woman who loves when men treat you “like a lady,” that’s fine! By all means, enjoy the women and men in your life who are open to this. But don’t mistake your personal preference for how “men should be.” Masculinity doesn’t need to be defined by narrow and arbitrary standards of behavior, and holding all men to that standard does everyone a disservice.

Come on over to Instagram or Facebook to join the discussion today, and share your thoughts on this!

<3
Jessi

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Why You Need to Know How to Find & Choose a Home Inspector

Choose carefully. The right home inspector can save you from buying a money pit. And that’s just one reason you need to know how to choose a home inspector. Find out more below.

Of all the various professionals involved in the homebuying process, probably the most underrated is the home inspector. As the buyer of a home filled with unknowns, a qualified home inspector can be your best friend. He or she can highlight any significant flaws in the property and give you an opportunity to have them repaired before closing.

Some buyers pass up a home inspection. Others have it done, then ignore what’s reported. Don’t do either! Get the home inspection, read it carefully, and act on any recommendations made. By doing this, you can save many thousands of dollars after the closing.

What Exactly Does a Home Inspector Do?

A home inspector’s job is to determine the integrity of a home, and its various components. In inspecting a home, they’re looking to determine its safety, livability, and the utility of its systems. A qualified home inspector will do a thorough inspection of the home, then provide a written report on every major aspect of the property, including:

• Roof
• Siding
• Gutters and downspouts
• Appliances
• Windows and doors
• Structural elements (foundation, basement, attic, visible flaws in construction that may be due to structural problems)
• Plumbing (including sinks and toilets) and electrical systems
• Furnace, water heater and air conditioning
• Evidence of water or pest damage
• Toxic conditions, such as lead paint, asbestos, radon testing or mold

After inspecting the property for all these elements, a detailed report will be prepared. It’s usually in the form of a checklist, ensuring that all components of the home have been inspected. The report will note any deficiencies. Some may be cosmetic in nature, while others may require further action.

Further action may include getting an additional inspection from a specialist, such as a roofer, plumber, or electrician. In other instances, the inspector will recommend an outright repair of a deficient condition.

Why You Shouldn’t Take the First Referral or One Referred by Your Realtor

If you’re working with a real estate agent, he or she will be anxious to provide a home inspector. There’s a reason why this is true; some real estate agents prefer home inspectors who don’t make a habit of reporting conditions that will “kill” their deal. That kind of inspector will be good for the real estate agent, but not for you as the homebuyer.

A better route is to get referrals from other recent homebuyers, particularly those where the report indicated significant deficiencies in the property. That lets you know that the inspector gives an honest report.

As well, it’s important to make sure the home inspector is working directly for you. This is very different from an inspector who frequently works with your real estate agent, and doesn’t want to do anything to upset that relationship.

Credentials You Should Look For

Unfortunately, home inspection is something of an open field. People from different backgrounds consider themselves to be home inspectors. It could be a carpenter, a former real estate agent, or even an appraiser who does home inspection on the side. None of these backgrounds indicate the person is qualified as a full-service home inspector.

Preferably, the inspector should be a member of either the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors (NACHI) and/or the National Associations of Home Inspectors (NAHI) (be sure to verify this with either association, and not just take the inspector’s word for it). Membership in either organization will help to ensure the inspector isn’t just doing the work on a casual basis.

Be sure the inspector has a website you can check, as well as business cards and professional stationery. This will help to ensure the inspector is actually in business, and not just occasionally moonlighting in his spare time.

Also check with the local Better Business Bureau (BBB). They’ll provide both an overall rating, as well as customer reviews. Read those reviews and look for recurring situations, they can be quite revealing. As well, BBB lists how long the practitioner has been reviewed by BBB, and even when his or her business began.

Questions to Ask a Home Inspector Before You Make Your Decision

Since you’re paying the home inspector, you have a right to ask any questions you’d like. Start with these:

What are your credentials? Ask how long they have been doing inspections. Don’t be afraid to ask exactly what will be inspected. This is your opportunity to make sure that nothing important is left out of the inspection.

What type of properties do you normally inspect? You want to be sure the inspector is thoroughly familiar with the type of property you’re buying. Some inspectors do specialize in different kinds of properties. Since it’s a residential home, you don’t want an inspector who specializes in commercial or agricultural properties, or even apartment buildings.

Can I attend the home inspection? If you can, attend the home inspection while it’s being performed. This will give you an opportunity to see exactly what the inspector is looking at, and to explain any conditions you consider questionable or concerning. If the home inspector is not open to you being present, it’s a good indication that you need to work with a different home inspector.

How Much Should You Expect to Pay?

The website Home Advisor.com gives the following price range for home inspectors:

Be aware that these represent ranges for typical homes. If the house is particularly large, contains unusual features, or is multifamily, the home inspection fee may exceed the numbers given above. Rates also vary by location. In high-cost metropolitan areas, fees will be higher.

How Long Does an Average Home Inspection Take?

A typical home inspection will take 2 to 4 hours, depending on the size of the property, as well as the condition. Naturally, a property with more deficiencies will take longer to inspect.

Once the physical inspection is complete, it will take additional time to complete the inspection report. Depending upon market conditions, and how busy the home inspector is, it may take several days to get the report back from the inspector.

How Choosing the Right Inspector Can Save You Money

If you choose the home inspector, he or she may be the one person in the home buying transaction who is truly working for you. Don’t be upset if the inspector reports disturbing conditions with the property. In fact, that’s the best possible outcome.

Any deficiencies reported can enable you to negotiate their repair by the sellers. If your real estate agent is doing his or her job, there should be a contingency clause in the contract calling for a home inspection, and a dollar threshold of repairs that will need to be made by the seller. The home inspection will reveal those repairs.

By having them repaired before closing, and by the sellers, you’re ensuring that they won’t become your problems and expenses after the closing. You could either require that the deficiencies are cured by the seller, or even use them to renegotiate a lower sales price.

Either way, the few hundred dollars you pay the home inspector can be the best money you spend in the entire transaction. They can spare you having to pay thousands or tens of thousands of dollars once you become the proud owner of the home.

Topics: Money and Life

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Is a Mortgage an Investment or a Savings Plan?

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Should You Buy Shares or Options in a Company You Work For?

Are you putting all your eggs in one basket when you invest in company stock? We’ll tell you about the benefits and drawbacks, and whether or not you should buy stock or options in your company.

It’s pretty common for employees to buy stock or options in their company. After all, since you know your company well, investing in it becomes a logical step. Some companies even provide various incentives for you to do just that.

But is it always a good strategy to buy stock or options in your company? Sometimes yes, sometimes not. Unfortunately, it’s usually not known with any certainty until well after the fact. Only then do you find out if it was a good investment or a bad one.

What are Stock Options?

Stocks are self-explanatory, so let’s focus on stock options. What are they?

Stock options are granted to an employee by an employer, granting the employee the right (but not the obligation) to purchase a certain number of shares at a specific price and by a specific date in the future.

Options have expiration dates, and if the options aren’t exercised by those dates, they expire and become worthless. And much like employer matching contributions in a 401(k) plan, options are subject to vesting. A certain amount of time will have to pass before the options are fully owned by the employee. That can take up to five years.

The value of the options is based on the market value of the stock at the time the options become vested. That means the value of the options can never be known at the time they’re granted.

Examples of How Employee Stock Options Work

Your employer might grant you the option to purchase 1,000 shares of company stock at $25 per share. This is referred to as the strike price, or exercise price. There’s a five-year vesting period on the options, in which you become vested in 200 shares in each of five years. There’s also an expiration date on the options after seven years.

After the first year, the value of the stock has risen to $35. You exercise your option to purchase your 200 vested shares at $25 each. You earn a profit of $10 per share, or $2,000.

At the end of the second year, another 200 shares become vested. The stock prices rises to $45 per share, so you once again exercise your option to purchase the stock at $25 per share. This time you have a profit of $20 per share, or $4,000.

This is an example of how options work when they’re successful. Let’s take a look at the opposite result.

You’ve been with the company for seven years, and you are vested in all 1,000 shares after the end of the fifth year. But the value of the stock never exceeded $25 in all that time, and is now trading at $20 per share. Since the options had a seven year expiration date, and you were never able to exercise the options due to the low stock price, the options expire and become worthless.

The Benefits of Buying Shares or Options in Your Company

Let’s get back to both stocks and options. One of the big advantages is that you know the company. And if you like the company, it can make sense to invest in its stock.

Other benefits:

1. The company stock is a strong performer. If the company is highly profitable and growing, its stock is probably rising steadily, making it an excellent investment. It may be even one of the better stocks in your portfolio.
2. Discounted purchase price. Company stock is typically purchased through an Employee Stock Purchase Plan, or ESPP. The stock is purchased through payroll deductions. Larger employers often allow you to purchase the stock at a discount, which can be as high as 15%. (Note: when you sell the stock, the amount of a stock that represents the discount is taxable as compensation from your employer. The gain above the full purchase price is considered a capital gain.)
3. Tax break on the gain. If the stock rises in value, and you hold it for at least one year after purchase, it will be subject to reduced long-term capital gains tax rates. That rate varies between 0% and 20%.
4. Benefits on options. In a particularly strong company, options can produce tremendous gains, with very little risk. Since an option is an option to purchase, you’ll have no investment until and unless you actually exercise the option. And you’ll only exercise it if it makes sense. So if your employer gives you the option to purchase company stock at $25 per share, and it goes to $50 per share, you could be looking at a $25,000 profit on 1,000 options.

The Drawbacks of Buying Stocks or Options in Your Company

The biggest drawback is if the stock is a poor performer. Despite the fact you work for the company, its stock is no better or worse than any other you might purchase. But if you’re buying a particularly large amount of the stock–because it’s your employer–and the stock doesn’t perform well, you’ll take a loss on your investment, the same way you would on any other stock.

Other drawbacks:

1. Diversification is another issue. If you overload in company stock, or if you purchase too much within your retirement plan, you could simply be setting yourself up with too much of the same security. A decline in the stock price could have an exaggerated negative impact on the rest of your portfolio.
2. There’s also the issue of investing your money at the same place you work. If the company falls on hard times, you’ll not only be looking at the prospect of losing your job, but also losing money on the company stock. It’s an excellent example of putting too many eggs in one basket.
3. Options can become worthless. That’s not a huge risk, since you actually have no investment in the options themselves. But it will be a missed opportunity.
4. Options vesting requirement. If the company stock is doing well, and there’s a five-year vesting requirement, it may compel you to stay with the company even though the job isn’t working for you. This is actually one of the major reasons why employers offer stock options with extended vesting periods. The options can induce an employee to stay with the company longer than they would otherwise.

Should You Accept Options in Lieu of Salary?

Many employers offer options as part of the compensation package. They may offer a salary that’s low compared to competing employers, making up the difference with options. This might make sense if it’s a well-established company, and its stock has a strong record of steady growth. But if there’s any doubt about the stock, or if it’s an upstart company, it probably won’t be worth taking the risk.

In that situation, there’s a high likelihood of the options becoming worthless. If they do, you’ll have ultimately accepted a position at a lower salary than you could have earned elsewhere.

That’s also a possibility with a well-established company. For reasons unknown at the time you take a job, the company stock may still fall. This is more than possible in the general market decline. If the options expire before the market recovers, the options will become worthless, and you’ll have worked at a reduced salary to no benefit.

Buying Stocks or Options in Your Company Intelligently

ESPPs that allow you to purchase stock at a discount are almost always worth participating in. You can sell the stock at an instant profit, which removes your risk.

But if you plan to hold the stock in your portfolio, be careful you’re not overexposed. Many experts recommend investing no more than 5% to 10% of your portfolio or retirement plan in company stock.

And when it comes to options, you certainly want to take them if they’re offered as a benefit, and not in lieu of salary. But if they are offered to induce you accept lower pay, tread lightly. You’ll be giving up a guaranteed income for an uncertain (or non-existent) profit on the options.

Topics: Investing

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4 Signs You’re Ready For Homeownership

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FIFA World Cup 2018 – What are the Biggest Stars Invested In?

Soccer stars are taking center stage with the kickoff of FIFA World Cup 2018. These stars collect large paychecks. Many make more in one year than we can expect to make in a lifetime. So what are the biggest stars invested in? Some may surprise you.

The 21st FIFA World Cup is upon us, drawing in legions of loyal fans and viewers from around the world. The prestigious, quadrennial soccer tournament is being held in first-time host Russia’s country this year. There, players on men’s teams from countries like Brazil, France, Argentina, Egypt, Nigeria, Australia, and Iran (among many others) will compete for the title of champion, which they will hold until 2022.

Though the World Cup only comes around every four years, it boasts an unrivaled viewership. In fact, it’s the most followed–and most widely viewed–sporting event in the world, surpassing even the Olympic Games. It’s no wonder, then, that some of these teams’ most popular players have loyal and interested followings–even involving topics outside of football.

One of the most interesting topics surrounding some of these high-paid footballers? What they do with all of that money.

Let’s take a look at five of the World Cup players with the highest net worths, and where they choose to invest their millions around the world.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Investments

National Team: Portugal

Club: Real Madrid

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Cristiano Ronaldo is (debatably) the most popular soccer player of all time. In fact, he was recently dubbed the most popular athlete on the planet, blasting out of the water greats like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods, and Tom Brady.

Much of this is due to his skill on the field. Some of it may also be thanks to his endless magazine features, underwear modeling, endorsements, playboy ways, and social media accounts–after all, that’s enough to get just about anyone famous these days. There’s one more reason that people around the world are interested in Cristiano Ronaldo, though: his net worth and business ventures.

The popular footballer has an estimated net worth of just under $450 million, according to sources like Sports Illustrated. He has proven himself to be more than just a pretty face over the years, though, choosing to invest his millions in real estate ventures around the globe.

In 2015, Ronaldo partnered up with one of Portugal’s largest tourism and leisure firms, the Pestana Hotel Group, to invest $40 million of his hard-earned cash in four boutique hotels. The hotels–which are named after his own personal brand, CR7–were to be built in cities that had deep and personal connections to Cristiano. The first two have already been built, with the last two ready to break ground any day now. They include hotels in:

• Funchal, Portugal (on the island of Madeira), which is Ronaldo’s hometown
• Lisbon, Portugal, where Ronaldo began his career as a youth
• Madrid, Spain, where he has played for many years for the famed Spanish club, Real Madrid
• New York City, where Ronaldo has been considering playing for Major League Soccer

It’s also been recently announced that, in 2019, the CR7 brand of hotels will be opening a location in Africa. The newest addition to the soccer star’s boutique chain is slated to be located in Marrakech, Morroco.

Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t stop with hotels, though. The CR7 name extends much, much further than that.

The Real Madrid player’s brand produces men’s and children’s items, such as luxury denim, shirts, shoes, and even jackets. He has his own fragrance line for both men and women, branded under CR7 and Cristiano Ronaldo Legacy. He is slated to open branded restaurants in Brazil beginning in 2019. He has partnered up with Crunch Gym and opened two of his own branded fitness centers. They’re called… you guessed it, CR7 Fitness.

Oh, and don’t forget the time he put out his own video game. It’s called Kick’N’Run, and it’s available for both Android and Apple devices.

Cristiano Ronaldo is a smart man. He recognized his own popularity and the power that it can hold (similar to what we see from many reality TV celebrities these days), capitalizing on his own image. By creating the CR7 brand, Ronaldo was able to invest in himself. While this approach probably won’t work for your portfolio or mine, it appears to be a pretty successful move for the most popular athlete on the planet.

Lionel Messi’s Investments

National Team: Argentina

Club: Barcelona

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The second-highest paid soccer star, who you will also see playing in the World Cup in the coming weeks, is Lionel Messi. He plays for Argentina’s national team, and for Barcelona, where he nets an impressive salary for his fancy footwork.

As much as his rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, enjoys being the center of attention, Messi keeps to himself. The notoriously reserved and private footballer has a net worth of somewhere around $400 million–not too far from the net worth of Ronaldo–but doesn’t spend his days modeling underwear or branding fragrances. So, where does he prefer to invest his high-dollar earnings?

Well, it would seem that he actually does have something else in common with Ronaldo, after all.

Last year, Messi plopped down $35 million to purchase the MiM Hotel, a luxury four-star in the beachfront town of Sitges. Located just outside of Barcelona, the gorgeous hotel boasts 77 rooms and a view of the sea.

He doesn’t plan to stop with the MiM Hotel either, it would seem. Messi recently founded a company, called Rosotel, along with his brother Rodrigo. Not much has been said about Rosotel yet, but it would seem that the company has plans to invest in both hotels and apartment buildings.

The two highest-earning footballers both invest in hotels and other real estate ventures. This certainly piques my interest, what about you?

Neymar’s Investments

National Team: Brazil

Club: Paris Saint-Germain

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

You know you’ve made it when you’re simply known by your first name, as is the case with our next pro footballer, Neymar. The Brazilian footballer, whose name is actually Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, brings up third place with an impressive net worth of over $185 million.

However, don’t be fooled just because he doesn’t have the worth of the two previous stars; Neymar is actually considered the most expensive soccer player of all time. Not only did his current team pay a record-breaking amount in order to purchase him, but they’re also paying him the highest soccer salary of all time: $53 million a year.

In addition to being the highest-paid footballer in the world, he also brings in millions in endorsements each year. It’s obvious that companies and teams find Neymar worth the investment–so what does Neymar choose to invest his money in?

Well, a variety of things.

First, he has launched his own soccer school franchise, called Neymar Sports. The franchise sets out to offer “a unique experience in learning about the fastest growing sport in the world [using] its own methodology and professionals.” The schools will help others learn and develop the fundamental skills, rhythm, and creativity required to excel in sports. While soccer is obviously the default area of expertise, the schools will actually cover a number of sports. The primary focus is to introduce children ages 6-13 to team sports, getting them off of their couches and onto the field.

Neymar Sports is set to open over 100 locations in Brazil, the U.S., China, and Australia. The very first school will be located here in America, opening its doors in Miami.

One of the more interesting choices I discovered was his decision to invest in League of Legends. This esports video game platform was designed for multiple players, allowing teams from around the world to compete in real-time and even win cash if they are victorious. Neymar determined that investing in his own team on the gaming platform was a wise decision, though the cost of doing so seems to have been kept under wraps.

One of Neymar’s other investments is more of a social project, and one that is sure to do plenty of good back home. He signed on with the FC Barcelona Foundation to help promote social projects, especially among children in the communities. It will not only provide introduction and instruction to sports like football, but will even provide children with the necessary equipment to play.

The Neymar Jr. Project Institute–a massive education complex that is still under construction–is set to have classrooms, playing fields, and a swimming pool. It aims to provide activities for underprivileged children in Praia Grande, as well as promote the academic performance of its 2,500 students. To do so, the institute will provide extra classes and other educational activities for children who need it.

Luis Suárez’s Investments

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

National Team: Uruguay

Club: Barcelona

Our next pro World Cup player is Luis Suárez. With a net worth of almost $40 million, this footballer has an impressive game on the field as well as a satisfying salary. So, what does he do with his money?

Well, if you haven’t noticed the trend by now, you’re about to. Suárez partnered up with a few Arsenal footballers to build up his portfolio, all combined sinking $67 million in a private rental property investment in England. While it’s unclear exactly how much of that Suárez put forth, it’s sure to be a significant chunk of his Barcelona salary.

The property investment venture, which began in 2014, has been buying and developing sites in northwest England. Named Capital & Centric Investments LLP, the group has set its sights on an 8-10% return each year, with its ultimate goal being to build a portfolio worth nearly $350 million in the years to come.

Not a bad way to turn $40 million into a whole heck of a lot more.

Mohamed Salah’s Investments

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

National Team: Egypt

Club: Liverpool

Last but not least, we have Egyptian footballer Mohamed Salah. His net worth rests around $28 million, with an annual salary of just over $2 million with the Liverpool team. He’s known not only for his beard, his post-goal celebrations, and his religious affiliation, but also for the social projects in which he invests. In fact, he’s spent his money doing so much good for others, that he’s come to be known as the Happiness Maker.

Mohamed Salah grew up in the poor Egyptian town of Nagrig. While he now earns millions of dollars a year to play soccer for Liverpool, he’s never forgotten his roots. It’s no shock, then, that when his hometown needed money to buy land for a sewage treatment plant, Salah stepped up to the plate. In fact, he donated $450,000–roughly a fifth of his annual salary–to the town, ensuring that they would have access to clean water.

It’s also reported that Salah has donated money in the past to buy life-saving medical equipment (such as a dialysis machine for a Nagrig hospital), build an ambulance unit, and even renovate schools in his home village. He also donated $282,000 to a state-managed fund called Tahya Masr (Long Live Egypt), the goal of which is to finance development programs in Egypt.

At the risk of sounding like an infomercial: but wait, there’s more.

Salah has also renovated a public sports center as well as a mosque. Oh, and earlier this year, he took part in a government-run video that aimed to fight drug addiction. According to the Egyptian Ministry of Social Solidarity, the PSA was incredibly successful. It is thought to be responsible for a 4x increase (over the three days following its airing) in the number of people seeking treatment for their drug addictions.

We don’t know every fund or stock that soccer pros choose to invest their money in, any more than we know where our boss, neighbor, or the guy at the coffee shop chooses to invest. We can see a few trends in the World Cup footballer world, though, with a strong focus on investment properties–namely, hotels.

What do you think about the investment choices of these professional athletes? Do you think these high-paid stars are making wise decisions with their salaries, enough that their portfolios will support them long after their careers end?

Related: FIFA World Cup 2018 – Does it Make Economic Sense?

Topics: Investing

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How Will the Tariffs and Potential Trade War Affect Your Wallet?

Tariff’s–are they good or bad for the economy? Either way, there’s really only one thing you might need to think about right now and that’s how the tariffs and potential trade war could affect your wallet.

Back in March of this year, President Donald Trump announced that he would be imposing tariffs on several imported goods from Canada, Mexico, and the European Union–most notably, imported aluminum (10% tariff) and steel (25% tariff), making good on a promise he made during his campaign.

Then, on June 14, Trump announced he’d be putting a 25% tariff on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods. Less than a week later, in response to tariff threats from China, Trump announced he’d put tariffs on an additional $200 billion of Chinese goods if China followed through with their own tariff threats.

Though these percentages are less than Trump talked about during his campaign, they’re still significant. On one side, the tariffs could result in increased jobs, economic growth and more American-made products. But they could also lead to job losses, increased costs for consumers and maybe even a trade war. The question is, does the good outweigh the bad?

What is a Tariff (and How Does it Work)?

A tariff is a tax that’s placed on foreign goods that are imported into a country. For example, let’s say you were a company in England and you sold bubble gum.

Your customers in England love bubble gum, and you saw there was a high demand in other countries for gum–such as the United States. Companies in the United States were pricing bubble gum way too high–mostly due to the cost of labor, as paying workers in the U.S. is much more expensive than in other countries.

You see the gum is selling for $2 in the United States. You determine that you can manufacture, export, and sell bubble gum to customers in the United States for $1.50–50 cents less than most U.S. companies. So, you do.

This causes U.S. companies to scramble. Most of them have to lay off workers to cut costs to compete. They start creating new and innovative ways to produce bubble gum at a lower cost to compete with you. This constant competition continues to drive the price down further and further until the bubble gum industry in the U.S. is a fraction of what it used to be.

At this point, the U.S. decides to impose a tariff (or tax) on the import of bubble gum. The goal is to make it more expensive for foreign countries to send their gum to the U.S., so U.S. companies can become competitive again, hire more people and regrow the now dying industry.

The tariff is 25%. This means that for every $1.50 pack of gum you’re importing, you’re paying a 25% tax on top of that. So to import that $1.50 pack of gum, you’re giving the U.S. about 38 cents ($1.50 x 0.25 = .375).

Suddenly, this slashes your profit margins, and it’s no longer as profitable to export bubble gum to the United States. So you can either pay up, not export gum or retaliate by imposing your own tariff on the United States–which is what leads to a trade war.

What is a Trade War?

A trade war is when one country retaliates against another in an attempt to restrict or stop the trade from that country. This is usually done by imposing tariffs. In an extreme example, if everyone imposed tariffs on one another (so high that it became unaffordable to export those goods to that country), everyone would stop importing and exporting, which would cause an economic ripple effect.

Here’s a great video by Vox that explains trade wars and their impact, using Game of Thrones lingo:

Why Did Trump Impose These Tariffs?

Trump believes that the United States is being treated unfairly by other foreign countries when it comes to trade. Specifically, with China, his tariffs are primarily the result of his belief that Beijing stole intellectual copyrights. The United States also has a massive trade deficit (when we import more than we export) and he believes tariffs can help reverse that.

Finally, Trump believes that imposing these types of tariffs will help revive dying industries in the United States, like the steel industry. Since, in theory, less product would be coming in from overseas, more would be produced locally, thus expanding company growth and employment in the industry.

Will Other Countries Retaliate?

We are seeing that happening.

At the end of May, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland emphasized that Canada would strike back against the United States with dollar-for-dollar tariffs. The country will implement retaliatory tariffs on steel, aluminum, and other products.

China immediately retaliated against Trump’s tariffs, saying they’ll also impose a 25% tariff on nearly 700 goods from the United States, totaling about $50 billion. This week, Turkey announced it’s plans for tariffs on U.S. goods worth $267 million. And the latest response–the European Union is ready to put tariffs on $3.4 billion American products.

As the back and forth tariff threats continue (Trump is pushing to impose a new 25% tariff on foreign cars as well) things will become more and more interesting to watch.

What Does All of This Mean For Me – the Consumer?

This is a point of contention amongst global experts. Many feel that there will be a significant impact on consumers’ wallets and their economic choices, but many don’t. While this is all speculative, here are some potential pros and cons to these tariffs.

Pro: Increased Jobs and Economic Growth

Part of the reason Trump is doing this is to revive industries that were washed out in the United States due to foreign competition. The steel industry was at its peak in America after World War II, accounting for more than 50% of the world’s steel in the 1940s. In the late 1940s and into the late 1950s, the steel industry averaged about 700,000 employees. Today that number is just over 80,000–close to a 90% reduction.

Tariffs on foreign steel, for instance, would provide more incentive to produce steel in the United States again, increasing the need for labor and steel mills. It probably wouldn’t hit the production levels we saw after the war, but theoretically it could change the landscape of an industry like this, creating more jobs and more economic growth.

Pro: More American-Made Products

With foreign products being taxed so heavily, this would increase the frequency by which you’d see American-made products. Consumer Reports said in the past that about 80% of Americans would prefer to buy American-made products, while over 60% said they’d pay more for American-made products. Regardless of why, if this holds true, you’d see an uptick in spending locally, more locally-made products, higher quality products, and more economic growth.

You may see people driving more American-made vehicles, drinking more American beer, or working at a company that produces products primarily sold to Americans. General Electric, for example, has invested upwards of $1 billion in the past decade to in-source more manufacturing of their products. This leads to massive economic growth in those areas.

Con: Increased Costs

If you’re a company that uses aluminum to produce your products (i.e., cars and planes) you know that many foreign products, including aluminum, are cheaper. If a tax is imposed on those foreign products, they become more expensive than buying it locally.

So you have two options:

You can buy the foreign product and pay the tax, or you can pay for it locally at a higher cost than you’re used to paying. Either way, there’s an increased expense, and that expense has to either be absorbed by the company, reducing or eliminating its profit margins (not likely) or passed on to the consumer (likely).

The recent tariffs on China include a lot of construction equipment, such as bulldozers. While this may provide new jobs for American construction, it’ll also increase the cost of construction. That cost may be passed all the way down to the consumer when they want to build a new home for example.

The short answer–these taxes will likely increase the cost of products you use. Whether it’s a car you buy or a can of soda, costs will eventually go up because it’s more expensive to produce.

Con: Fewer Choices

If more foreign companies are getting hit with a tariff, it’ll become cost-prohibitive for them to import their products to the United States. So they’ll focus their efforts on other countries. This sounds great for the U.S. economy but it also reduces competition and offers consumers fewer choices on their products.

For example:

Let’s say Trump is successful in implementing a 25% tariff on all foreign cars. A car that once cost $20,000 to import now costs $25,000–reducing your margin as a reseller in the U.S. Unless you increase the cost of the car, which many customers won’t appreciate, you will be better off not selling that product and instead focusing more on cars that are produced locally.

This ultimately provides American consumers with fewer options than they once had–unless they want to pay a premium for a foreign car.

Con: Less Innovation

There are certain tax credits in place that encourage innovation for local companies. While the details are complex, the simple version is that if you put money into research and development, with the intention of creating new, innovative, and increasingly helpful products and services, you’ll be rewarded with tax credits.

While that’s over-simplified, the basis of it makes sense. Since foreign companies have been importing their products into the United States, U.S. companies in many industries have to find new and innovative ways to drive down costs and compete with foreign companies.

Tariffs and ensuing trade wars take that threat away from companies in the United States. This means that companies could still take advantage of innovation tax credits, but in theory, would not have to worry about being undercut by foreign competitors. Some feel this may reduce innovation and competition, and cost the economy billions. As a consumer, this may mean more monopolies with less innovative and less affordable products.

Con: Investments

Another, more indirect way that you as the consumer will be impacted by tariffs and a trade war is in your investment portfolio.

If you are heavily focused on investing in index funds or companies that operate primarily in the tariff-impacted countries (China, Mexico, Canada, or countries in the EU), you may want to keep an eye on your portfolio. If things went Trump’s way, you’d see your domestic stocks increase, and your foreign stocks decrease in value.

While shifts like this would probably take years to happen, it’s smart to keep an eye out now.

Bottom Line

It’s still too early to know how these tariffs will affect us. Some data suggest about 6,000 jobs could be lost in Canada and nearly 23,000 jobs may be eliminated in the United States, based solely on the Canadian-U.S. trade war. However, we have yet to see data on how many jobs could be created from manufacturing more American-made products.

So the question remains–does the good outweigh the bad? It’s for you to decide which side you fall on and what you support, but knowing how it may or may not impact you and your wallet is the important thing to remember.

Topics: Financial News

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DR 297: The Blue Binder – How to Create a Financial Binder

After a long hiatus, the the Dough Roller Money Podcast is back! In this episode, Rob brings you tips on making sure your loved ones know what to do financially when you’re gone.

Where in the world is Rob?

Though he’s been absent for a short while, Rob is back to tell you about his recent adventures and some exciting news.

In this episode you’ll learn how to create a financial binder and why it’s important. But first, he asks: What would happen if I got hit by a truck?

Thankfully, that did not happen. But, I suppose it could happen to any one of us and if it did, how would our loved ones move forward financially?

In Rob’s case, he has a blue binder. It’s an organized collection of his family finances, accounts, instructions and resources that his wife and children will need to refer to should something happen to him. If you don’t have something similar already, you should start one now and in this episode, you’ll learn more details about what to include and how often you should review and revise it.

Putting this information together in one place is no small task and a reason why you should think about simplifying and consolidating your finances. Rob has learned a few lessons along the way and he’s eager to share them with you. Some may surprise you, for instance, getting rid of his life insurance. Find out why Rob made this decision and if you should also consider it.

Think about all the time and energy you’ve spent building your investments and setting your family up for a secure financial future. Without this binder, it could be easy to miss accounts, mismanage funds and leave your loved ones in turmoil. Instead, allow us to walk you through building your binder and remember to look both ways before crossing the street. Trucks are dangerous. Let’s roll!

Topics: Podcast

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