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Articles by Will Lipovsky
17 Coins in Your Pocket Worth More Than Face Value
What if I told you some coins in your pocket right now could be worth more than you think? If you deal with cash on a regular basis, there’s a decent chance that at some point during the year you’ll come across coins worth more than the value on the face of the coin. While most of what’s in your coin collection at home are only worth face value, some can be worth much more. So, without further ado, here is a list of the coins in your pocket worth more than face value. 1.
The Risks and Benefits of Clearing Acne With Accutane
“STOP!” That’s what it said on the front of a packet handed to me by my dermatologist. It was a bright yellow packet with a stop sign smack-dab in the middle. There was even a large picture of a hand, just for good measure. The packet was thick. I waited until I got home to open it. “WARNING: Isotretinoin has been linked to birth defects, Crohn's disease, hair loss, joint pain, drowsiness, nervousness, depression, and suicide.” Not exactly a comforting message. What’s Isotretinoin, you ask?
Bankrupt Celebrities: The Art Of Blowing $400 Million
6 second take: There are many celebrities who have gone bankrupt at some time in their lives. Take a moment to learn from their mistakes. There are a many people who rode the roller coaster of wealth all the way up — and all the way back down. These celebrities had the comfort and security of financial independence, but then blew it and went bankrupt. 1. Aaron Carter Aaron Carter was a teenage heartthrob in the '90s. He had it all: the hit song “I Want Candy,” television shows, a book . . .
Stock Market for Beginners: What Is the Stock Market?
6 second take: The stock market seems complicated for many people. But don’t worry — we’ve got you covered on the basics of investing. Many people call the stock market the greatest wealth-creating mechanism of all time. Millionaires often credit stock market investing as the key to their wealth. Do you want to become rich? If so, you need to understand investing. But investing can feel intimidating to even the smartest people.
4 Legal Questions Every Startup Should Ask
Owning a startup, to many, is the epitome of the American dream. Who doesn’t pine the work day away thinking about being their own boss, escaping the hamster wheel of being a salaried employee or clock puncher, and making your own destiny? However, one area where may new entrepreneurs and small business owners fall short is dealing with the law and regulations.
Signs You’ve Become Too Frugal
FacebookTweetPinLinkedInEmail Being frugal is generally praised. Your grandparents tell you how smart it is to be frugal. Your uncle boasts about how his refrigerator is older than you are. You read that if you save $5 each day for a year, you’ll have tens of thousands extra at the time you retire. Now, I’m really frugal so please don’t look at this post as being an attack on the lifestyle. I drive the same make/model of car I drove 10 years ago although this one is a whopping one year newer.
What Is Inflation?
6 second take: Ever wonder why goods and services seem to constantly get more expensive? It’s because of inflation — learn what it is, and how it affects you. The fear of inflation — rising prices for essential goods and services — became real for Americans today. The government announced that prices, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), jumped 4.2 percent from a year earlier. This was the highest annual rise since 2008.
Top 3 Tips to Help You Stay Safe on the Internet
6 second take: With the internet more influential then ever, it is important to know how to keep your assets safe. Here are some helpful tips! With more Americans using the internet than ever before, according to Pew Research Center, it has become more important than ever to ensure that you are doing it safely. Unprotected internet use can lead to credit card theft, identity theft, a loss of social media profiles, and more.
I Don't Want to Have Children (Ever) — Here’s Why | CentSai
6 second take: Personal finance goals often clash with the high costs of raising a child. I’m square in the middle of that phase in life when everyone’s talking about weddings and babies. I love it when my friends create new lives, and I love when they celebrate their love for their children through birthday parties and other events. However, I’m neither married nor a mother. I have no plans for either marriage or children.
Don't Take Out Student Loans in Seven Seconds
6 second take: It is never a good idea to sign student loans without understanding them. Student loans! Much like a one-night stand, they can mess up your life in a hurry. Taking out student loans can lead to all sorts of negative repercussions: self-loathing, becoming a “wage slave,” eating ramen noodles long after “college life” was supposed to end, more self-loathing… But let’s rewind for a second. Let’s go all the way back to my very first real-life introduction to student loans.
Breakup Etiquette: Returning Gifts After a Breakup
6 second take: What do you do with expensive gifts when you break up? Smash them? Re-gift them? Put them on eBay? Relationships are expensive. And a breakup can be just as costly. Nearly everyone nods at that statement. Let’s assume a good portion of the money spent in relationships is spent on gifts. This is ‘Murica after all. We love consumerism! So this leads us to wonder: “What do you do with gifts after a breakup? What is the breakup etiquette?” Should You Return Old Gifts?
Dating and Money: Should You Bare It All?
6 second take: Talking about money is taboo, but doing so on a first date can help you both avoid heartbreak. A few years ago, VH1 aired a game show called Dating Naked. The premise was fairly simple — two people go on a naked date, and by baring it all right off the bat, they hope to shock and awe each other. The show was full of drama, booze, and uninhibited contestants, but I’m not sure it would work for most singles on a first date.
Unexpected Cost of Dating: Free Date Ideas
It was easy for me to put a price tag on my last breakup. Between the money I spent on auto insurance, the cost of moving to a new continent to be with my now-ex, and the price of purchasing last-minute flights back home, I could see how much money I spent on dating as it (unfortunately) appeared on my credit and debit card statements. This exercise inevitably lead me to consider the more optimistic opposite cost: How much does it cost to fall in love? What is the cost of dating in general?
How Does Groupon Work for Business Owners?
6 second take: Groupon connects business owners with the millions of consumers looking for deals. But it does more for small businesses — it offers the resources to keep them competitive. Two years ago, I decided to rebrand my website. In addition to updating the site’s look and format, I needed new headshots. An acquaintance told me that she had her engagement pictures taken by a photographer she found on Groupon. She paid less than $100 for some exquisite shots.
Money-Saving Hacks: Your A-to-Z Guide
Disclosure We are an affiliate for products that we recommend and receive compensation from the companies whose products we recommend on this site. The placement of the links on this site may be influenced by the compensation received by the respective companies. We are independently owned and the opinions expressed here are our own, and not those of any partner bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other partner.
How to Get a Job in College: Smart Tips for Students
6 second take: College is the right time to hone your job skills — not just your “charm.” The interviewee walked into our office wearing a top showing way too much cleavage and an earnest look in her eye. I had seen it before: the student who just knew that she was going to rock her interview and start her working life. Not so fast.
The 5 Best Investing Books for Beginners
CentSai relies on reader support. When you buy from one of our valued partners, CentSai may earn an affiliate commission. Advertising Disclosure 6 second take: Investing early in life is one of the best things that you can do for your future self. And these books can help you get started. With time on their side, young investors can more easily withstand the ups and downs that come with investing.
How Your Personal Finances and Credit Score Affect Your Security Clearance
By Will LipovskyMay 26th, 2016Managing Credit and Debt Personal money mismanagement is the number one reason security clearances get revoked. And if security clearance is a requirement for your position, you need to understand how to maintain it, so that your financial standing isn’t further jeopardized by a lack or downgrade in employment.
How to Get a Job in College: Smart Tips for Students
CentSai relies on reader support. When you buy from one of our valued partners Centsai may earn an affiliate commission. Advertising Disclosure 6 second take: College is the right time to hone your job skills — not just your “charm.” The interviewee walked into our office wearing a top showing way too much cleavage and an earnest look in her eye. I had seen it before, the student who just knew that she was going to rock her interview and start her working life. Not so fast.
Top Tips to Save Money in College and Still Have Fun
6 second take: Nobody likes the feeling of being a broke college student. But there are ways to save your wallet while still enjoying the college experience. During college, you’re expected to do so many things — study hard, make friends, socialize, be an active member of the college community, have new experiences, and save money, just to name a few. And these goals don’t always go hand in hand. How are you supposed to cut costs when there’s so much going on around you?
What Is the Stock Market?
6 second take: The stock market seems complicated and confusing for many people. But don't worry — we've got you covered on investing basics. Many people call the stock market the greatest wealth-creating mechanism of all time. Millionaires often credit stock market investing as the key to their wealth. Do you want to become rich? If so, you need to understand investing. But investing can feel intimidating to even the smartest people.
How to Prepare for a Breakup So You Don’t End Up Broke
6 second take: The notion of “unconditional love” gets distorted when there’s an economic disparity in a relationship. It is noon, and the ferry is leaving in just a few hours. My partner and I are in Puerto Montt, in southern Chile, trying to reach the southern tip of the continent. Despite it being summer in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s cold as hell. We had spent the last three hours riding in the rain. Originally, we were to cover the trip entirely by road on a motorbike.
How to Financially Prepare for a Breakup: A Guide
It is noon, and the ferry is leaving in just a few hours. My partner and I are in Puerto Montt, in southern Chile, trying to reach the southern tip of the continent. Despite it being summer in the Southern Hemisphere, it's cold as hell. We had spent the last three hours riding in the rain. Originally, we were to cover the trip entirely by road on a motorbike. I’m soaked, cranky, and exhausted.
Side Effects of a Breakup: It Can Hurt Your Wallet and Your Heart
Last summer, I thought I had met someone special. I thought we were going to last. I thought it would all be perfect. But I was wrong, and it cost me dearly. In all honesty, I had no idea what the actual cost of a breakup was, both emotionally and financially. Love is expensive — even more so when it ends. My last breakup cost me more than $8,000. For me — a traveling freelance writer — it hurt. Let me explain how it happened. We met in Paris. He was from Dublin, and I was visiting home.
Dating and Money: Should You Bare It All?
6 second take: Talking about money is taboo. Imagine doing so on a first date! Lately, I’ve been watching a show called Dating Naked. The premise is that two people will go on a naked date. By baring it all straight away, they hope to shock and awe each other. The show is full of drama, alcohol, and uninhibited people. But I am not sure it would work for me in trying to get to know someone in my dating life. On the other hand, it got me thinking about the “let’s bare it all” process.
Is Online Dating Worth It? How It Saves Me Time and Money
6 second take: It’s a wise financial decision to interact a few times before meeting your date in person for the first time. Seriously! I’m a massive fan of online dating. If it seems sketchy to you, it’s not. Although my friend did get kidnapped once. The internet has evolved to the point where people’s personalities really shine through. I’ve met tons of people first online and later in person. You know what? Everyone has turned out exactly as I expected.
Giving Up on Online Dating Saved My Sanity — and My Wallet
6 second take: Not everybody walks away from an expensive romp through the world of online dating with a match made in heaven. It was the constant back-and-forth via email that began to really drive me crazy. It didn’t matter what online dating site I was on. I felt like I kept ending up in a rabbit hole of noncommittal emails asking me endless questions about things that didn’t matter. And I was paying to participate in this torture! Meanwhile, my friends made online dating look easy.
What Is Crowdsourcing, and How Does It Work?
What Is Crowdsourcing, and How Does It Work? I first started crowdsourcing when I was 16. The door handle on my car broke, and I wanted to save money by repairing it myself. I googled “how to fix Mitsubishi Eclipse door handle.” I didn’t find the exact answer I wanted, so I posted the question on an Eclipse enthusiast forum. Pretty soon, I had dozens of people helping me determine what exactly broke, where to buy parts, and how to fix the problem. The door handles are hard to replace.
Why and How to Buy a Used Car
So you’ve come to a point when it’s time for you to get your very own car. How exciting! But where do you even start? There are so many options out there. New or used? Coupe or SUV? Leather or cloth interior? Luckily, we live in an age when there is a ton of information to make smart decisions and not get ripped off. A car is one of the biggest purchases you will make as a teen or young adult. They cost exponentially more money than a brand-new smartphone or laptop.
Is Dave Ramsey's Advice Right for You?
Is Dave Ramsey’s Advice Right for You? Dave Ramsey is a sensation in the world of personal finance. He may even be the most popular financial guru of our time. He has had several TV shows, he’s a best selling author, he’s created classes which are now taught all across the country, and he has his own radio show too. When a man has these kind of credentials, we must all see if his advice is right for us. I first heard of Dave Ramsey from my parents.
Jobs for Teens: Convincing Your Parents to Hire You
Jobs for Teens: Convincing Your Parents to Hire You If you want to make money, either do something that others don’t want to do, or do something they can’t do. Since you’re a teen and you’re still learning a ton, you should aim to do things that other people don’t want to do. Fortunately (or unfortunately), your parents have tons of things they don’t want to do. Consider these things to be employment opportunities.
How to Make a Good Résumé and Land Job Interviews
During my senior year of college, I decided that I wasn’t going to become another boomerang kid who moved back home, unemployed and with no post-graduation plan. I took steps to prevent that scenario: I completed an extra internship, attended job fairs to meet prospective employers, and participated in extracurricular activities to build my network. I also crafted, revised, rewrote, and continuously edited my résumé.
Why Fees and Investing Are No Longer Synonymous
Advertisements for no fee trades on stock purchases are everywhere, but the catch is that you must deposit large sums of money in order to take advantage of the deal. How can young adults, who are just entering the workforce, realize their retirement saving goals? Luckily, when it comes to investing, no fee investing is beginning to rival large corporations such as TD Ameritrade and Charles Schwab.
Why You’ll Love a Percentage-Based Budget
How would you like to spend whatever amount of money you desire? Therein lies the beauty of the percentage based budget. With this type of budget, no amount of spending is too much. No longer do you have to restrict yourself to a certain neighborhood because it’s cheap. No longer do you have to deal with a junk car. Everything you want – you can have. I’m not blowing smoke. Most budgets have limitations. For instance, let’s say you have $400 in a monthly clothing allowance.
The Benefits of Outsourcing
When to Outsource Tasks: 5 Jobs to Let Someone Else Do Think of everything you own. Car, clothes, cream cheese — everything. Did you make all of that yourself? See? You’re already well on your way to outsourcing tasks as an entrepreneur! We outsource a lot in our lives, but many new entrepreneurs struggle to let anyone help with their businesses. Many of us use lack of profitability as an excuse. But that’s all it is — an excuse.
5 Cheap Transportation Alternatives to Cars
Let me start by saying that I love cars. I love driving them, working on them, reading about them — everything. But what I don’t love is how expensive cars are and how they’re kind of horrible at getting you around town. For certain trips, cars are handy. But most often, I find it more fun and frugal to use cheap transportation alternatives. In fact, I can sometimes go a month without using my car to get around town. That feels good.
Investing Ethically: 4 Ways to Profit Through Impact Investments
6 second take: Interested in investing for impact? Here are some ways that you can practice conscious capitalism – or ethical investing. Of course, there are risks and rewards that come with it. When I was a young undergrad, I had an investing-savvy friend named John. John and his then-girlfriend got into a tiff about his investment in Philip Morris stocks. That’s right, the evil tobacco company. “Hey, it’s making me money,” John reasoned.
Is Your Popularity Contributing to Your Bank Account?
From classrooms to cubicles, life Is a popularity contest. Your likability can help you get a promotion, land clients, and even land a new job. Managers hire people who could be potential friends, according to an article published by the American Sociological Review. There’s a reason a study was needed. There’s a common misconception taught to young people. I think it may originate from well-meaning parents and guidance counselors, hoping to console someone who isn’t too well-liked.
6 (Money-Saving) Reasons to Love Your Public Library
Elon Musk is a billionaire. If you haven’t heard the name, he’s the real-life Iron Man. Musk owns both a rocket launching business and a revolutionary car company. He also co-founded several other companies, such as PayPal. He will also likely be the person who makes the human race multi-planetary by colonizing Mars. Yeah. He’s smart. I watched a recent interview in which he was asked how he got so smart. His reply?
'Thou Shalt...': First Job Commandments
When looking for your first job, you should consider the take-home pay, but there are many other important factors, too. Google just called you as you are recovering from your graduation party with a $200,000 job offer. Of course you are going to drop everything and say yes! But for most people looking for their first jobs, the compensation offered may be in the more “normal” range. Still, it could be the decisive factor in accepting or rejecting an offer.
Bankrupt Celebrities: The Art Of Blowing $400 Million
Celebrity gossip isn’t usually a good thing, but we can actually learn a lot by looking at some celebrities’ bankruptcies. There are a few celebrities who rode the roller coaster of wealth all the way up… and back down. Yes, these celebs had the comfort and security of financial independence, but then blew it and went bankrupt. However, the beautiful thing about money is it’s not a zero-sum game. Just because you go broke once doesn’t mean you can’t make even more money later in life.
The Groupon Dating Strategy Pays Off (Sometimes)
How to use coupons discretely while out on your first date. Feel free to judge me. This is what I’ve done on two dates – I call it my Groupon dating strategy: The first thing I did each time was find out where the woman lived (if I didn’t already know) so that I could pick a nearby restaurant. Sitting in traffic can really put the brakes on an evening. Then I asked what type of food she liked: Italian, Thai, whatever. Next, her dietary concerns. I met a vegan girl once.
Warren Buffet Had a Mentor - Do You?
Many of the world’s most successful people have gotten where they are because of mentors. Have you ever considered finding a mentor? Many of the greatest minds have been molded by mentors. Warren Buffett had Benjamin Graham; Marissa Mayer (CEO of Yahoo!) had Larry Page (co-founder of Google); even Simba had Mufasa. All of these examples show the strength of having a mentor. Well, except for Simba – we couldn’t reach him for an interview. A mentor can encourage you.
I Lived in a Home That Had a ‘For Sale’ Sign Outside
Some sellers will let you live in their house for free to make it look occupied, but living in a house that’s for sale can be stressful at times. It feels like waking up every morning, ready to be evicted. Looking for cheap housing? I have a story that might get your creative juices flowing… The house had been sitting empty for years. He had bought it for his mother, but unfortunately, her Alzheimer’s quickly worsened and prevented her from moving in.
I Am a Straight Guy Who Loves Mampering
Being a man now requires more than a razor and a toothbrush. Do you know what mampering is? Before I turned 16, my personal care regime was quite simple. Toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant… not much else. But as I grew into those teenage years, I grew conscious of my body — or at least, I wanted girls to grow conscious of my body. Hair gel for spiked tips, Clearasil for zits. Personal care was becoming time-consuming and fairly expensive. It ain’t easy bein’ clean.
Being Acne-Free Was Worth Risking Death and Bankruptcy
Sometimes, you may want something badly enough to go to extremes to make it happen. For me, that was getting rid of my acne. That’s what it said on the front of a packet handed to me by my dermatologist. It was a bright yellow packet with a stop sign smack-dab in the middle. There was even a large picture of a hand, just for good measure. The packet was thick. I waited until I got home to open it.
Here's Why You Should Actually Buy Your Dream Car
Find a car make and model that you absolutely love. That way you won’t feel pressured to keep buying new ones, and you’ll end up saving tons of money. For my twelfth birthday, my parents got me a DVD of The Fast and the Furious. I was enamored by the bright-green car that Paul Walker drove. So enamored that once I turned 16, I bought one for myself – a 1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse. It was my dream car. I considered many other cars, but to me, this one was the all-around best.
6 Money Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Decide to Move Anywhere
Are you considering moving somewhere? Read this before you make a permanent decision! The moment you graduate college, the world suddenly becomes yours for the taking. Here’s what I mean: from age zero to 18, your parent(s) or guardian(s) decide where you live. Once you turn 18, you’re off to college. You go to whatever school fits your requirements. Maybe you find one nearby because your parents are still your lifeline. Besides, in-state tuition is favorable.
Renting is Good, But Owning is Better – One Millennial's Take on Homeownership
Should millennials start rethinking their “rent forever” mindset and put more serious thought into buying and owning homes? It seems like every millennial real estate story goes one of two ways: Neither way of life describes what I want. Tiny houses – it’s a fad. Millennials renting – that’s a fad, too. I don’t want to rent forever. And this is America, where we all have the opportunity to make enough money to buy a home. Homeownership is in our blood.
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