Lifestyle

The 5 Best Products for Dry Skin

Chrissa Hardy — Tue, 09 Jun 2020 08:00:06 +0000

Anyone with dry skin knows the discomfort of flaking, uneven makeup, and the ongoing effort to keep your face looking hydrated. You want it to look dewy, but not oily. And you want your moisturizer to keep working its magic without leaving a greasy residue. It's a tough balance to strike.

If you're looking for a new dry-skin focused product to add to your skincare routine, the five below are excellent picks that won't break your budget. (See also: The 5 Best Stay-At-Home Skincare Essentials)

Top 5 Products for Dry Skin

Yes To Cucumbers Gentle Milk Cleanser

An Amazon's Choice product, the dermatologist-recommended Yes To Cucumbers Gentle Milk Cleanser works well on all skin types, including dry or sensitive skin. The natural cleanser is free of parabens, phthalates, and SLS. The gentle formula has calming ingredients and antioxidants like green tea, aloe vera, and soy proteins to moisturize the skin while cleansing it.

The Allure "Best of Beauty" award-winner is recommended by Consumer Search and backed by outstanding online reviews.

Currently $8.44 on Amazon.com

TruSkin Vitamin C Serum With Hyaluronic Acid

TruSkin Vitamin C Serum With Hyaluronic Acid is the perfect blend of ingredients that your dry skin needs. Vitamin C blends with hyaluronic acid and vitamin E in this advanced formula to target common signs of aging, including dark spots, sun spots, brightness, firmness, wrinkles, and fine lines. And it's free of synthetic color additives, fragrance, and stabilizers, while dynamic active botanicals like aloe vera, MSM, botanical hyaluronic acid, witch hazel, and organic jojoba oil make this serum feel silky smooth on the skin.

It also has over 15,000 five-star reviews on Amazon.

Currently $19.99 at Amazon.com

Aveeno Positively Radiant Skin Daily Moisturizer

As Amazon’s #1 best-seller in moisturizers, the Aveeno Positively Radiant Skin Daily Moisturizer has a fast-absorbing formula that leaves skin soft and smooth. This oil-free, hypoallergenic, non-comedogenic moisturizer won’t clog pores and is clinically proven to improve skin tone and texture and reduce skin discoloration in as little as four weeks.

The soy proteins work to reduce blotchiness and discoloration, while helping to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It contains SPF 15 UVA/UVB sunscreen to protect against the damaging effects of sun. It's also backed by over 5,500 five-star reviews on Amazon.

Currently $12.98 on Amazon.com

Olay Regenerist Night Recovery Cream

The Olay Regenerist Night Recovery Cream contains an amino-peptide complex that will penetrate 10 layers of skin to regenerate the surface skin cells. Powerful anti-aging ingredients like vitamin E, green tea, and niacinamide help stimulate collagen and plump up fine lines and wrinkles overnight. The super-hydrating formula will also exfoliate the skin, so you will wake to softer, younger looking skin in the morning. The intensely moisturizing cream has a light purple color and botanical scent, and spreads easily over skin.

A little goes a long way, so this container should last you a long time. The dermatologist-recommended cream is non-greasy and ideal for people with normal, dry, or combination skin. It was selected as one of the best night creams by Total Beauty and has over 2,000 five-star reviews on Amazon.

Currently $22.99 on Amazon.com

Glam Up Facial Sheet Masks

Glam Up Facial Sheet Masks come in 12 types and scents to fit all of your skincare needs using natural extracts, including shea butter, tomato, avocado, oatmeal, green tea, peppermint, and more. They are not tested on animals and are hypoallergenic. The Glam Up masks are designed with three layers to improve absorption into the skin.

They're also free of talc, paraben, silicone, synthetic colors, and sodium sulfate, and backed by over 1,500 five-star reviews on Amazon.

Currently $9.88 at Amazon.com

And those are our recommendations for the best stay-at-home kitchen essentials. As always, be sure to check Wise Bread's Buying Calendar to learn when and how to buy just about anything!

This article is from Chrissa Hardy of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

The 5 Best Products for Oily Skin

Chrissa Hardy — Fri, 05 Jun 2020 08:00:05 +0000

Anyone with oily skin knows that keeping the shine out of your t-zone is a constant struggle. You're always checking it, feeling for it, or using blotting sheets or face powder to hide it. Plus, people with oily skin are often prone to breakouts, and managing acne can feel like a full-time job.

Luckily, there are thousands of products on the market just for people with oily skin, and many of them are budget-friendly! If you're looking to combat that shine with a new product, here are some excellent options. (See also: The 5 Best Stay-At-Home Skincare Essentials)

Top 5 Products for Oily Skin

Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser

Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser is ideal for all skin types, including combination skin, and softens as it cleans. The mild, non-irritating, non-comedogenic, fragrance-free formula gently cleanses the skin and removes dirt, oil, and makeup (even stubborn eye makeup). It is commonly recommended by dermatologists and pediatricians because it's gentle enough for use on skin with conditions like psoriasis, rosacea, acne, and eczema. The gentle formula rinses easily and will leave your skin feeling soft and smooth, like you washed with lotion.

This cleanser is also backed by over 2,500 five-star reviews on Amazon.

Currently $18.90 on Amazon.com

Cosmedica Skincare Hyaluronic Acid Serum

The Cosmedica Skincare Hyaluronic Acid Serum is a best-seller on Amazon and can be used on all skin types. This serum is natural and organic, and improves overall skin texture and brightness. You'll see a noticeable difference in your skin in terms of plumpness, softness, and balance. And it's cruelty-free, paraben-free, and without dyes or fragrances.

It's also backed by over 10,000 five-star reviews on Amazon.

Currently $15.00 on Amazon.com

Aveeno Positively Radiant Skin Daily Moisturizer

As Amazon’s #1 best-seller in facial tinted moisturizers, the Aveeno Positively Radiant Skin Daily Moisturizer has a fast-absorbing formula that leaves skin soft and smooth. This oil-free, hypoallergenic, non-comedogenic moisturizer won’t clog pores and is clinically proven to improve skin tone and texture and reduce skin discoloration in as little as four weeks.

Currently $12.98 on Amazon.com

NYX Matte Blotting Paper

The NYX Matte Blotting Papers can eliminate excess oil, minimize pores, and even help prevent future breakouts and shine. These blotting papers are made of 100% pure pulpate paper and leave your complexion looking matte and gorgeous. They can refresh the skin and even help fight humidity to keep your skin matte all day. The 50 sheets have a five-year shelf life, so they will last in your purse or beauty bag.

They are also an Amazon best-seller, with hundreds of five-star reviews.

Currently $4.00 on Amazon.com

The Body Shop Tea Tree Face Mask

The Body Shop Tea Tree Face Mask can help with acne, breakouts, and oily skin. The silky cleansing clay mask contains lemon tea tree oil and Tamanu oil, and it has menthol, which creates a soothing effect for acne-prone skin, helping to calm irritation and redness. It's the perfect natural blemish fighter because it eliminates existing blemishes, prevents future breakouts, removes impurities, and controls oil and shine. It has antibacterial benefits and will leave your skin feeling deeply cleansed, refreshed, soft, smooth, and ready for makeup.

This natural alternative for blemish prone skin is recommended by Allure and is a Total Beauty Top-Rated Beauty Product. It has rave reviews online, including from those who struggle with acne.

Currently $14.49 on Amazon

And those are our recommendations for the best stay-at-home kitchen essentials. As always, be sure to check Wise Bread's Buying Calendar to learn when and how to buy just about anything!

This article is from Chrissa Hardy of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

The 5 Best Hyaluronic Acid Serums

Chrissa Hardy — Tue, 02 Jun 2020 19:19:55 +0000

Hyaluronic acid has gained a reputation of being a miracle product for the skin, and for good reason. It relieves dry skin, accelerates the healing of wounds, and reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. And that's just to start. It can be a key ingredient in moisturizers and face masks, or it can be concentrated in a serum that you can apply as part of your everyday skincare routine.

If you're looking to give this versatile product a spin, any of the five below are excellent picks that won't break your budget. (See also: The 5 Best Stay-At-Home Skincare Essentials)

Top 5 Hyaluronic Acid Serums

Cosmedica Skincare Hyaluronic Acid Serum

It's also backed by over 15,000 five-star reviews on Amazon.

Currently $15.00 at Amazon.com

The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid + B5 Serum

The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid + B5 Serum is famous for a reason. This brand creates simple, straightforward skincare products for all skin types. The hyaluronic acid + B5 serum has a concentration of 2% for multi-depth hydration in a water-based formula and the B5 also enhances surface hydration.

This serum is cruelty-free and backed by over 2,000 five-star reviews on Amazon.

Currently $16.95 at Amazon.com

TruSkin Vitamin C Serum With Hyaluronic Acid

TruSkin Vitamin C Serum With Hyaluronic Acid is the perfect blend of ingredients that your skin needs. Vitamin C blends with hyaluronic acid and vitamin E in this advanced formula to target common signs of aging, including dark spots, sun spots, brightness, firmness, wrinkles, and fine lines. And it's free of synthetic color additives, fragrance, and stabilizers, while dynamic active botanicals like Aloe Vera, MSM, Botanical Hyaluronic Acid, Witch Hazel, and organic Jojoba oil make this serum feel silky smooth on the skin.

It also has over 15,000 five-star reviews on Amazon.

Currently $19.99 at Amazon.com

Yeouth Pure Hyaluronic Acid

Yeouth's Pure Hyaluronic Acid can diminish signs of dark circles, age spots, and puffiness when used regularly. This formula is made from naturally-derived ingredients that protect and nourish even the most sensitive skin, including delicate skin around the eyes and lips. It boosts collagen production and holds in moisture.

It's also cruelty-free and paraben-free, and backed by over 3,000 five-star reviews on Amazon.

Currently $21.95 at Amazon.com

Tree of Life Hyaluronic Acid Serum

The Tree of Life Hyaluronic Acid Serum also has vitamin C and vitamin E, and this formula is infused with special anti-aging ingredients designed to further enhance and activate hyaluronic acid's moisturizing properties. Hyaluronic acid is known for helping the skin stay supple and soft and reducing wrinkles and age spots.

It's backed by outstanding online reviews, including over 3,000 five-star reviews on Amazon.

Currently $10.95 at Amazon.com

And those are our recommendations for the best stay-at-home kitchen essentials. As always, be sure to check Wise Bread's Buying Calendar to learn when and how to buy just about anything!

This article is from Chrissa Hardy of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

The 5 Best Sheet Masks

Chrissa Hardy — Wed, 27 May 2020 18:38:23 +0000

There are few things more satisfying at the end of a long day than putting on a sheet mask. The healing gel that coats the inside of a sheet mask offers immediate relief to your skin, and after you remove it, your face is left dewy and luminous. And most of the time, you don't even need to wash your face afterwards. You can just leave the remaining gel to seep into your skin and continue working its magic.

If you're new to the sheet mask scene, or are just looking for a new one to try, any of the five below are excellent picks that won't break your budget. (See also: The 5 Best Stay-At-Home Skincare Essentials)

Top 5 Sheet Masks

Dermal Korea Full Face Sheet Masks

The Dermal Korea Full Face Sheet Masks are a best-seller on Amazon and can be used on all skin types. They contain collagen and vitamin E, both of which rejuvenate the skin and repair skin cells. These masks also moisturize dry and irritated skin, and tighten pores. Once applied, leave them on for 15-20 minutes before removing. They are also cruelty-free with natural ingredients.

They're available in a wide range of types and are backed by over 6,500 five-star reviews on Amazon.

Currently $9.99 at Amazon.com

Glam Up Facial Sheet Masks

They're also free of talc, paraben, silicone, synthetic colors, and sodium sulfate, and backed by over 1,000 five-star reviews on Amazon.

Currently $9.88 at Amazon.com

LA Pure Korean Face Masks

LA Pure's Korean Face Masks will be your new best friend while stuck at home. Using snail secretion filtrate — a popular ingredient in Korean beauty products — these masks repair, nourish, and rejuvenate your skin in just 15-20 minutes. The other natural ingredients in these masks include aloe vera, cucumber, star anise, panax ginseng, and more. They are cruelty-free, paraben-free, and are made from 100% cotton.

They also have hundreds of five-star reviews on Amazon.

Currently $18.97 at Amazon.com

Celavi Essence Sheet Masks

The Celavi Essence Sheet Masks can diminish signs of dark circles, age spots, puffiness, and pigmentation when used regularly. They are infused with natural botanical ingredients like tea tree, cucumber, honey, charcoal, and avocado and made for all skin types. These masks will leave your skin feeling super soft and looking radiant in no time.

They're also cruelty-free and paraben-free, and backed by over 1,000 five-star reviews on Amazon.

Currently $9.99 at Amazon.com

Viva Naturals Sheet Masks

The Viva Naturals Sheet Masks are another great option if you're trying to recreate a spa-like experience at home. In just 15 minutes, these masks cleanse and detoxify your skin using a blend of collagen and hyaluronic acid. They come in four types: Soothing (Lavender), Glowing (Ylang Ylang), Brightening (Sweet Orange), and Revitalizing (Rose), and all provide superior results, even on sensitive skin.

They're backed by outstanding online reviews, including over 500 five-star reviews on Amazon.

Currently $21.95 at Amazon.com

And those are our recommendations for the best stay-at-home kitchen essentials. As always, be sure to check Wise Bread's Buying Calendar to learn when and how to buy just about anything!

This article is from Chrissa Hardy of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

The 5 Best Cozy Home Essentials

Chrissa Hardy — Thu, 07 May 2020 18:41:26 +0000

The best part of being stuck at home is the ability to make your space a serene paradise bursting with coziness. Spend the afternoon curled up on the couch with a warm blanket and a good book, and then do it again the next day! It's not like you can go anywhere right now anyway, right?

If you look around your living room or bedroom and don't immediately want to take a nap, something's missing. But that's ok! Add any of the following items to your space and you'll almost be glad you can't leave. (See also: The 5 Best Stay-At-Home Self-Care Essentials)

Top 5 Cozy Home Essentials

Chanasya Shaggy Longfur Faux Fur Throw Blanket

The Chanasya Shaggy Longfur Faux Fur Throw Blanket is a must-have if you're trying to create the coziest environment possible in your home. The cruelty-free faux fur material is 100% microfiber polyester and is super soft, lightweight, hypoallergenic, and machine-washable. It's extremely versatile, and can be used as a statement throw blanket for your couch, or the main source of warmth on your bed, as it comes in a variety of sizes. It also comes in several colors, so you'll easily be able to match it to your home's color scheme.

This blanket is backed by outstanding reviews online and has over 5,000 five-star reviews on Amazon.

Currently $29.99 at Amazon.com

Naipo Shiatsu Back and Neck Massager

The Naipo Shiatsu Back and Neck Massager can relieve tension, stress, and anxiety by relaxing your body. With the control panel, you can change the direction and speed or add heat. It has an ergonomic U-design, PU leather, breathable 3D mesh fabric, and comfortable, flexible straps, so you can easily apply pressure where you need it most. It also has a 20-minute auto-off function and overheat protection. This massager has eight deep-kneading Shiatsu massage nodes to help relieve muscle tightness, increase circulation, and even improve sleep.

It's also backed by more than 8,000 five-star reviews on Amazon.

Currently $64.99 at Amazon.com

Husband Pillow

If you're looking to improve your reading or relaxing experience on the bed or couch, look no further than the Husband Pillow. This microplush pillow contains premium shredded memory foam and has a high backrest that supports your entire upper body, with a circular pillow that adds additional neck support at the top. It's versatile and portable, so you can take it wherever you go. The Husband Pillow also comes in a wide range of colors to choose from.

And it has over 2,500 five-star reviews on Amazon.

Currently $84.95 at Amazon.com

BELLA Electric Tea Kettle

The BELLA Electric Tea Kettle is the perfect addition to any kitchen, as it can boil water faster than a microwave and it's safer than a standard kettle on the stove top. Turn it on with the flip of a switch and make your favorite hot beverage or meal using the fully detachable 360-degree power base. The kettle also has an automatic shut off and boil dry protection, as well as a concealed heating element for maximum safety. It comes in several beautiful designs to add a unique pop of color to your kitchen.

It also has over 2,500 five-star reviews on Amazon.

Currently $33.81 at Amazon.com

Pure Daily Care Aromatherapy Diffuser

The Pure Daily Care Aromatherapy Diffuser has a 300 ml capacity and comes with a 10-piece set of essential oils in classic scents like lavender, eucalyptus, tea tree, orange, peppermint, lemongrass, and more. It includes seven ambient light modes with two intensity settings for 14 different light combinations. It also includes four timer settings and a convenient auto shutoff feature for low water levels. This diffuser is made of BPA-free plastic and features a beautiful wood grain design.

It's backed by outstanding online reviews, including over 4,000 five-star reviews on Amazon.

Currently $48.95 at Amazon.com

And those are our recommendations for the best stay-at-home kitchen essentials. As always, be sure to check Wise Bread's Buying Calendar to learn when and how to buy just about anything!

This article is from Chrissa Hardy of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Why Behavior Nudges Don't Always Lead to Healthy Habits

Emily Guy Birken — Mon, 08 Jul 2019 08:00:06 +0000

In the 10 years since the illuminating book Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Nobel Prize-winning economist Richard Thaler and legal scholar Cass Sunstein was published, the idea of nudging people to make better decisions has become mainstream in everything from government to public health to personal habits.

A nudge is a way of subtly influencing choices without actually forbidding anything. One of the examples Thaler and Sunstein include in their book is the cafeteria that nudged diners into healthy eating habits by placing fruits and other healthy snacks at eye level, while putting chips and ice cream in harder-to-reach spots. No one was prevented from seeking out their favorite junk food, but the set up of the offerings encouraged diners to choose apple slices instead.

A similar successful nudge was the introduction of automatic 401(k) enrollment. When employees had to opt-in to their 401(k) program, participation was abysmal, since signing up for a retirement account is the kind of important-but-not-urgent task that many people procrastinate on. By making enrollment automatic, employees could productively ignore their 401(k), rather than ignore it at their peril. (See also: 401(k) or IRA? You Need Both)

But even though nudges have proven successful in several arenas, they're not perfect. In fact, nudges don't always work and can sometimes even backfire. Here's why nudges aren't always the best way to go about changing your habits.

Strong preferences

I'm an avid reader and a big supporter of public libraries. I'm at the library as often as twice a week. Despite this, I carry an average overdue fine balance of close to $10 at any one time, and I once wracked up an impressive $75 fine on a stack of books that remained in my library bag for weeks.

Over the years, I've tried various nudges to improve my on-time return rate. I've left books on the table by the door, set a Google calendar reminder, written my due dates on my paper calendar, left books in my car, and I've even placed "return library books" on my work to-do list. Not a single one of these nudges has worked.

What's going on here is that my preexisting preferences are far stronger than my nudges to return the books. I prefer to leave the house with just enough time to get where I'm going without an extra stop at the library and I prefer to keep working throughout the day without an interruption to return books. Those preferences will guide me no matter how insistent my nudge is, because a nudge does not take away my choices.

Strong preferences can also help to explain the phenomenon of non-compliant patients. No matter what nudges the medical profession has attempted to implement to improve patient compliance, many patients have such a strong preexisting preference to maintain their old eating and exercise habits that they'll simply ignore their doctor's recommendations. Even when it comes to taking medication, the preference to not take it is greater than even some financial nudges that pay patients to comply.

Though nudges can help to improve habits, they will not overcome strong preferences. (See also: How to Use Financial Anchors to Make Better Money Decisions)

Incomplete nudges

Sometimes nudges work, but only a little bit. That's because a nudge is encouraging a specific small behavior, when the overall outcome that you're trying to achieve is complex.

For instance, a grocery store increased its produce sales by 9 percent after installing green arrows pointing toward the produce section with a sign that said, "Follow the green arrow for your health." While it's certainly beneficial for shoppers to buy more produce, that's not the end of the beneficial habit. How many of those grocery shoppers let their purchased produce rot in their refrigerators? Particularly if their preexisting preference is for junk food?

Similarly, the cafeteria nudge that gets diners to choose apples instead of chips at lunchtime may be an incomplete nudge if the diner simply chooses unhealthy snacks for the rest of the day. The nudge within the cafeteria's confines may have worked, but it was incomplete in terms of helping to change the diner's overall eating habits.

Reactive behavior

The basis of the theory of nudging is that people aren't making the best decisions for themselves. This may be because people are distracted, overwhelmed, or suffering from cognitive biases. But if you're aware that someone is nudging you, it can be easy to feel as though the nudger doesn't think much of your intelligence.

When that happens, the fact that you're being nudged can cause you to choose another option out of stubbornness. Parents of small children are certainly familiar with this. If I give my son the choice of jeans or khakis, in an attempt to nudge him to choose long pants on a chilly day, he might refuse both and insist on wearing shorts just because I tried to influence his decision.

This refusal to comply with a nudge may explain what happened after New York City required restaurants to list the calorie content of all menu items. Instead of nudging consumers to choose lower-calorie items, this change prompted average restaurant-goers to buy slightly more calories. The nudge did not have its desired effect, in part because some diners probably felt resentful about the attempt to change their choices. This may have prompted them to either disregard the calorie counts, or gleefully indulge in the highest-calorie item they could find.

Over-saturation

I have an alarm that goes off every day at 7:30 a.m. to remind me to take my medication. My FitBit buzzes at 10 minutes to the hour if I haven't taken at least 250 steps that hour. My phone informs me at 9 p.m. every night that it's time for me to start getting ready for bed.

I ignore every single one of these nudges more often than I heed them.

Not only have I gotten used to these alarms, buzzers, and bells going off throughout my day, making them very easy to ignore, but I also know that there will be no immediate consequences if I don't take my medication, continue sitting for hours at a time, or stay up too late.

These nudges were more effective when I first set them — although my strong preexisting preferences made it difficult to comply even then. But now that my day is over-saturated in nudges that I've learned to ignore, the reminders are nothing more than momentary annoyances that I quickly turn off.

With the onslaught of nudges from our smartphones, wearable devices, and home assistants, all of these reminders can become nothing more than background noise.

Nudges are the start, not the end

Nudge theory has done a great deal to change the landscape of modern decision-making. But while nudges can help to steer decisions, they're still only gentle suggestions.

Even if you set up your environment to encourage better choices, you need to remember that habit-change requires commitment, not just nudges.

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This article is from Emily Guy Birken of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Do You Need Wedding Insurance?

Emily Guy Birken — Fri, 05 Jul 2019 08:00:06 +0000

My mother and father got married in Baltimore, Maryland on June 22, 1972. That was the very day that Hurricane Agnes — the costliest tropical storm to hit the United States in recorded history at the time — made landfall.

Mom and Dad woke up on the morning of their nuptials to the news that most of their guests were unable to attend the wedding due to the flooding in Baltimore. They tried to reduce the wasted food and drinks at their reception by inviting anyone and everyone able to brave the streets, including my grandmother's hairdresser and the neighbors of several guests.

Nobody expects a national emergency-inducing hurricane on their wedding day, least of all in Baltimore in June. Of course, insurance was created specifically to protect you from the unexpected. Wedding insurance may not have existed when my parents got married, but could it be a way for couples nowadays to protect themselves (and their deposits!) from an expensive wedding emergency?

Here's what you need to know about whether wedding insurance is the right way for you to make sure your wedding goes off without a hitch. (See also: 15 Surprising Insurance Policies You Might Need)

What is wedding insurance?

Wedding insurance, which is also billed as special event insurance, is an insurance policy that covers cancellation of a major event due to adverse weather or the death, illness, or serious injury of a key participant. In addition to the cancellation coverage, marrying couples can also purchase riders for their wedding insurance that cover things like military deployment, protection of bridal wear from damage or vendor bankruptcy, theft or damage to wedding gifts, and personal liability for injury or damage.

The ability to protect yourself financially in case of a wedding catastrophe may make wedding insurance sound like a slam dunk, but it's often unnecessary, according to Lindsay Rocamora, a wedding and event planner based in Wisconsin.

Instead, she recommends taking a hard look at the possible problems you might encounter on your big day.

What might happen on your wedding way?

While no one wants to think about how things could go wrong on their wedding day, Rocamora recommends that all couples think through the moving parts that could cause a problem.

The little disasters

The things most likely to go wrong are also things you can ask about before signing a contract.

Rocamora recommends asking questions like:

What happens if the photographer or DJ gets sick?
What is the backup plan if the caterer drops the cake?
Is the company insured?
What are the penalties if the company fails to deliver on the promised goods or services?
What happens if you need to cancel the contract?

Understanding the clauses in your contracts with vendors can help you understand what your options will be in case of a problem. Rocamora also points out that wedding insurance doesn't necessarily cover these kinds of problems.

Fire, flood, or act of God

Many couples assume that purchasing wedding insurance will take care of them in case of a major weather event or other forces outside of their control. Unfortunately, that's not necessarily the case.

While cancellation or postponement coverage on a wedding policy could pay out in the event of an extreme weather phenomenon, it's generally only honored in the case of a statewide emergency. A more localized weather emergency may just be considered bad luck for the happy couple.

Rocamora also warns that many vendors indemnify themselves in their contracts in case of bad weather or another type of emergency:

"Most venues and vendors have a Force Majeure clause that protects them in the event of an act of God," Rocamora reports. "I've heard of tornadoes destroying venues, or fires at bakeries. If there is a drought in Argentina, then flowers will become scarce or more expensive. But the Force Majeure gives couples no recourse if this happens."

Wedding insurance generally doesn't protect couples from such bad luck, especially if their vendors have a Force Majeure clause.

Vendor bankruptcy

In 2017, bridal retailer Alfred Angelo abruptly declared bankruptcy and immediately shuttered all of its stores worldwide, which meant customers showed up to pick up their dresses and accessories, only to find the doors locked.

This situation was heartburn-inducing for the brides who were simply out of luck, although Angelo's biggest competitor David's Bridal (which carried many of the same designs) offered affected customers big discounts to help them keep their wedding plans on track.

According to Rocamora, wedding insurance could potentially help with such a problem, which may also occur with small, local vendors. The Angelo bankruptcy was a huge problem in the wedding industry with ripples throughout the United States and globally, but local vendors can also find themselves on shaky financial ground.

Liability coverage

Having a number of drunk wedding guests all in one place can potentially lead to damage, destruction, injury, or half the family refusing to speak to the other half. This is where wedding insurance could be helpful in protecting yourself from liability.

"Certainly most of my terrible wedding stories begin with vodka," Rocamora states. "But Wisconsin at least has some very strict liquor laws for venues and parks." Even if you don't live in Wisconsin, most state laws will require your venue to carry the coverage necessary to protect you in case a drunken reveler causes injury or damage.

Of course, if you're getting married in your backyard, then your venue does not already have the necessary coverage. But an umbrella policy with your homeowners insurance will likely take care of your needs, and potentially for less than a wedding insurance policy.

Don't forget that you may be held liable for any guests who drive drunk after your wedding. That means you should be sure you have the full coverage you need. Consider offering shuttles to a hotel or providing places to sleep it off, since a guest driving drunk is more than just financially devastating.

Lost or destroyed gifts

Another big selling point for wedding insurance is protection from stolen, lost, or destroyed wedding gifts. However, if gifts are stolen or damaged while at your home or in your car, then your homeowners insurance or auto insurance policy may already cover the loss.

Similarly, your venue may have coverage that will take care of you in the event that your gifts are stolen. Ask your venue and check with your current insurance policies before spending money on a special event policy, since it may not be needed.

Protecting your wedding day

The best-laid plans of brides and grooms oft go awry, and anyone who has ever been to a wedding can attest to the impossibility of a major event coming together perfectly. But there's a difference between the funny story of the caterer delivering a bachelorette cake to the wedding, and a true wedding day disaster.

To protect your wedding day, Rocamora recommends doing your research, asking lots of questions before signing contracts, using reputable vendors, and checking your homeowners insurance coverage, rather than wedding insurance. (See also: How to Negotiate on Everything for Your Wedding)

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This article is from Emily Guy Birken of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

How Too Many Small Decisions Can Cost You Big

Emily Guy Birken — Fri, 28 Jun 2019 08:00:06 +0000

Toward the end of her life, my grandmother's doctor told her to avoid a number of her favorite foods — including ice cream. Whenever my mother found a pint of Ben & Jerry's in my grandmother's ice box, Grandma's excuse was always the same, "Oh, the little bit I have won't hurt me!"

The thing about Grandma's excuse (that often made the vein in my mother's forehead start to pulse) was that she would have been right about one hot fudge sundae. A single decision to disregard her doctor's orders would not have made a difference in her health. The problem is that small decisions have a way of compounding, and my grandmother made her health issues worse one ice cream cone at a time.

The buildup of small decisions can be costly, whether you're trying to improve your health or your finances. Here's how small decisions can create big problems.

The tyranny of small decisions

In a 1966 essay titled The Tyranny of Small Decisions, economist Alfred Kahn describes how a well-meaning individual making a series of small decisions can end up with an unintended and unwanted large decision.

Kahn used the example of the Ithaca railroad to explain how small decisions can have devastating consequences. Rail was the only consistent mode of travel in and out of Ithaca, New York, as it could operate in any weather. But cars, buses, and planes offered faster and more convenient service in good weather. Travelers in and out of Ithaca consistently made the small, individual decision to take the most convenient service when the weather was fine. Because of these small decisions, the rail service was eventually discontinued because there were not enough travelers to cover the costs — which effectively made Ithaca unreachable in bad weather.

Every traveler who made the small decision to take a bus or plane did not intend for the rail service to dry up, but the cumulative effect of those small decisions created an enormous, negative and unintended consequence. (See also: 6 Guilty Pleasures That Are Killing Your Budget)

The latte factor

Though it has become something of a cliche, the latte factor is a common example of how the tyranny of small decisions can impact your budget. Popularized by financial expert and author David Bach, the latte factor describes how making regular small purchases, such as a daily $4 latte, can add up to a big payout that you don't intend to make. Make an unnecessary $4 purchase every day, and you spend over $1,400 per year.

This is what's so insidious about the tyranny of small decisions. Anyone who spends $1,400 on a single large purchase would at least have something of worth to show for the hole in their budget. But spending money a little at a time on small indulgences means you can't even point to where your money has gone. (See also: Here's How Rich You'd Be if You Stopped Drinking Expensive Coffee)

Easy payments and small decisions

Another important factor in how the tyranny of small decisions can destroy a budget is the fact that we now live in a largely cashless society. When you're making small purchase decisions using cash, the amount of money you have in your wallet is a natural reminder of how much you have spent.

However, it can be very easy to lose track of how much you've spent when you're using plastic to pay for everything. Each individual spending decision you make is a little thing that won't hurt your finances. But in aggregate, the decisions add up to a total dollar amount that you didn't intend to spend.

Aligning your choices with your values

Travelers to Ithaca didn't realize that prioritizing convenience on any one trip would mean the end of the rail travel they valued. Similarly, someone who isn't paying close attention to how much they're spending won't realize that their choices are adding up to something they do not want.

To combat this, it's important to align your choices with your values as often as you can.

For instance, let's say one of your values is to support local businesses. Any single trip you take to the big box store or any single item you order from Amazon will not affect the local businesses. However, if you find yourself stopping at Wal-Mart or ordering online all the time, then you're prioritizing convenience over supporting local businesses.

There's nothing wrong with valuing convenience, but you need to remember that you probably can't have both convenience and a thriving local business district at the same time. So you'll need to make sure you make choices that show your support for local business at least some of the time. (See also: 4 Ways Your Money Can Support Your Values)

Forced value alignment

Of course, it's difficult to align all your small choices with your values because each small decision feels like it's consequence-free. With no looming negative consequence on the horizon, it can feel a little ridiculous to ask yourself if buying this particular cup of coffee and a muffin will help you reach your overall financial goals. One good way to enforce value alignment is to take away your ability to make these small choices.

For instance, the standard advice about carrying cash instead of credit cards is part of the personal finance greatest hits list for a reason. When you use cash, you're forced to consider your values when making small decisions, since the resource dwindles before your eyes.

This kind of forced alignment can help defeat the tyranny of any number of small decisions. Here are a few examples:

Consumers who wish to support small local businesses could enforce that value alignment by signing up for social media updates to make sure those businesses stay on their radar.
Travelers who value an underused service could commit to taking that service rather than focusing solely on convenience.
Folks who would like to eat healthier or lose weight could make sure the tub of butter pecan ice cream never makes it to their kitchen.

Don't let small decisions pile up

It may be true that the little choices you make won't hurt you, but it can be easy to lose track of how small choices add up quickly. Rather than making each small decision out of context, take the time to figure out what you value and how your small choices will fit into those values. That way, you can be a master of your small decisions, rather than ruled by their tyranny.

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This article is from Emily Guy Birken of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Ask the Readers: Do You Use a Workout Plan?

Ashley Jacobs — Tue, 28 May 2019 15:28:39 +0000

Doing whatever exercises you feel like, whenever you feel like it, keeps you active, sure. But if you have fitness goals you'd like to achieve, using a workout plan will make your exercise sessions much more effective and allow you to reach your goals more quickly.

Do you use a workout plan? What are your fitness goals, and how have you built your workout plan to achieve those goals? Do you have a diet plan as well to complement your workouts?

Tell us whether you have a workout plan and we'll enter you in a drawing to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card!

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Follow us on Twitter
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How Habit Boredom Makes You Abandon Your Goals

Emily Guy Birken — Mon, 20 May 2019 08:00:11 +0000

Earlier this year, fueled by a trip down the rabbit hole that is Pinterest's bullet journaling suggestions, I found a new way to make a habit of cleaning my house: habit tracking.

I set up my new habit tracker like a game board, with each of my daily housekeeping chores shaped like a different Tetris piece. Each night, I drew and colored in each piece corresponding to all of the cleaning tasks I'd taken care of that day. After coloring in my board every night for five weeks, I was absolutely certain that this time I would finally achieve my goal of having an effortlessly and continuously clean house.

I was doing everything right according to habit research. I'd created a game to give myself extrinsic motivation until the new habit took over. Repeating that habit every night for weeks meant I was well on my way to my goal.

Unfortunately, I'm currently sitting in a house that's a mess, and I haven't updated my board since March.

It turns out that reaching a goal can be incredibly difficult even if you set yourself up for success by creating a new habit. That's because of something called "habit boredom," which is the weakening of your positive emotional response to an action once it becomes habitual.

Here's what you need to know about how habit boredom can create setbacks with your goals, just when you think you're finally on your way to reaching them.

Understanding habit boredom

Establishing good habits has long been touted as a way to reach your goals. After all, researchers have found that about 40 percent of your daily activities are performed habitually. Creating beneficial habits — like putting things away, making a bag lunch to take to work each day, and drinking a glass of water before each meal — can ensure that your actions are working toward your goals of a cleaner house, better finances, and improved health.

The problem is that intentionally creating a new and beneficial habit means you have an emotional response to it. For instance, you may feel proud of yourself when you begin your habit of packing a lunch each day. Look at you, starting a new money-saving habit! You can puff out your chest with pride as you calculate how much you're saving with each homemade sandwich.

But that emotional response is not going to be quite as strong on day 17. That's because the process of creating a habit also numbs your emotional response to that habit. In other words, as the habit takes over, you're more likely to feel bored by it, since it's no longer novel.

By that point, throwing together some turkey and cheese on wheat is no longer something to be proud of — it's just Tuesday. And when your coworkers ask if you want to check out the new taco truck, the fact that you no longer have a strong emotional connection to your lunch-making habit means it'll be easy to let your poor sandwich get soggy in the refrigerator while you enjoy some tacos.

Combatting habit boredom

Part of the problem with habit boredom is the fact that you may not realize that's why you're abandoning your newly-formed habit. It may seem rational to just skip your new routine one time because you're tired, hungry, busy, or otherwise unable to let the habitual action take over.

However, habit boredom means you're resistant to making your usual brown bag lunch the next day, too. And the one after that.

There are a couple of ways to keep habit boredom from wrecking all your progress, however.

Fall in love with the boredom

Habit and productivity expert James Clear writes in his book Atomic Habits that truly elite goal-setters find a way to enjoy the boredom of their habits. If the only path to become an Olympic athlete is to spend each day doing boring, repetitive athletic exercises, then those individuals who are capable of finding ways to enjoy the boredom have a leg up over those who feel like doing yet another set is about as interesting as watching paint dry.

So how do you go about falling in love with boredom?

Pair your boring habit with something novel. Adding a fun motivator to your new habit can help you keep going with a habit that has lost its sheen. For instance, if you're trying to keep your brown bag lunch habit going, you could use fun and colorful food storage, start cutting your sandwiches into shapes, or even experiment with recipes and snacks you've always wanted to try.
Partner with a friend. You probably already know that exercise is more fun with a buddy. So is any other boring, repetitive habit. If you're trying to establish a money-saving habit, partner up with a friend who is also trying to start a new habit. Holding each other accountable can help you both stay on track when habit boredom strikes.

Embrace the process orientation

We generally establish new habits because we have a goal in mind. The problem is that habit boredom can make us feel like we've failed if the boredom strikes before we've reached the goal.

When you're focused solely on a goal, whether that goal is a cleaner house, better finances, or improved health, you often focus on the question, "Can I do this?" rather than "How do I do this?" The first question assumes that failure is an option. The second assumes that you will succeed and prompts you to figure out your process for doing so.

That's why the process orientation, which focuses on how to do something, is more likely to lead to success. The guiding principle of process orientation is the mantra "there are no failures, only ineffective solutions."

If your habit boredom leads you to abandoning your new habit, there's no need to feel like you're never going to reach your goal. You just need to tweak your solution to see if it'll better help you reach it. When you're open to asking yourself why something didn't work, you're more likely to find a solution that will work rather than simply abandon the habit and goal altogether. (See also: Habits Aren't Boring — They're the Secret to Happiness. Here's Why.)

The double-edged sword of habits

Becoming a creature of habit can do a great deal to help you reach your goals if you're intentional about your habits. But human beings are not machines that can be programmed and left to run.

We need to consistently tweak our habits, indulge our need for motivation and novelty, and recognize that reaching our goals is a process that may require a number of fits and starts.

Unfortunately for me, that means not even a beautifully rendered bullet journal Tetris board is sure to overcome the problem of habit boredom. (See also: The Surprisingly Easy Way to Change Your Habits and Your Life)

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This article is from Emily Guy Birken of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

How to Use Financial Anchors to Make Better Money Decisions

Emily Guy Birken — Mon, 13 May 2019 08:00:10 +0000

The cognitive bias known as anchoring gets a bad rap. This universal mental accounting quirk causes us to rely on the first piece of information we hear to make decisions. For instance, let's say you're thinking about saving up for a down payment on a house when you learn that a coworker just bought a house for $375,000. Suddenly, that number becomes your anchor point, and you compare all other home prices to this number.

This becomes a serious problem if the average home price in your area is wildly different from what your coworker paid. If most first-time buyers spend something closer to $200,000, you're likely to overspend because your view of normal is skewed too high. (See also: 5 Mental Biases That Are Keeping You Poor)

However, financial anchors can do more than just warp your sense of an appropriate amount to pay. Intentionally adopting anchors can also help you to make better money decisions. Here's how.

Monthly payment decisions

There are basic rules of thumb for what percentage of your income you should spend on housing, car payments, and the like. For instance, you'll often see the claim that you should not spend more than 30 percent of your monthly income on your rent or mortgage.

To make this an anchor point that can actually help you make better financial decisions, take the time to do the math and use your anchor point as a hard stop for what you are willing to spend. If you net $3,500 per month income, you could plan to spend no more than about $1,000 per month on rent. ($3,500 x 0.3 = $1,050).

If you decide ahead of time that your anchor point is the absolute maximum you are willing to spend, then it's easier to say no to the options that may seem like they're only a little bit outside of your price range. After all, an apartment that rents for $1,200 per month may not seem like a big stretch above your 30 percent rule, but it adds up to an additional $2,400 per year.

With an unyielding dollar amount already chosen before you begin looking at apartments, cars, or other big ticket items you plan to pay for monthly, you can help prevent temptation from encouraging you to outspend your budget.

Even if the 30-percent rule is unreasonable for the area where you live, you can still use the process of creating an anchor point to help you stay within the budget that makes sense for your area.

Fun purchases

I'm an avid audiobook listener, and have been an Audible subscriber for several years. Despite being a financial expert, I regularly cannot figure out if it makes financial sense for me to purchase an audiobook outright or use one of my "credits" for the purchase. That's because I pay nearly $16 per month to subscribe to this service. Each month, I receive a "free" credit, which means I'm paying $16 for each monthly credit.

So it feels like I'm wasting money if I use a credit on an audiobook that costs anything less than $16. But if I buy the inexpensive audiobook outright, then I've spent my monthly $16 fee plus the cost of the audiobook.

Anchoring could help me to make these decisions less onerous. If I set an anchor point of $10 as the maximum amount I am willing to spend (rather than credits) on an audiobook, it'll give me a mental shortcut to help me make quicker and more economical decisions.

Any fun items you like to purchase can benefit from a similar hard anchor point. If you love buying notebooks, shoes, music downloads, or the like, setting a hard limit on the maximum amount of money you can spend on any one purchase will make it easier to leave the tempting but expensive items on the shelf.

Of course, even with such an anchor, you still need to make sure you know how much you're spending overall. Each purchase below your anchor can still add up to quite a large amount if you're not paying attention. (See also: How Keeping Up With the Joneses Can Actually Save You Money)

Your time

If you're time-strapped, hiring someone to help you with necessary but unpleasant tasks can be a huge lifesaver. However, for a lot of people, the costs of a housecleaner, dog-walker, or personal assistant can feel far too high. Many will decide that they'll just do the mopping or other tasks themselves. The problem with this plan is that it still keeps you time-strapped, and it's likely the tasks will go undone or poorly done.

Anchoring can help you to make the decision about whether it's worthwhile for you to hire help. Calculating how much your time is worth will give you a baseline that'll help you determine what you can afford from service providers.

To figure out your hourly net worth, divide your annual income by 2,000. (The average American works about 2,000 hours per year.) That means if you earn $60,000 per year, your hourly income is $30.

If the housecleaner you're interested in charges $115 per month for bi-weekly cleaning, you'd have to decide if their two visits to clean your home from top to bottom will save you more than 3.8 hours each month that you would otherwise spend cleaning (or annoyed at the messy state of your home). The anchor point of your hourly net worth can put the cost of a service in perspective since it gives you a concrete amount to compare.

Update your anchors regularly

Creating personal anchors to help you make better financial decisions can give you a great mental shortcut. But it's important to update your anchors every so often — once a year — to make sure you're not making important new decisions with outdated anchors.

Your money choice shortcuts are only as good as the anchors you're using, and if you're making decisions based on your income from a more lucrative job, the prices in a lower cost-of-living area, or old prices that have risen because of inflation, then you're likely to overspend, frustrate yourself, or even get embarrassed when you use an outdated anchor. (Imagine my embarassment when I realized I'd been using the anchor of "tip delivery drivers $1" for many years after my parents taught it to me in the early '90s.)

Use your anchors wisely

Knowing the maximum that you're willing to spend on something gives you a great way to know when to say no. Having such a hard-and-fast rule allows you to make smarter decisions more quickly and with less temptation.

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This article is from Emily Guy Birken of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

7 Reasons You Shouldn't Hire a Friend for Professional Services

Mikey Rox — Wed, 13 Mar 2019 09:00:10 +0000

They say you shouldn't mix business with pleasure. Hire a friend to work for or with you and it could turn into a total nightmare. Save yourself a massive headache (and keep a friendship intact) with these reasons why someone you don't have a personal relationship with is always the best person for the job.(See also: 8 Professional Ways to Make Friends at Work)

1. You and your buddy may see eye-to-eye in friendship, but not business

You have one idea of how things should be done, but your friend has a different idea. How do you reconcile that? Sometimes you can't, and a rift in the friendship could establish itself before the project even starts. Talk your project over at length and establish expectations from the get-go to avoid this initial roadblock if you really want to hire a friend.

2. Loyalty and work ethic are two different things

You hired your friend because he or she is a good friend, and is always there when you need them. But while their loyalty is on point, their work ethic may be lacking. Halfway into the project, they might be missing deadlines because they think they can get away with it based on your bond.

Once you get a peek into that disparity, you'll regret entering into a professional arrangement. How do you tell your friend they're not living up to your expectations? It's difficult, and it could also create resentment that'll linger for the length of the project and beyond.(See also: 5 Friend Types That Can Hurt Your Finances)

3. Negotiating could cause resentment

If you're hiring a friend, you might expect a "friends and family" discount. But going into the project with that mindset will likely offend your friend from the jump. If you're not prepared to pay your friend's standard rate for services, hire someone else, preferably the pro whose services are in your price range.

4. A friend will take your criticism much harder

It's hard to take criticism from anyone, especially a friend. Likewise, you may find yourself being more critical of your friend than you would a service provider with whom you have no relationship, because you feel more comfortable being honest with your friend. Honesty is okay — you deserve to get what you pay for — but at what cost? Not the price of a friendship.

5. Playing favorites will upset other employees

Even if you're okay with giving your friend special treatment, this favoritism will not sit well will other employees or contractors. Why does your friend have different rules and expectations? Sure, you've known each other longer and perhaps your families spend time with each other outside of work, but that's not a fair position to take when everyone else is working just as hard or harder than your friend. You don't want a mutiny on your hands.

6. When money is involved, people show their true colors

There's a reason why people say the love of money is the root of all evil: It makes people, including friends, act in ways you wouldn't expect. If don't want to see the cash-hungry Hyde to your friend's Jekyll, keep financial transactions between people with whom you have no personal investment. (See also: How to Talk to Friends and Family About Money)

7. Firing a friend can destroy the relationship

If your project is going down the tubes because your friend didn't live up to your expectations, you will have to fire them, but how do you do that to a friend? You don't. You hired a friend, but you'll have to fire your ex-friend. Feelings will probably be hurt, words will be exchanged, and demands may be made. None of that bodes well for the friendship, at least not in the capacity it was before the professional relationship began.

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This article is from Mikey Rox of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Ask the Readers: Where Do You Prefer to Work Out?

Ashley Jacobs — Tue, 05 Mar 2019 09:30:09 +0000

Editor's Note: Congratulations to Lataevea, Ephraim, and Jackelyne for winning this week's contest!

You can get a good workout in pretty much anywhere. You can set up a home gym, adapt your workspace so you can exercise when you have spare time, or take yourself outside for a run. And, of course, there are also gyms and rec centers with all the space and equipment you'll need to get a good workout.

Where do you prefer to work out? Why? What exercise equipment do you like to use — if any? If you don't work out regularly, are there any activities that you do in your day-to-day that make you break a sweat?

Tell us where you prefer to work out and we'll enter you in a drawing to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card!

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This article is from Ashley Jacobs of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

How Much Time Do Gig Apps Really Save You?

Carrie Kirby — Mon, 04 Mar 2019 20:15:43 +0000

Time… where does it all go? The 2017 Annual American Time Use Survey from the U.S. Department of Labor revealed that people with full-time jobs spend more than two hours a day on chores including cleaning, cooking, and shopping.

The gig economy claims to rescue us from this time crunch with a host of apps that relieve us of the need to shop, do laundry, care for pets, or cook. But do they really save you enough time to be worth the money? Let's look at some of the chores and errands we all have, and the apps that claim to save us time by taking over those tasks.

1. Grocery shopping

Most people shop for food once or twice a week, spending an average of 43 minutes in the store each trip, plus travel time. This means having a gig worker shop for you could save you two hours each week — more if you live far from a store, your store tends to be very crowded, or you shop more than twice a week.

While grocery delivery from just one store or warehouse, in the form of Peapod, Safeway.com, or Amazon Fresh, has been around for awhile, the appeal of getting your groceries through a gig app is that you get to choose what store the items come from, and deliveries can often be scheduled in as little as an hour. (See also: 6 Ways Having Your Groceries Delivered Can Save You Money)

The cost

Instacart, Postmates, and Shipt (owned by Target) all charge a per-delivery, annual, or monthly fee for groceries delivered by gig workers driving their own cars.

For Instacart, it's $3.99 to $7.99 per order, or $99 a year.
Postmates charges $9.99 a month or $95.88 a year, or a variable per-delivery fee of up to $20 per order.
Shipt, which delivers in 257 cities, charges $14 a month or $99 a year. If you choose to tip the delivery person, include that in your cost as well.

Also keep in mind that the per-item prices you're paying through these services might be more than the prices at the store. Instacart acknowledges markups on its site. For instance, for my main store, Safeway, it says "Item prices are higher than in-store prices in your area." Shipt comes out and tells its users that it's marking up groceries from "select retailers" as a form of service fee.

Cost per hour saved

Of course, you'll still spend some time selecting groceries on these apps and placing your order, but you'll save the time you would have spent driving to the store, parking, walking through the aisles and (worst of all) waiting in line. If you pay $150 a year in fees for one of these services to save two hours per week, that's a cost of only about $1.50 per hour saved. If you only would have spent an extra hour each week shopping, you'd be paying about $3 per hour saved.

Is it worth it?

If you make more than $20 an hour, it's probably a good deal to use a gig shopping app, especially if you don't own a car or work hours that make it difficult to get to the store outside of busy hours.

2. Dog walking

Walking the dog can be fun and good exercise, but if you have a long commute to work, getting the dog out midday can be impossible. Or maybe you're just too busy to give the dog as much exercise as he or she needs.

The cost

Wag! and Rover can send a gig worker to your door on demand or on a schedule to take out the pooch, at a cost of about $20 to $30 per 20- to 30-minute walk.

Cost per hour saved

If you're only saving the time it takes to walk the dog, you're spending about $1 per minute, or $60 an hour, which makes this service a pricey way to save time. However, more people probably use these services for workday walks. If you work 30 minutes from home, that $30 fee could be saving you 90 minutes, when you consider the walk and the round-trip travel.

Is it worth it?

If you're home, probably not. No matter how busy you are, it will likely do you good and might even make you more productive to get out for a walk with your pet. But if you're at work, it may be a good deal. (See also: How to Make $400+ a Week as a Pet Sitter)

3. Food delivery

Of all purported time-saving gig apps, food delivery apps such as Uber Eats, Caviar, and Postmates (for takeout, not groceries) make it hardest to pin down the benefits. Before these apps, you could already pick up the phone and order takeout, or hop in the car and hit the McDonald's drive thru.

So what do the gig apps add to the bargain? Each has its specialty. Caviar focuses on restaurants that didn't previously offer delivery, so you're probably saving driving time, parking, and waiting in line to pick up an order from a busy spot. If you're comparing ordering through one of these services to driving to the restaurant and having a sit-down meal, it might save hours, but for those who enjoy the restaurant ambience, that might not be a win.

The least time one of these apps can save you is the time of placing an order by phone, which by my count saves only about three minutes — but since ordering on the phone is annoying, those might be the best three minutes you ever saved.

The cost

Uber Eats charges fees of $2 to $8, depending on the distance of the customer to the restaurant, plus surge pricing if applicable. Caviar charges a variable delivery fee plus an 18 percent service fee. Postmates' $9.99 a month or $95.88 annual membership covers food delivery as well as groceries; non-members pay delivery fees of $3.99 to $9.99 per order or more during surge periods.

Cost per hour saved

Let's assume that the true time saved by ordering food through a gig app is 30 minutes, the time you'd take to place a phone order for takeout and drive to pick it up. If you order once a week through a Postmates annual membership, and tip $5 on each delivery, the service is costing you $7 per half hour saved, or $14 per hour.

Is it worth it?

If you order food often from restaurants that don't offer delivery, yes. For those bored with their regular delivery spots, these apps can really spice things up. But if you prefer to cook at home, eat at the restaurant, or have regular favorites who deliver, these apps may not be worth trying for you.

4. Doctor visits

It might be a shock to learn that some doctors are embracing the gig economy. But a host of startups are making it possible for doctors to make house calls or practice telemedicine in their spare time, or as their main practice.

If you're having a heart attack or just lost an appendage, clearly convenience isn't going to be the deciding factor and you'll need to head straight to an emergency room, preferably in an ambulance. However, if you have a urinary tract infection, a rash, you need an order for a strep test, have a suspected case of the flu, or just need a prescription refill, a doctor's office, urgent care, or emergency room visit can eat up hours of your life. In some practices I've used, just calling to make an appointment can take 15 minutes or more waiting on hold.

Then there's getting to the doctor's office and sitting in the waiting room — average wait times range from 15 to 27 minutes, depending on the city and type of doctor.

In contrast, the app Doctor on Demand can put you on a 15-minute call with a freelance doctor within five minutes. Then there are apps that allow you to schedule a house call with freelance doctors, such as Heal. For simple complaints, the potential time savings ranges from one hour on an easy doctor visit to five or more hours for one of those nightmare ER waits.

The cost

Doctor on Demand charges $75 for a 15-minute consultation, and they work with a number of employers and insurance companies. Heal charges a $149 flat fee, and also accepts a number of insurance plans.

Cost per hour saved

For an office visit, assuming you pay the app out of pocket, and your insurance copay for your regular doctor would have been $20, it may cost $55 to $79 to save one hour. If you can use one of these services to avoid an ER visit, the cost might be about the same, and you could save at least two hours.

Is it worth it?

If you can use one of these services to avoid an emergency room visit for a non-emergency, it could be very worthwhile.

For office visits, if one of these programs is covered by your insurance, it seems like a worthwhile thing to try. If you have to pay out of pocket, the time-saving would be worthwhile for high earners or those with very busy doctors offices.

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This article is from Carrie Kirby of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

How to Negotiate on Everything for Your Wedding

Kat Tretina — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 09:00:11 +0000

If you're getting married, you need to prepare yourself for a hefty price tag for the event. According to a 2017 survey by The Knot, the national average cost of a wedding is $33,391. Few people have that kind of money in the bank, so many couples turn to credit cards or loans to finance their dream wedding.

Luckily, there are ways to trim that total cost down. With a little planning, you can have a beautiful wedding without blowing your budget. Here are eight tips for negotiating with wedding vendors and getting the best deals.

1. Come up with a realistic budget

Vendors have high expenses themselves, including staff and supplies. Although they may have some wiggle room in their quotes, you shouldn't expect them to slash their quotes in half.

That's why it's so important to sit down with your partner and calculate how much you can realistically spend on your wedding before ever talking with vendors. Knowing how much money you have to work with will help you narrow down your list of vendors to those you can afford. (See also: 3 Tactful Ways to Ask for Money for Your Wedding)

2. Determine your priorities

When it comes to planning your wedding, prioritize what's most important to you and cut back on the rest.

For example, if you treasure photos and look forward to having a beautiful wedding album, set money aside for a really skilled photographer. However, that might mean you have to make other sacrifices to stay within your budget such as skipping a videographer or going with a less expensive wedding cake.

3. Consider freelance or independent vendors

Traditionally, couples use restaurants, established caterers, and brick and mortar florists for their weddings. However, many independent cooks and artists offer their services for weddings, as well. Because they don't have the same high overhead costs as a traditional store, their prices are often much lower. And, they may be able to work with you to come up with ideas that fit your budget.

Use MyWedding's database to find vendors of all sizes near you. Or, you can also use Etsy for flowers and centerpieces. By messaging a seller directly, you may be able to negotiate a discount for large orders.

4. Shop around

Once you have a list of potential vendors, ask multiple companies for quotes based on your budget. Compare the offers carefully to ensure they're offering the same things; a higher priced quote might actually include more — and be a better deal — than a cheaper vendor.

For example, some caterers will also provide the linens and china, while you may have to rent your own with other vendors. When choosing between vendors, you might not be able to get them to drop the price, but you might be able to negotiate add-ons that can help you save in other areas. (See also: How to Have a Great Wedding if You Haven't Saved Enough)

5. Look for seasonal deals

When it comes to venues, photography, and flowers, you might be able to save money during the off-season. Weddings in the late spring to the early fall tend to be the most expensive, while winter or early spring weddings are often cheaper. For venues, you could save up to 30 percent by having a winter wedding, according to wedding planner Angela Christoforo, owner of Elite Wedding & Event Planning.

When the wedding season is slow, vendors might be willing to take on work for less than their typical rate, since they'd otherwise not be booked at all. Plus, you can save more money by adjusting your plans for food and flowers based on the season. By focusing on seasonal produce and flowers, you can reduce your costs.

6. Be flexible

If the vendor isn't willing to negotiate, you might be able to save money by being flexible. By being flexible with things like flower choice, entrees, or even the wedding date, you can save money. For example, if you're willing to have your wedding on a Friday instead of a Saturday, you could dramatically reduce your bill.

7. Ask for a list of all fees

Ask your vendors for a comprehensive list of fees before signing any agreement. You might find that there are additional wedding costs you weren't aware of, such as bottle opening fees or trash disposal charges. In some cases, you may be able to get the vendor to waive some of these fees, making the cost more affordable.

8. Be polite and respectful

When negotiating with vendors, make sure you remain calm and polite. Vendors are more likely to accommodate you — and be more willing to adjust their prices — for respectful clients who are honest about their budgets while also respecting the vendor's work and bottom line, too.

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This article is from Kat Tretina of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: