Money Questions and Answers

How To Live In A Tiny House – One Woman’s Incredible Story To Change Her Life

The following is a guest post by MargaretAnn “Muffy” Morris, a courageous woman who is chronicling her adventures on her blog, Muffy On The Move. If you’d like to submit a guest post on Money Q&A, please check out the site’s guest posting guidelines.

Note from Hank – I’ve known Muffy for years. We went to college together. And, I have to admit, I was skeptical like many of our friends when she said she wanted to live in a tiny house.

But, we could see how serious she was when she sold all of her possessions, sold her house, and bought an RV in order to get ready to build the tiny house of her dreams. While tiny house living isn’t for everyone, you have to admire someone for going for it and following their dreams.

Be sure to follow along and learn more about her adventures on her blog, on Instagram, and Facebook.

How To Live In A Tiny House

I didn’t want debt to control my life. In fact, I decided I didn’t want debt at all. There are a billion advice columns on how to save: get a part time job or skip Starbucks. What I really heard them say was “be miserable, exhausted, and have no free time” or “deny yourself the little things you enjoy.”

The thought rattled around for awhile until I just couldn’t shake it. My possessions began to suffocate me. Time to redefine my own success. I was downsizing my life. Send over HGTV, I was going tiny!

While I’m not a hipster or “crunchy,” my gypsy soul is pretty recognizable. Always been one to dive right in instead of ease into cold water. For me, once the idea struck, it was time to put it into action. I had a complete life turnaround in under 3 weeks.

After deciding mortgages weren’t for me, there was no way I was going to lay down $60k for a tiny house. These hands of mine are going to build that sucker themselves. I set a goal of 3 months to learn how to build and how to live in a tiny home and $3,000 to get it done.

Hello Fresh Review – Fast, Easy, Fun, and Cheap Meals to Make at Home

by Hank Coleman

For the past few months, my wife and I have been testing out Hello Fresh. So, I thought that it would be fun to tell you what we found in a Hello Fresh review on Money Q&A.

Note – This article may contain affiliate links.

We’ve actually really loved the HelloFresh service! Here’s why…

Hello Fresh Review – Fast, Easy, Fun, and Cheap Meals

What is Hello Fresh?

You’ve probably seen the Hello Fresh commercials on television. They seem to be everywhere lately. Hello Fresh is one of the many meal subscription services that delivers prepackage and proportioned ingredients right to you doorstep each month.

The Hello Fresh meals typically come in portions for two people. They have just the right amount of ingredients to make the recipe. And, the recipes are simple. They’re easy and fun to make. Each meal comes with its own recipe card to help you prepare the meal.

Hello Fresh typically costs around $79 per month for three prepackaged meals that you make in your own kitchen. There is a discount available to try your first order for $40 off that brings the cost down to $39 you first month.

You get to pick which meals you to order through their smartphone app or website. They typically give you eight to ten different meals to choose from on the list. And, meals aren’t repeated throughout the year.

You can download the recipe to recreate them again later if you want. That’s what my wife and I have done for our favorites. There are several recipes prepared by celebrity chefs like Jamie Oliver too.

If you’re not in the mood or are going to be out of town, you can delay or skip as many shipments as you want as well. It’s really easy to make changes through the Hello Fresh smartphone app or website.

Why I Love Hello Fresh

Hello Fresh sends all of the meals pre-proportioned. In the box with your main ingredients, they send small jars of any ingredients, spices, and condiments that you may need from the recipe.

The directions are easy to follow. And, they come in a nice recipe card that you can keep in order to make the recipe again. They’re super simple to follow.

Another great thing about Hello Fresh is that their recipes use interesting and ingredients that you may not normally cook with. One of our favorite meals has been mahi mahi with Israeli couscous. If it were not for Hello Fresh, I would have never tried Israeli couscous. Now we’re cooking with it

The meals are healthy. Each meal is a healthy dinner with protein, vegetables, and a starch. It’s two perfectly balanced portions for two people.

There are also vegetarian options and larger meal sizes for families if you want to choose those options.

How To Store Gold and Precious Metals – Where To Hide Your Gold

by Hank Coleman

Do you bury your gold like a pirate? Or, do you hide your gold and other precious metals in shoeboxes sitting around your house or under the bed? Do you know how to store gold and other precious metals to keep them safe? Many people love investing in gold, silver, and other precious metals. They can make a great addition to your investment portfolio and round out your primary retirement investments in your Roth IRA and 401k retirement plan. But, many people don’t even realize that they can take physical possession of their gold and precious metals. There are two schools of thought on where to keep assets like precious metals. You can take physical possession of your investment in … Read more

Diversify Your Investment Portfolio with Forex via XTrade

by Guest Contributor

No matter what stage of your life you are in, it is important to consider your investments and to think forward with regards to your money. Whether you are a young professional that is just starting their career, or an experienced veteran with a diversified portfolio, you want to be sure your money is safe by investing in as many different places as possible.

This means keeping a rich portfolio of mutual funds, stocks, government bonds, and other investments. But did you know that forex and online currency exchanges can also be a great investment tool for savvy traders?

Read on to discover how forex trading can help you round out your portfolio and successfully grow your savings.

Why Use XTrade?

There are so many different currency traders available online nowadays. So how do you know which one to choose? Without a doubt, one of the best platforms to choose is XTrade. This platform is quickly growing and has a large online following, as you can see on their Linkedin page here.

The broker offers its traders tons of tools on their online portfolio to help them successfully make forex trades. The platform is available 24/7 on both mobile and desktop applications which means that you have access to their service whenever you need. Similarly, they have an extensive support team to help walk you through any problems you may encounter with the platform.

Five Reasons To Lease a New Car Instead of Buying One

by Hank Coleman

In the past, I’ve been a staunch proponent against leasing a car. But, I’ve started to soften in my old age. I can start to see both sides of the argument. And, I recently took the plunge and leased a car instead of buying one. There may be a few reasons to lease a new car though. Leasing a car doesn’t give you ownership in the car. It’s sort of like long-term renting. At the end of the lease, you have to return the car. But, most car dealerships will let you purchase the car at the end of your lease instead if you want to do so. The Dangers of Leasing a Car There are definitely some dangers to … Read more

Should You Work for a Rideshare Company Like Uber or Lyft?

by Hank Coleman

What You Need To Know of Becoming a Lyft or Uber Rideshare Driver

There are hundreds of thousands of Uber and Lyft drivers in the U.S. (amongst other drivers working for smaller rideshare companies), and the demand for their services continues to grow each year. Have you ever thought of becoming a Lyft or Uber rideshare driver?

Whether you’ve used Uber or Lyft for a ride before and now you want to try it from the driver’s side or you’ve been looking for a relatively easy way to make a side income, there are several things you should consider before signing up to work for a rideshare company.

Becoming a Lyft or Uber Rideshare Driver

Are You Eligible to Drive for Uber or Lyft?

Not everyone with a car can sign up to drive for Uber or Lyft. Rideshare drivers harming their passengers is a relatively rare occurrence but nevertheless something that happens enough times to warrant a few restrictions on who can sign up to be a driver.

Uber’s driver requirements are similar to Lyft’s driver requirements in that you must be 21 years old to drive (Lyft requires its drivers to have had active licenses for at least one year) and you must pass a basic background check (Lyft also checks your DMV record for driving-related incidents).

Vehicle requirements for Uber are pretty simple: your registration must be kept up-to-date and your vehicle must be 2000 or newer (2005 or newer for select cities). You should also keep your vehicle clean and well-maintained for your passengers.

Vehicle requirements for Lyft include: the car must be 2004 or newer (2006/2007 or newer in some major cities), it must have four functional doors, all seat belts must be functional, the tires must have enough tread, the A/C and heat must work, and more.

Deliver Food as an Uber Driver

Working as an Uber driver is a great way to earn a little extra money. But, if picking up strangers isn’t your favorite idea, then you may want to consider picking up their food instead.

UberEATS is a great program that’s gaining steam around the country. You make money by bringing food directly to people from the restaurants around town that they love. Depending on the laws where you live, you may be able to deliver with your car, bike, or scooter.

Here’s how you can sign up and make money as an UberEATS delivery driver.

The Auto Insurance Dilemma

Working for a rideshare company with only personal auto insurance is generally a huge no-no. If your insurance company finds out before you disclose your new gig as a Lyft or Uber driver, they could cancel your insurance policy.

Luckily for Uber drivers, you have access to the company’s commercial insurance policy while you have passengers in your car. When you’re offline, Uber doesn’t cover you at all. But once you turn on your Uber app to start finding passengers, total liability coverage of $100,000 per incident ($50,000 for injury and $25,000 for property damage as well) kicks in.

\Once you accept a passenger’s request for a ride and drive to pick them up, insurance coverage of up to $1 million for liability, $1 million for uninsured/underinsured motorists, and collision and comprehensive auto insurance (with a $1,000 deductible) cover you as a registered Uber driver. This insurance covers you for the duration of the ride until you drop off your passengers (at which point the $100,000 total liability coverage replaces the $1 million coverage until your next passenger).