Category: money

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12 People Who Admitted They Married for Money, Not Love

People tie the knot for a lot of reasons. We’d like to think that the reason is love, and it often is… but these 14 people had very different reasons.

Let’s face it, financial stability IS important when you want to build a life. Of course, it’s not the only thing, so maybe these people should have thought twice before tying the knot.

Check it out!

1. Maybe? Yeah, okay…

Photo Credit: Whisper

2. EVERY single day? That must be hell!

Photo Credit: Whisper

3. And… sometimes it works!

Photo Credit: Whisper

4. Yeah, but would your kids REALLY starve? Come on…

Photo Credit: Whisper

5. It’s hard to fake what? Being rich?

Photo Credit: Whisper

6. Awww, poor baby…

Photo Credit: Whisper

7. Yeah, sounds like your mom is a real peach!

Photo Credit: Whisper

8. Yikes! This sounds like it’s gonna blow up BIG time.

Photo Credit: Whisper

9. That is a valid reason.

Photo Credit: Whisper

10. Time to talk it out!

Photo Credit: Whisper

11. Yeah, that’s gonna be tough to sustain…

Photo Credit: Whisper

12. Haha… next time… after you GET THAT MONEY!

Photo Credit: Whisper

Well, did you learn anything? What NOT to do? Maybe what you MIGHT do? Naughty, naughty…

Do you have a story like this? Well, we want to know! Tell us in the comments!

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Economists Say That Forgiving Student Debt Could Give the Economy a Major Boost

I don’t know if anyone in power will take these recommendations seriously, but a headline like this is probably music to the ears of the millions of people out there are struggling to pay off their student loans.

Although different politicians have different ideas and plans about how much student loan debt they would forgive (or not), economists say that forgiving student debt could boost the economy in huge ways while also fighting income inequality.

Economists argue that the debt forgiveness could boost the economy because so many Americans are limiting their life decisions based on their student loans.

A prime example is Laura Greenwood, 30, of Montpelier, Vermont. Greenwood works for the state education agency in Vermont, making $63,000 a year. She said, “I make probably a better salary than a lot of my peers.” But, she added about a major life decision, “Children, it’s not about if you want them. It’s about can you afford them?”

Greenwood said she owes $96,000 in student loans for college and graduate school. She admits that this is a major hindrance to the decision to have kids with her partner. She said, “We’re interested in having kids, but just cost of living and all our other bills and then the student loans, it’s just like the final straw.”

Greenwood added that her debt makes the possibility of having children seem impossible.

Stressed

Economists argue that if people like Greenwood and others saddled with debt had that anchor removed, more of them would buy houses, have kids, and start businesses.

Lawrence Yun, the National Association of Realtors chief economist, said, “In the short term, it would be very positive for the housing market. Home sales could be, say, 300,000 higher annually if people were not saddled with large student debt.” According to Yun, this would be “a boost to the housing sector as well as the economy.”

William Foster, a vice president with Moody’s, said about total loan forgiveness, “There’ve been some estimates that U.S. real GDP could be boosted on average by $86 billion to $108 billion per year.” He also said, “Student loans are now contributing to what’s perceived as lower economic prospects for younger Americans.”

Stressed?

On the flip side of those seemingly encouraging statements is the fact that loan debt forgiveness would be expensive. Foster said the total for student loan debt is about $1.5 trillion – which is why it’s such a drain on the economy. He claims the federal government would have to give up $85 billion in annual revenue that it collects from these loans, which would result in a wider fiscal deficit (not that it seems to matter these days).

What do you think about this controversial and divisive topic? Should student debt loan be forgiven? Or partially forgiven? Or do you think that these former students need to pay in full?

Let us know what you think in the comments.

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Jeff Bezos Just Gave $98.5 Million to Help the Homeless

Jeff Bezos is the man behind Amazon, and he’s also the richest person in the world (he and Bill Gates go back and forth). Now, he’s trying to do his part to help those who are less fortunate, specifically the homeless population of America.

Bezos recently donated $98.5 million to 32 organizations in 23 U.S. states to help out homeless families. The donations to the different organizations range from $1.25 million to $5 million.

The businessman started his Bezos Day One Fund in September 2018 and has pledged that he will give $2 billion to the fund. His charity is focused on two different areas: helping out organizations that feed homeless families, and helping to establish Montessori-inspired preschools across the United States.

In 2018, Bezos donated $97.5 million to 24 organizations fighting homeless in 16 states across the U.S.

Here is the full list of organizations across the country that received donations in 2019.

Bethany House Services, Cincinnati, OH • $1.25 million
Catholic Charities Eastern Washington, Spokane, WA • $5 million
Catholic Social Services Alaska, Anchorage, AK • $5 million
Coburn Place, Indianapolis, IN • $1.25 million
Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, Hartford, CT • $2.5 million
Covenant House, New York, NY • $5 million
Family Gateway, Dallas, TX • $2.75 million
FamilyAid Boston, Boston, MA • $5 million
ForKids, Norfolk, VA • $2.5 million
Goodwill Industries of Northern Michigan, Traverse City, MI • $1.25 million
Great Lakes Community Action Partnership, Fremont, OH • $1.25 million
Homeless Services Network of Central Florida, Orlando, FL • $5.25 million
HOPE Services Hawaii, Hilo, HI • $2.75 million
HopeWorks, Albuquerque, NM • $2.5 million
Interim Community Development Association, Seattle, WA • $2.5 million
Lafayette Transitional Housing Center, Lafayette, IN • $1.25 million
Mary’s Place Seattle, Seattle, WA • $5 million
MIFA, Memphis, TN • $5 million
Our Family Services, Tucson, AZ • $2.5 million
Pathways of Hope, Fullerton, CA • $2.5 million
St. Joseph Center, Venice, CA • $5 million
St. Joseph’s Villa, Richmond, VA $1.25 million
St. Stephen’s Human Services, Minneapolis, MN • $5 million
St. Vincent de Paul, Baltimore, MD • $5 million
The Road Home, Salt Lake City, UT • $5 million
The Road Home Dane County, Madison, WI • $1.25 million
The Whole Child, Whittier, CA • $5 million
UNITY Of Greater New Orleans, New Orleans, LA • $2.5 million
Upward Bound House, Santa Monica, CA • $1.25 million
Welcome House of Northern Kentucky, Covington, KY • $1.25 million
West Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness, Bridgeport, WV • $1.5 million
YWCA Columbus, Columbus, OH • $2.5 million

I’d say that’s a pretty generous move, wouldn’t you?

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A Baby Abandoned in a Dumpster Grew up to Be the Founder of a Multi-Million Dollar Company

This is an amazing success story! “Rags to Riches,” “the American Dream,” “self-made man.” Every single cliché you’ve heard about that classic story, Freddie Figgers is living proof that it is actually possible.

Figgers is only 30 years old, but he’s already a huge success as the CEO and President of Figgers Communication, a telecommunications company that is now valued at a whopping $62 million.

Them: I don’t think it will happen ?Me: There are three kinds of people in this world: people who make it happen,…

Posted by Freddie Figgers on Friday, July 5, 2019

But life didn’t start out very well for Figgers. He was abandoned in a dumpster by his mother shortly after she gave birth to him in Quincy, Florida, though luckily he was adopted when he was two days old by a couple named Nathan and Betty Figgers. The Figgers’ gave young Freddie all the love and support he needed, and he grew up to be a curious boy who loved to tinker around with computers.

Figgers got his first job as a computer technician at the age of 12, and at age 15 he started his own cloud computing service. His first job in this field came after he helped a car dealership back up their information on a remote server after they had previously lost all their files in a tornado. Figgers set up the server in his own backyard.

Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

Posted by Freddie Figgers on Wednesday, June 26, 2019

The young entrepreneur invented his own creations as well, including a GPS tracking device that goes in someone’s shoe to help keep track of them. Figgers created this device specifically for his father, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. He sold that idea to a company for $2.2 million and started Figgers Communications, the extremely profitable company that he now runs, with his earnings.

His business is also the only African-American owned company of its kind in the United States.

Bravo, Mr. Figgers!

Let Freddie Figgers’ story remind you that no matter where you come from or where you are at the moment, you can always achieve your dreams if you work hard and aim high.

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This Map Shows the Cost of a Date Night in Every State

Maybe you can put a price on love…

Have you been on any dates lately? The money can really add up.

Recently, I took a girl out for a nice meal (Sonic Drive-In) and then to a free Bingo Extravaganza at the local Knights of Columbus Hall. I wonder why I haven’t heard back from her yet…

Anyway, the point is that dating in this day and age is EXPENSIVE. Obviously, taking a date out for a night on the town varies from state to state because of the cost of living, but across the board, it’s pretty pricey.

Match.com crunched the numbers, and in some places, a date is gonna hit you in the wallet harder than others.

A lot harder.

The top five most expensive states for a date night are:

New York, $297.27

New Jersey, $259.60

Hawaii, $239.95

Connecticut, $230.34

California, $226.35

It’s probably no surprise that the tri-state area around New York has three of the top-five most expensive entries. Although…$200??

The two least expensive states for date night? South Dakota and North Dakota, at $38.27 and $42.43, respectively. Those cold and snowy Dakotas aren’t looking that bad right now, are they?

Of course, the amount of money people spend on dates is going to vary wildly. Some folks prefer to be big spenders and wine and dine a guy or gal and drop hundreds of dollars. Others prefer to take a walk along the beach or go on a long bicycle ride together.

And, let’s face it: if you’re with the right person, getting stuck in an elevator can turn out to be a good time. Good luck out there in the dating world!

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Study Blames a Lack of ‘Economically-Attractive’ Men for Declining Marriage Rates

This sure doesn’t sound good. I know fewer people have been getting married, but I thought the cultural shift was due to other things.

Once again, I was wrong.

Researchers at Cornell University released a study with a pretty sobering conclusion: there aren’t as many “economically-attractive” men as there used to be for unmarried women to pick from.

Ouch.

The researchers looked at data from marriages between 2007-2013 and 2013-2017. They then looked at the financial and sociodemographic data of the potential husbands for unmarried women by creating economic profiles based on real husbands who had already married similar women. Then, the “potential husbands” were compared to real population data of men across the United States.

After they crunched the numbers, the researchers found some grim data: the “potential husbands,” aka the ones who don’t exist, had an average income 58% higher than the actual, real population of unmarried men currently on the market in the U.S. The “potential husbands” also were 19% more likely to have college degrees and 30% more likely to be employed.

In a media release, the study’s lead author Dr. Daniel T. Lichter said:

“Most American women hope to marry but current shortages of marriageable men–men with a stable job and a good income–make this increasingly difficult, especially in the current gig economy of unstable low-paying service jobs. Marriage is still based on love, but it also is fundamentally an economic transaction. Many young men today have little to bring to the marriage bargain, especially as young women’s educational levels on average now exceed their male suitors.”

Man, reality can be a real bummer sometimes…

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People Share Things You’d Only Know If You Grew up Poor

Poverty in the U.S. is rampant, even if you don’t see it all the time. And there are some things that you only know about and understand if you grew up poor.

AskReddit users weighed in on this topic.

1. Pre-cut

“Pre-cut Christmas trees are free on Christmas Eve. I remember the Christmas tree hunt on Christmas Eve was like our little family tradition. We would drive around in the evening looking for stores that still had trees sitting out front. Nine times out of 10, when we would ask about the tree we were interested in, they would say “just take it,” glad to get rid of them by that point.

Every year we had a perfectly beautiful tree and it was exciting to find perfect trees for free and then stay up late decorating it with home-made glitter pine cones and candy canes.”

2. Hot checks

“If you send a bad check to the utilities company on a Friday you have power for the weekend.”

3. No one will stop them

“Most gas station attendants will not stop a small child from stealing toilet paper from their bathrooms. Who knew?”

4. Libraries are lifesavers

“Libraries can save your life.

The first part of my childhood I would get home from school, usually to a vacant house. I really wouldn’t know if I was even going to see either of my parents each night. No cell phones of course. But I was always afraid… nervous at least, of what would happen if they did decide to make an appearance.

I started walking to the library everyday after school and staying till they closed every night just to avoid the feeling of anxiety for a little longer. Eventually one of the librarians noticed and took a liking to me. I think she might have been through similar things in her life that she saw in me. Gradually we got to know each other. First I started noticing there were more books being added in the genres that I liked. Then one day after the library closed, I walked over to McDonald’s.

I was a quarter or so short to buy a hamburger and she saw me asking people if they had any change. I saw her and was embarrassed and kinda hid from her. From that point on I think she decided that she was going to take me under her wing. For over a year she would come by my desk at the library and just drop off chips, granola bars, pop, whatever you know? Of course, I would tell her I didn’t need it, when in reality I only knew where one meal would come from each day.

When I would ask her where it came from, she would just say it was extras from the break room, even though I could hear her in there putting coin after coin into the vending machine. Eventually she would just bring dinner every night to the library and we would sit down in the break room with each other and eat. I finally opened up to her about my family/living issues and had her to talk to. Even though I was still pretty guarded, this was a huge relief. THEN, after I had been there almost 2 years, it was the week before school started, and I headed into the library.

Before I left she told me to meet her outside after close. I did, we walked to her car, and she pulled out a brand new school backpack, and inside was a new outfit, binder, and shoes (my first Nikes). That’s when I broke down, and my walls crumbled. She was a single lady working off a librarians income, but she still made room for me.

For 3 years she supported me as much as she could, and she was more of a friend than I had ever experienced up until that point in my life. She is the number 1 reason I got out of that house and life. She was with me at all my adoption hearings, and made sure I was put with a nice family. She was at my graduation, and my wedding. She saw me grow up and succeed in life after coming from the bottom. She saw her work and love pay off. I went to her funeral this summer and it felt like I had lost my mother, but I couldn’t stop reflecting on how much she changed my life through her sacrifice.

Truly an amazing person, and I still donate to the library every year.”

5. You gotta eat

“How good a buttered tortilla is.”

6. Wintertime

“IDK about in other states but in Minnesota they can’t shut your power off during the winter because of the danger of someone freezing to death in their house. So that was a good time to try to catch up on some other bills you are way behind on too.”

7. All kinds of things

“Government cheese, doing your laundry in a bathtub using only cold water bc the gas was shut off, trying to spend the night at your friends house bc they had food and a warm room, (thanks Nikki) loving going to school because you could at least eat there, trips to Goodwill for “new” clothes, showers at school because at least three water was warm.

Being made fun of because you smelled like kerosene, having lice and no one doing anything about it, going to school with bruises bc your parents took their shitty decisions out in you. I’m so grateful to a handful of people that saw potential in me, I went to college, got a great job, and broke the cycle . Thanks Tom and Toni.”

8. Eat up

“Pizza nights are the best birthday present you could ever fucking get.

A whole pizza, ordered exactly how you like it, and you get to have more than one slice.”

9. Change

“Food stamp paper change.

When I was a kid , if you used food stamps they would give back the change in food stamp form. My Mom was too “proud” to publicly use them so she would make up a reason to leave & I would have to pay using them – I was 11 or so. She did it every time…I had to learn to keep my head up.”

10. Sacrifice

“That sometimes your parents sacrifice everything they have, including their sanity just to see you happy. And you only learn later in life the soul crushing existence of poverty. Then you wonder how they managed to do so much with so little.”

11. F*cked

“When you get home and see a yellow notice hanging off your door you’re fucked. It’s always on a Friday to so you’re out of luck until Monday.”

12. Going hungry

“What hunger really is. I remember waiting for my dad’s payday for the grocery shopping trip and being absolutely ravenous when the food got there.”

13. A good lesson

“Witness to the adage “how much you really do have”. Major fire wiped out several hundred million-dollar homes. Heat generated left rubble of two-story homes only feet high. Families devastated. I still see the face of one man so completely shattered, I wondered if he would live to be able to rebuild.

I later was in the Command Post area when I was approached by a young girl and her Father. The Dad couldn’t speak English, so the girl would translate. “My family wants to know if this is where we can bring donations for the people whose houses burned down?” To my working knowledge, none had been established at that point. Her Father talks, she translates: “can we leave it here? Many roads are being closed, and we’re not familiar with this part of town.”

I walk with them to their car, a much older beater, the Mom and a couple of siblings in it. Dad opens the trunk, and together, we all bring out couple cases of water, canned and dry food, adult and child clothing, some used toys, and prepared food. Almost list it when each kid handed me their toys. Little girl: “we have so much stuff and we want to share with those families.”

14. Work with what you have

“Outdated technology.

When I started college, one of my professors asked if anyone in our class remembered how you changed a channel on the TV before remote controls. I was the only person in the room who remembered turning dials and adjusting rabbit ears despite being one of the youngest students in the class, because my family had a TV from the 70s until 1995.

Same sort of thing with computers, phones, etc. If we had it at all, we got something much later than anyone else (after it got cheaper) and bought used. I got my first computer in 1999. It had Windows 3.1 and that was what I used until I was able to use my financial aid to get a new PC tower for college.”

15. Cheap items

“Knowing the cheapest thing on the menu at every restaurant, for when your friends’ family invites you out to dinner. Even though you’re not paying, you’re programmed to only select the cheapest thing. My friend’s mom said “you sure like hot dogs. That’s all you order no matter where we go to eat.”

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Here’s How You Can Pay for Hulu and Netflix and Save Money Every Month

It’s pretty obvious that streaming TV shows and movies is becoming a preferred way of watching them and more services with more selection are coming on the market soon.

Photo Credit: Mike MacKenzie via Flickr, CC BY 2.0

But the services do cost some money. Fortunately, there’s a way to shave off a few dollars.

MoneyTalksNews writer Donna Freedman explains her hack for saving money on Netflix and Hulu if you pay for them through iTunes. Simply put, Costco sells iTunes gift cards at a 15 percent discount. If you use the gift card to pay for the services through iTunes, then BAM! You save on your streaming.

Photo Credit: Pxhere

When your account depletes, just buy another gift card.

There are a few catches:

  1. The Costco discount on iTunes cards only happens a couple of times a year, so you have to stock up when you get the chance.
  2. Only existing users of Netflix through iTunes can pay through iTunes. New purchasers have to pay for Netflix directly through their portal which does not take iTunes gift cards as payment.
  3. If you aren’t a Costco member and you have no interest in becoming one, you will have to find iTunes cards at a discount through online gift card resellers or have a friend buy them on your behalf.
  4. If you aren’t paying for Hulu through iTunes, you will have to cancel and sign up again through iTunes.

 

Still, the savings are there if you are willing to do a little work. Depending on what city you’re in and the cost of living you have, this kind of hustle may be worth it – especially when rate hike time comes.

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People Share What Job They’d Want If Every Occupation Paid the Same Salary

I’ve thought about this one before…

If every job paid the same amount of money, what job would I take? Professional bowler sounds mighty nice right about now.

AskReddit users answered that very question.

What would your answer be? Share in the comments below!

1. Sounds awesome

“Park Ranger in a national park.”

2. Oooohhhhh

“Travel destinations reviewer.”

3. Might be the perfect answer

“During the warmer seasons I would like to make and sell ice cream. During the colder seasons I would like to make and sell soup.”

4. The simple life

“I wanna go back to serving coffee and decorating cakes and donuts.”

5. Surrounded by flowers

“Probably being a florist. I love flowers and the art of design and would love to own a flower shop.”

6. Yes!

“Clerk in a used book store.”

7. Cool

“I would want to build those giant windmills.”

8. “Anonymous” is key

“Anonymous artist.”

9. Might be fun?

“Librarian at a college library.”

10. Doing good work

“Animal rescue.”

11. Actually, this might be mine

“Horror movie special effect artist.”

12. Okay…

“The guy who drives a tractor and mows the highway median.”

13. Always need one of those

“Really would like to open my own pub/deli.”

14. Old timey

“Blacksmith. It’s what I want to do with my life already, and I have a good start on a list of materials to start out, just no time, money, or knowledge yet.”

15. Amen!

“Dog walker or working at a doggy daycare

I just want to be with dogs all day.”

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Ed Sheeran Has Spent Millions Buying Houses and Property from His Complaining Neighbors

This ma is living the dream. Ed Sheeran has all the money he could ever want, and he’s been using it to slowly buy up all the property around his farmhouse in Framlingham, England, supposedly to build himself a “mini-village.”

That sounds like paradise to me. No neighbors, no hassle, no problems.

No.6 went #1 today and Beautiful People went #1 in the singles chart, which makes it the second #1 from this project….

Posted by Ed Sheeran on Friday, July 19, 2019

And by “buying up all the property,” I mean buying OUT his neighbors. Sheeran bought a farmhouse and some land around it in 2012 for just over $1 million (we’re talking US currency here). He then bought the house next door for about $550,000. Fast forward to 2016 and Sheeran purchased another nearby house for $1.1 million. The following year, the singer dished out $640,000 for a bungalow across the street.

Not only is Sheeran buying these properties, but he’s putting a lot of work back into them and the house he originally purchased. Sheeran was granted permission to build a kidney-shaped pool on the condition that it would also be a natural habitat to attract wildlife, but his plans for the pool got his neighbors peeved.

Ed Sheeran's home in Framlingham, Suffolk.

Posted by Realty One on Monday, January 29, 2018

Neighbors were annoyed when Sheeran placed hay bales around the pool to block neighbors’ views, and they accused him of using the water for recreation instead of a wildlife attraction, as originally decided. His neighbors have also complained that the famous singer has plans to build a giant treehouse and a chapel on his property.

So, what to do? Drop some cash on ’em, of course! Then no one can complain! And that’s exactly what Sheeran continues to do. Because he can.

Today the Divide tour broke the all time tour record set by U2. It's now the most attended and highest grossing tour of…

Posted by Ed Sheeran on Friday, August 2, 2019

When you have that much cash, you can pretty do whatever you want, whenever you want.

Now I need to get busy designing my own compound…

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