financial wellness
How This Woman Got A Free Honeymoon By Paying For Her Wedding With Her Credit Card
NEW YORK (Newswire.com) – iQuanti: Wedding photographer Olivia Kalton knows a thing or two about the costs involved in making a wedding day happen. So when she got engaged, she decided to shop around and find the right credit card for wedding expenses she’d have to pay that would also give her the most bang for her buck.
She posted her “hack” on TikTok detailing how opening a new Chase Sapphire card helped her maximize her purchases and allowed her to convert all those points she earned on purchases into an all-expenses-paid honeymoon.
Though her TikTok doesn’t specify if it was the Reserve® or Preferred® version of the card, we’ll show you how you can use any card to help subsidize your wedding or honeymoon costs just for buying the things you already need.
Difference between a credit card and a personal loan
First, let’s cover the basics to help you decide if you should use a credit card for wedding expenses or a personal loan for wedding expenses. While there are some similarities between a credit card and a personal loan there are also some major differences.
Personal Loans
- Work like installment loans so you will receive the funds upfront in one large sum and repay the loan each month over a certain period
- They can be both secured or unsecured
- Personal loans have an end date
- Personal loan funds can be used for almost anything
Credit Cards
- Work as revolving credit, so you can borrow as much as you need (up to your limit) and then your payments depend on the outstanding balance.
- The payments don’t have interest if the balance is paid in full each month
- Credit cards usually have interest rates
- Credit cards can be used for everyday purchases
How to earn a free honeymoon with your credit card
Step 1: Figure out which costs you’ll have to pay.
Before you even start looking at cards, you’ll need to know your budget and what you’ll need to pay for.
Step 2: Start saving
None of this works if you’ll be left with a balance on your credit card at the end of the month. While free travel is always nice, it’s not really “free” if you’re paying compounding interest on your purchases, so start putting money away for your wedding ASAP.
Step 3: Ensure your vendors accept credit cards
Some of Olivia’s commenters mentioned they had trouble paying with credit cards for wedding services, so shop around first to see what companies accept credit cards and which type. Some vendors will accept Visa or Mastercard but not American Express (due to their higher vendor fees). Knowing this ahead of time will give you a better idea of which card you’ll need to get.
Step 4: Research your honeymoon ideas
You can do this after Step 5 if you want, but having an idea of where you want to go will help you determine which airlines, hotels, cruises, etc., you’ll need to work with.
Step 4: Research credit cards
There are dozens of cards that offer membership or reward points for purchases, so you’ll need to research and find the one that best fits your needs. In particular, look at:
- How many points you’ll get for each spending category (some cards will offer more points for travel, while others give bonus points for groceries, online shopping, etc.)
- Their travel partners – Again, you can base your honeymoon off of your preferred cards’ travel partners instead of Step 4. Regardless, see which travel partners (airlines, hotels, cruises, rental car companies, etc.) they work with so you’ll know your options.
- The annual fee – Many premium travel cards come with hefty annual fees that should be considered in your expenses
- The welcome offer and terms – Most cards will offer you a lump sum of reward points, typically in the tens of thousands, if you spend a specific amount of money within the first few months of opening your card. This is usually a one-time offer, so you’ll need to strategize your costs accordingly.
Step 6: Check award blogs and calculators
Now that you know how many points you’ll earn off the bat (plus a rough estimate of how many points your purchases will earn), you’ll need to find out just how many points it’ll cost you to do your honeymoon. There are dozens of travel blogs and websites with calculators that help people figure these out, like Doctor of Credit or the /r/churning and /r/awardtravel subreddits.
Step 7: Open the card and start spending
Step 8: Keep a running tally of your total points and how close you are to your goal
Step 9: Convert the points with travel partners
This is it! Now that you’ve accumulated all those points, it’s time to cash it in and book your trip! Keep confirmation records handy, just in case.
Bonus tip
Keep an eye out for promotional offers from credit cards and travel partners that offer bonus points. Some hotels will offer a % bonus if you buy points in bulk (i.e., 25% more points if you buy points directly from them), while others will have a temporary promotional period where your credit card points convert to a higher amount (i.e., instead of 1:1, 1:2, etc.)
Source: iQuanti. Inc
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small business
Navigating the American Dream: How Integrated Financial Tools, Credit and Rewards Can Help Small Businesses Succeed
(Feature Impact) Owning a small business has been a cornerstone of the “American Dream” for generations. It represents the chance to transform a passion into a livelihood and legacy. However, turning dreams into reality is rarely a smooth or easy process and requires more than ambition alone. Today’s business owners need support and access to tools that enable them to overcome challenges and keep growing.
Recent research conducted by the Capital One Insights Center shows 75% of more than 1,000 surveyed small business owners with more than one employee and annual revenues of up to $20 million are confident about the future, and 69% believe their business is actively primed for growth.
While this optimism is promising, 47% of business owners still said their operations either stayed the same or became less efficient over the past year, citing issues like back-office friction and fragmented financial systems that make it difficult to get a clear picture of the health of their businesses.
If you’re a small business owner eager to grow but not sure how to get there, start with this advice from real small business owners and experts at Capital One.
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Identify Sources of Friction
Before you can pour effort into growth, you must understand what barriers are holding you back. Take time to look under the hood of your business to identify where time and energy is being lost.
For example, you may be among the 78% of small business owners who feel stressed and uncertain about expense management – think hours spent hunting for receipts, manually entering numbers into software and reconciling accounts. Operational challenges aren’t just a hassle; they also pull attention away from important priorities like serving your customers and planning for growth.
“We were focused on making as many candles as possible, especially during the busy season,” said Katie Roering, co-owner of Fontana Candle Co. “A lot of the back-office tasks like procurement, raw material purchasing, forecasting – all the really important things – were done at 3 a.m., 8 p.m. or on Saturday and Sunday, and there really just was not enough time in the day to get everything done that we needed to. We just knew as we continued to grow, we needed to streamline our processes, build out our team and keep moving forward.”
Use Integrated Tools to Manage Finances
Instead of balancing 10 different tracking and analysis tools, you can turn to one-stop solutions to improve efficiency. Time gets lost when you’re forced to manually gather and interpret relevant data before you’re able to act. You need a platform that handles the busywork for you.
Integrated, or “all-in-one,” financial tools – like accounting and bookkeeping platforms with automation capabilities or business credit cards featuring built-in analytical tools – allow you to easily stay on top of cash flow and day-to-day operations. For small businesses where every hour and dollar makes a difference, consolidating and automating systems can have an immediate impact. In fact, 51% of survey respondents said integrated tools have already fueled their growth.
Leverage Credit Access and Rewards Wisely
Growth requires capital, so access to credit is a game-changer for many business owners, with 77% describing it as a key factor in achieving business resilience. Having funds accessible when you need them makes your business more capable of weathering storms such as equipment failures and seasonal slowdowns. It also puts the power in your hands to act when an exciting opportunity presents itself, like an inventory flash sale or the chance to advertise in a new market.
Access to credit comes with another advantage: rewards. By using credit cards for your daily business expenses, you can earn cash back, points or travel rewards. Whether you redeem these to cover everyday expenses, book business trips or reinvest in the business, they can act as a bonus source of income. Learn to maximize rewards like the 84% of small business cardholders surveyed so you aren’t leaving money on the table.
To learn more about how small business owners can identify obstacles, employ integrated financial tools and use credit as a tool for growth, read the full report at capitalone.com/about/insights-center.
Photos courtesy of Shutterstock
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financial wellness
Investing in Education: 5 Ways to Prepare Students for the Jobs of Tomorrow
Jobs of Tomorrow: A diploma is still an important milestone, but what matters more than the piece of paper is whether graduates have the knowledge, skills and confidence to take meaningful next steps in pursuing further education or building careers. Students, families, educators, employers and policymakers all have a role to play in cultivating these opportunities.
Investing in Education: 5 Ways to Prepare Students for the Jobs of Tomorrow
(Feature Impact) The landscape of modern work is changing rapidly, leaving many uncertain about whether they’re adequately equipped to face the future. Even though America invests roughly $1 trillion in education every year, it’s difficult to know whether that investment is truly preparing young people for what comes next.
“Our education system isn’t evolving quickly enough to prepare our students for the jobs of tomorrow,” said Amit Sevak, CEO of ETS, a global education and talent solutions organization working with more than 30 million students a year to measure learning success and power human progress at every stage of life. “Students only get one chance at an education, and we have a responsibility to understand what’s working, what’s not and where additional support is needed.”
A diploma is still an important milestone, but what matters more than the piece of paper is whether graduates have the knowledge, skills and confidence to take meaningful next steps in pursuing further education or building careers. Students, families, educators, employers and policymakers all have a role to play in cultivating these opportunities.
Start the Conversation Early
Success isn’t a single path anymore, so young people may benefit from thinking outside the traditional pipeline of high school to college to a good job to retirement. By prompting early conversations, parents can help their children begin sorting through their options well in advance. Encourage dinner table talks about favorite school subjects, what kind of work seems interesting and alternative pathways to build careers. The goal isn’t necessarily to choose a life track immediately – just to start exploring ideas before the time arrives to lock in a decision.
Learn to Work with AI
In the age of AI, there’s a balance to be found between fully embracing or avoiding it. Parents and educators can encourage thoughtful, responsible use of the AI tools reshaping modern workplaces – without sanctioning them as a way to get out of doing homework. Students should think critically about both the uses and limitations of AI, learning how these systems work but still recognizing when human judgment matters.
Get Real-World Experience Before Graduation
Textbooks and classrooms can teach a lot, but some of the most valuable lessons come from the real world. Summer jobs, internships, volunteering, co-op programs, job shadowing or small-scale forays into entrepreneurship can help kids discover where their talents and passions fit. It’s also a chance to develop the soft skills that make great employees, like being punctual, working well with others and adapting to new situations.
Build Human Skills
There are certain abilities technology just can’t replace, making them vital pieces of future-proof training. Strong communication, teamwork mindsets, critical thinking skills, civic reasoning and empathy translate well to many careers. Rather than focusing strictly on academics, teachers can shift lesson plans to encourage growth in these areas. Specialized hands-on talents and trades are also more insulated from technological disruptions.
Measure Progress Beyond Grades
Grades and test scores don’t tell the whole story about career readiness, yet they’re often treated as the only metric that matters in educational success. Policymakers have the opportunity to change how schools measure student progress, including by trading the one-size-fits-all rubrics for more personalized assessments that demonstrate proficiency in more comprehensive ways. Education is on the ballot this election season, so ask your local and state elected leaders about whether today’s graduates are ready to face the future.
For information about a system that gives students, educators and employers clear evidence that learning is leading to opportunity, visit ETS.org.
Photos courtesy of Shutterstock
SOURCE:
ETS
Lifestyle
7 Fire Prevention Tips to Protect Your Home and Community
7 Fire Prevention Tips: Fires can be devastating, but many of them are preventable with simple precautions and smart everyday choices. Consider these tips to reduce the risk of fires and keep your household, family and community safe.
7 Fire Prevention Tips to Protect Your Home and Community
(Feature Impact) In observance of National Fire Prevention Month, it’s a good time to review your fire safety habits at home and in your neighborhood. Fires can be devastating, but many of them are preventable with simple precautions and smart everyday choices.
Consider these tips to reduce the risk of fires and keep your household, family and community safe.
Test Your Smoke Alarms
Smoke detectors are one of the simplest yet most important tools for protecting your home, loudly alerting you to potential danger at any time of the day or night. Test them monthly, follow manufacturer’s instructions for replacement and change batteries as needed.
Heat Your Home Safely
Depending on how you heat your home, there can be different hazards to remain aware of. Never leave fireplaces unattended when in use and have them inspected and maintained as recommended by a trained professional. If you use portable heaters, keep them at least three feet away from curtains, bedding, furniture and other flammable materials.
Prevent Electrical Fires
Frayed cords, damaged outlets or overloaded appliances can pose real danger to your home when they overheat or spark. Particularly if you live in an older home or have outdated appliances, keep an eye out for warning signs like tripped circuit breakers, malfunctioning devices or the smell of burning. If you’re concerned, have your system inspected by a qualified electrician.
Store Flammable Objects Carefully
Keeping matches and lighters out of reach of children is always a smart first step for household fire safety. Also follow safe storage practices for items like lighter fluid, propane, aerosol cans and other household products that could potentially ignite when exposed to heat or a stray spark.
Practice Smart Kitchen and Grill Habits
From sparks flying off the grill to hot oil forgotten in the frying pan, cooking is the leading cause of household fires. Stay attentive in the kitchen, never leave cooking food unattended and avoid setting combustible materials like paper plates or fabric towels too close to a stove or grill. Also keep your appliances cleaned and well-maintained.
Plan Your Escape Route
Fires can spread quickly, which is why it’s important for everyone in your household to know the plan (and backup plan) for safely exiting different areas of the house during an emergency. Decide on a specific meeting place outside and practice quick fire drills together to build muscle memory.
Observe Local Fire Safety Rules
Where you live determines what kinds of fire risks affect your community, so make sure you stay informed about local regulations. For instance, areas prone to drought or wildfire may have rules about outdoor burning, and local fire prevention ordinances may outline specific requirements for smoke alarms in your home.
Find more home safety tips at eLivingtoday.com.
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock
SOURCE:
eLivingtoday.com
