Finance Xpress

10 Ways Summer is Burning Your Budget (And How To Avoid Them)

4:05 AM

Long, sunny, summer days can burn you in more ways than one. If you’re not careful, your budget could go up in flames. We’ll tell you about 10 ways summer is burning your budget, and how to avoid them.

Warmer days. Vacations. Kids home from school. Summer is a much-anticipated time of year.

However, it can also be a time of year that results in budget-busters. You might be surprised at how quickly you can get through your monthly budget during the summer. There’s just so much going on–and you want to do it all.

Before you spend a dollar this summer, though, take a look at these 10 things that might be whittling down your budget too fast.

1. Day Camp

If you need to get the kids out of the house, day camp can seem like the perfect answer. Until you see how much it costs. Day camps are increasingly expensive–in some cases, it can cost more for day camp than to keep them in regular childcare.

You might have alternatives to expensive day camps, however. Check with your local library or your city’s parks and recreation department. There may be low-cost or free programs available for children, providing them with something to do without breaking the bank.

2. Driving

The weather’s nice, so do you really have to drive everywhere? Depending on where you live, you might be able to save on gas and other car costs by keeping your vehicle in the garage and walking or taking public transit. Another solution is to drive to a central location and park your car, and then walk as much as possible. Or consider riding a bike! If you happen to live in a college town, these options are usually easily doable so why not take advantage of them?

3. Lack of Meal Planning

With summer underway, it can be tempting to give the meal planning a break. However, once you stop meal planning, you end up taking last-minute trips to the store, or eating out a lot. Summer can be very expensive when it comes to food if you aren’t planning ahead.

Make it a point to plan your meals during the summer. Look for foods that are easy to prepare and fun to eat. It’s a great time to grill, and there are plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables–many of which don’t have to be cooked.

4. Running the Air Conditioner All the Time

There are few things as inefficient as running the air conditioner all the time. When possible, use strategies that reduce how often the air conditioner is turned on. Consider opening the windows at night to let a breeze through. One strategy is to leave the windows open at night and then close them early in the morning. You might be able to go quite a while into the afternoon before you need to turn on the air conditioner–especially if your home is energy efficient. You can also run fans, which use less electricity than the air conditioner.

5. Buying New Clothes

New season, new clothes. Before you go shopping, though, it’s a good idea to shop your own closet first. You might be surprised to discover that you have plenty of clothes that are appropriate for summer already.

If you do want clothes, empty your closet first, getting rid of clothes you don’t wear any more. Additionally, you can shop consignment shops for gently used summer attire that’s much less expensive than buying new. Also, consider buying classic items that are less trendy and more likely to be evergreen from summer to summer. Don’t let warmer weather be an excuse to buy more new clothing than you need.

6. Going Out With Friends

Warmer weather tends to make us want to get out of the house more. However, increasing how much you go out with friends–especially if you go to bars, concerts, and restaurants–can start to add up quickly. Before you know it, your entertainment budget for the month is gone before the 15th.

Instead of going out, consider hosting backyard picnics and barbecues. Have potluck gatherings, with each attendee contributing something. Everyone can bring their own drinks and you can relax in the backyard without the need to spend a lot of money.

7. An Expensive Family Vacation

There’s nothing wrong with getting out of town on occasion. However, it becomes a problem if you don’t have the budget for an expensive trip. Rather than trying to make it work or putting it on a credit card, consider taking a smaller, less expensive trip.

Rather than flying somewhere, consider a road trip. A good road trip can be lots of fun, and you can camp along the way to save money on lodging. In fact, a few camping trips over the summer can be a lot of fun for everyone, and cost less than a major trip.

Consider ways you can take day excursions to nearby towns and nature sites. This will give you a bit of fun summer novelty without breaking the bank.

8. Going to the Movies

All those summer blockbusters are likely luring you from your home more than usual. Unfortunately, you can spend a lot of money at the movies. And it’s not just the show. Concessions are expensive, and movie theaters are starting to offer more than just popcorn.

Rather than going to the movies, consider having a fun movie night. Choose movies you haven’t seen for a while or binge a show you’ve been meaning to watch. Make your own popcorn at home, or buy cheap dollar candy. Make it different by moving your home movie theater to the deck, or by “camping” in the family room after you’ve watched the movie.

If you do go to the movies, though, consider eating before you go so you’re less tempted to buy food at the show, or to stop for fast food on the way home.

9. Buying New Summer Gear

Do you really need another tent? Does it make sense to buy a jet-ski?

Before you spend money on more summer gear, really think about it. If you already have camping gear, buying the latest version might not make sense. It costs more, and you only use it a few times a year.

The same is especially true for the bigger toys. You might think it’s fun to get a jet-ski or new kayak, but how often will you use it? And, after the summer season ends, where will you store it? In some cases, you might have to pay extra for a storage unit, meaning you pay for your summer fun all year long.

10. Failure to Plan Ahead

No matter what you do this summer, a failure to plan ahead and save up can be the biggest budget buster of all. If you know you’re going to send your child to sleepaway camp, start setting aside money for that purpose at the beginning of the year. The same goes for a vacation.

Related: 10 Online Budget Tools

Instead of trying to scramble to come up with the money in the moment (and likely needing to use debt to pay the cost), plan ahead. If you know you want to go on a certain vacation, make it a point to break down the budget well ahead of time and prepare. If you know you want a new summer wardrobe, spend less on clothes during other seasons and set that money aside.

Create a rough plan for the summer and estimate what you’ll need to make it happen. Then, you can be planning for the bigger budget year-round, and you won’t be caught by surprise.

The post 10 Ways Summer is Burning Your Budget (And How To Avoid Them) appeared first on The Dough Roller.

via Finance Xpress

Finance Xpress

2019’s Best Credit Cards with Travel Insurance

3:23 AM

Posted by: Alina Comoreanu

Trips get delayed, cancelled and cut short all the time, for all sorts of reasons. Luggage also gets delayed, and even lost, on a regular basis. Yet travel insurance packages typically inflate the cost of a trip by 4% to 10%. So it’s no surprise that most people are content rolling the dice. Fortunately, though, the solution might already be in your wallet.

Credit card travel insurance can reimburse cardholders in the event of cancelled trips, missed connections, lost or delayed luggage, or even death. But coverage amounts and restrictions vary widely based on the type of card you have, the company that issues it and the card network it’s affiliated with. So you don’t want to exclusively rely on plastic before looking into the details of your policy.

With that in mind, WalletHub compared the travel insurance coverage offered by 71 credit cards from the 10 largest issuers. You can check out our findings below, along with the methodology we used to rate each card. We also recommend taking a look at our editors’ picks for the best travel credit cards overall. Offers are accurate as of June 20, 2019.

Key Findings
Typical Credit Card Travel Insurance Coverage
Detailed Findings
Methodology

Key Findings

2019’s Best Credit Cards with Travel Insurance

Best For...	Best Card(s)	Coverage Details	WalletHub Score
Travel Accident Insurance	Chase Sapphire Reserve	$1M in coverage.	87.50%
Luggage Insurance	Chase Sapphire Preferred	Lost Luggage: $3K in coverage	92.90%
Trip Delay / Cancellation Insurance	Chase Sapphire Preferred	Trip Cancellation: $10K in coverage per trip Trip Delay: $500 in coverage per ticket	92.90%
Overall Travel Insurance Coverage	Chase Sapphire Preferred	Travel Accident: $500K in coverage Lost Luggage: $3K in coverage Delayed Luggage: $500 in coverage per trip Trip Cancellation: $10K in coverage per trip Trip Delay: $500 in coverage per ticket	92.90%

Credit Card Travel Insurance Overview:

63% of cards offer travel accident insurance, providing an average of $440K in coverage.
20% of cards offer trip cancellation insurance, providing an average of $4.44K in coverage.
23% of cards offer lost luggage insurance, with an average of $2.7K in coverage.
19% of cards offer delayed luggage insurance, with an average of $344 in coverage.
4% of cards offer travel delay insurance, providing an average of $500 in coverage.
Citi, Bank of America and Discover no longer provide travel insurance on their cards.

2019’s Best Business Credit Cards with Travel Insurance

Best For...	Best Card(s)	Coverage Details	WalletHub Score
Travel Accident Insurance	Chase Ink Business Preferred	$500K in coverage	92.90%
Luggage Insurance	Chase Ink Business Preferred	Lost Luggage: $3K in coverage Delayed Luggage: $500 in coverage per trip	92.90%
Trip Delay / Cancellation Insurance	Chase Ink Business Preferred	Trip Cancellation: $5K in coverage per trip Trip Delay: $500 in coverage per ticket	92.90%
Overall Travel Insurance Coverage	Chase Ink Business Preferred	Travel Accident: $500K in coverage Lost Luggage: $3K in coverage Delayed Luggage: $500 in coverage per trip Trip Cancellation: $5K in coverage per trip Trip Delay: $500 in coverage per ticket	92.90%

Business Credit Card Travel Insurance - Market snapshot:

68% of business credit cards offer travel accident insurance, providing an average of $370K in coverage.
59% of business credit cards offer lost luggage insurance, with an average of $2.6K in coverage.
23% of business credit cards offer delayed luggage insurance, with an average of $380 in coverage.
9% of business credit cards offer trip cancellation insurance, providing an average of $5.0K in coverage.
9% of business credit cards offer travel delay insurance, providing an average of $500 in coverage.

Typical Credit Card Travel Insurance Coverage

	Example Of An Average Policy	Best Policy
Sign Up	No sign up or product registration required
Travel Accident Insurance	$250,000 for death and dismemberment. If primary cardholder and authorized users, spouse / domestic partner are killed in a common carrier accident while traveling — or lose a limb, sight, speech or hearing — the benefit may offer some financial assistance.	$500,000 for death and dismemberment. If primary cardholder and authorized users, spouse / domestic partner, dependent children (under 24), legal guardians or wards, siblings or siblings-in-law, parents or parents-in-law, grandparents or grandchildren, aunts or uncles, nieces or nephews are killed in a common carrier accident while traveling or during your vacation — or lose a limb, sight, speech or hearing — the benefit may offer some financial assistance.
Luggage Insurance	$1,250 for lost luggage and $0 for delayed luggage. If your checked or carry-on luggage is permanently lost, stolen or damaged by the common carrier, benefit may refund the purchase price of the missing items or the cost to repair the damaged items.	$3,000 for lost luggage and $500 for delayed luggage. If your checked or carry-on luggage is permanently lost, stolen or damaged by the common carrier, the benefit may refund the purchase price of the missing items or the cost to repair the damaged items. If your checked baggage is delayed on a trip, the benefit may reimburse the cost of necessary personal and business items until your baggage arrives.
Extra Travel Insurance	None	Up to $10,000 per trip if your trip gets canceled or cut short. Up to $500 if your trip is delayed by 12+ hours. If your trip is cancelled or interrupted because of personal matters, illness, travel related or weather, you may be reimbursed for the cost.
Travel Emergency Assistance	Help with lost/stolen luggage and travel documents. Referrals to local physicians, attorneys, embassies and cash advance services.
Claims Process	Submit Proof of Loss, which must describe both the Accident and the Injury, and the extent and type of loss (medical records, and death certificate, proof of payment method for the Common Carrier).
Example Card Offering This Type of Policy	AmEx EveryDay Preferred	Chase Sapphire Preferred

Detailed Findings

Personal Cards

Overall	Card Name	Luggage Insurance	Travel Accident Insurance	Eligibility, Cost & Extra Coverage	Overall Score (weighted average)
1	Sapphire Preferred (Chase)	90%	100%	88%	92.9%
2	Sapphire Reserve (Chase)	90%	100%	70%	87.5%
3	Visa Signature (Wells Fargo)	55%	96%	88%	79.1%
T - 4	Quicksilver Cash Rewards (Capital One)	55%	91%	65%	70.6%
T - 4	VentureOne Rewards (Capital One)	55%	91%	65%	70.6%
6	FlexPerks Travel Rewards (U.S. Bank)	55%	96%	59%	70.55%
7	FlexPerks Gold (U.S. Bank)	55%	96%	53%	69.75%
8	Venture Rewards (Capital One)	55%	91%	53%	67%
T - 9	Rewards American Express (USAA)	28%	96%	78%	67%
T - 9	Rewards Visa Signature (USAA)	28%	96%	78%	66.65%
T - 9	Cashback Rewards Plus American Express (USAA)	28%	96%	78%	66.65%
T - 9	Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Signature (USAA)	28%	96%	78%	66.65%
13	EveryDay Preferred (Amex)	47%	91%	53%	64.2%
14	Altitude Reserve Visa Infinite (U.S. Bank)	55%	96%	35%	63.35%
15	Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card	28%	96%	65%	62.9%
16	Savor Cash Rewards (Capital One)	28%	96%	53%	59.3%
17	Rate Advantage Visa Platinum (USAA)	28%	91%	58%	58.9%
18	American Express Gold Card	47%	91%	35%	58.8%
19	Cash 365 (U.S. Bank)	Not offered	96%	65%	53.1%
T - 20	EveryDay (Amex)	Not offered	91%	65%	51.35%
T - 20	Blue (Amex)	Not offered	91%	65%	51.35%
T - 20	FlexPerks Select+ (U.S. Bank)	Not offered	91%	65%	51.35%
T - 20	Blue Cash Everyday (Amex)	Not offered	91%	65%	51.35%
T - 24	Rewards Card (Wells Fargo)	Not offered	86%	70%	51.1%
T - 24	Platinum (Wells Fargo)	Not offered	86%	70%	51.1%
T - 24	Cash Wise (Wells Fargo)	Not offered	86%	70%	51.1%
T - 28	American Express Cash Magnet Card	Not offered	86%	65%	49.6%
T - 28	Platinum (Capital One)	Not offered	86%	65%	49.6%
30	QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards (Capital One)	Not offered	86%	59%	47.8%
31	Blue Cash Preferred (Amex)	Not offered	91%	53%	47.75%
T - 32	Freedom Unlimited (Chase)	Not offered	%	90%	27%
T - 32	Freedom (Chase)	Not offered	%	90%	27%

*Citi, Bank of America and Discover do not provide travel insurance on their cards. **Barclays is currently offering only co-branded cards, which were not evaluated in this report.

Business Cards

Rank	Credit Card Name	Luggage Insurance	Travel Accident Insurance	Eligibility, Cost & Extra Coverage	Overall Score (weighted average)
1	Ink Business Unlimited (Chase)	90%	96%	100%	95.1%
2	Ink Business Preferred (Chase)	90%	96%	88%	91.5%
3	Ink Cash (Chase)	83%	96%	70%	83.65%
T - 4	Business Elite Card (Wells Fargo)	83%	91%	58%	78.3%
T - 4	Business Platinum Credit Card (Wells Fargo)	83%	91%	58%	78.3%
T - 6	Spark Cash Select (Capital One)	55%	91%	65%	70.6%
T - 6	Spark Classic (Capital One)	55%	91%	65%	70.6%
T - 6	Spark Miles Select (Capital One)	55%	91%	65%	70.6%
T - 9	Spark Cash (Capital One)	55%	91%	53%	67%
T - 9	Spark Miles (Capital One)	55%	91%	53%	67%
T - 11	SimplyCash Plus Business Credit Card (Amex)	47%	86%	65%	66.05%
T - 11	The Blue Business Plus Credit Card (Amex)	47%	86%	65%	66.05%
13	American Express Business Gold Card	47%	86%	35%	57.05%
T - 14	FlexPerks Business Travel Rewards Card (U.S. Bank)	Not offered	96%	53%	49.5%
T - 14	U.S. Bank Business Leverage Visa Signature Card	Not offered	96%	53%	49.5%

Methodology

WalletHub reviewed the online travel benefits policies for all of the credit cards available via the websites of the 10 largest credit card issuers by purchase volume, excluding student and co-branded cards.

We evaluated each offer in three overall categories, using the corresponding weights to obtain overall scores: Travel Accident Insurance (35%); Luggage Insurance (35%); Eligibility Cost & Extra Coverage (30%). These categories are comprised of 12 individual metrics, descriptions of which you can find below. For cards featuring multiple policies, we evaluated their average coverage details.

Where policies were incomplete or unclear, we contacted the issuers directly and requested clarification. All issuers responded to our questions and either confirmed the accuracy of our data or provided corrections.

The maximum score attainable for a card in this report is 100%.

Travel Accident Insurance1. What is Covered? - Worth 50%A) Death and Dismemberment – Worth 25%

If death and dismemberment is covered = 25%
If only death is covered = 15%
If only dismemberment is covered = 10%
If there is no benefit offered = No points (where applicable)

B) Modes of Travel Included – Worth 15%

Airlines = 10%
Buses= 2%
Taxis / Airport Limousines = 1%
Cruises / Boats = 1%
Trains = 1%
No benefit offered = No points (where applicable)

*Scores for this metric are cumulative, as more than one option may be available

C) Coverage Duration – Worth 10%

Entire trip, from departure to return – door to door = 10%
Departure to arrival in destination (both ways), plus auxiliary transportation (i.e. taxi, bus, train, etc.) = 6%
Departure to arrival in destination (both ways)= 5%
Length of stay at designated destination = 5%
No benefit offered = No points (where applicable)

2. Amount Offered for Death / Accident Coverage - Worth 50%

If the benefit amount is $300,000+ = 50%
If the benefit amount is $200,000 - $299,999 = 45%
If the benefit amount is $100,000 - $199,000 = 40%
If the benefit amount is $0 - $99,999 = 25% points
If there is no benefit offered = No points (where applicable)

Luggage Insurance1. What type of luggage does it cover? – Worth 15%

If both carry-on and checked baggage is covered = 15%
If only checked luggage is covered = 12%
If there is no benefit offered = No points (where applicable)

2. Amount of coverage for delayed luggage - Worth 35%

If the benefit amount is $400+ = 35%
If the benefit amount is $200 - $399 = 28%
If the benefit amount is up to $199 = 21%
If no coverage is offered = No points (where applicable)

*Scores for this metric are averages across all travel related benefits, as coverage may differ between benefits of the same card

3. Amount of coverage for lost luggage - Worth 40%

If the benefit amount is $2000+ = 40%
If the benefit amount is between $1000 -$1999 = 32%
If the benefit amount is between $500 - $999 = 28%
If the benefit amount is up to $499 = 20%
If no coverage is offered = No points (where applicable)

4. Offers hotel burglary coverage? - Worth 10%

If the benefit is offered = 10%
If the benefit is not offered = No points (where applicable)

Eligibility, Cost & Extra Coverage1. Who is covered? – Worth 25%

Full family (includes immediate family plus nieces, uncles, siblings in law etc.) = 25%
Immediate family (includes cardholder, spouse and dependable children) = 20%
Cardholder only = 5%
No coverage provided = No points (where applicable)

2. Is additional travel insurance coverage provided? – Worth 30%

If cancelled trip insurance coverage is provided = 20%
If delayed trip insurance coverage is provided = 10%
*Scores for this metric are cumulative, as more than one option may be available

3. Activating the benefit – Worth 15%

If no sign up is required and coverage is still provided when purchases are paid for using rewards = 15%
If no sign up is required = 11.25%
If coverage is still provided when purchases are paid for using rewards = 3.75%
If there is no benefit offered = No points (where applicable)

4. Second year annual fee – Worth 30%

If the annual fee of the card is $0 = 30%
If the annual fee of the card is $1 - $49 = 24%
If the annual fee of the card is $50 - $99 = 18%
If the annual fee of the card is $100+ = 6%
If the annual fee of the card is $200+ = No points (where applicable)

from Wallet HubWallet Hub

via Finance Xpress

Finance Xpress

2019’s Best Credit Card Rental Car Insurance

3:23 AM

Posted by: Alina Comoreanu

Credit card rental car insurance can save you a truckload of money. You won’t have to buy supplemental insurance from the rental company, for one thing. And even more importantly, it covers you in the event of damage to or theft of a rental car. Coverage up to the cash value of your rental vehicle is typical. But the best credit card rental car insurance policies give you up to $75,000.

The problem is that just 47% of people even know about credit card car rental insurance, and nearly as many people say they don’t trust it. That’s an issue because you must decline a rental company’s supplemental insurance for your credit card’s coverage to work. And you can’t know to do that unless you’re familiar with how your card’s policy works.

Credit card rental car insurance policies are driven by three of the four major card networks: Visa, Mastercard and American Express. The other major card network, Discover, stopped offering its rental car insurance benefit in March 2018. But individual credit card companies determine the specifics of the coverage that customers receive.

So to help you maximize your savings and security, WalletHub compared each major credit card company’s rental car insurance policy. Based on this analysis, we then selected the best credit cards for rental car insurance, out of 71 total offers. You can find the results below. Offers are accurate as of June 20, 2019.

Best Credit Cards for Rental Car Insurance
Main Findings
Typical Credit Card Rental Car Insurance Coverage
How To File A Credit Card Car Rental Insurance Claim
8 Money-Saving Car Rental Tips
Detailed Findings
Methodology

2019’s Best Credit Cards for Rental Car Insurance

Rank	Card(s)	Coverage Duration	WalletHub Score
1	Chase Sapphire Reserve®	31 days	93.50%
2	Wells Fargo Propel American Express® Card	31 days	93.00%
3	Other Chase Cards	31 days	91.00%

Main Findings

Best Issuer: Chase is the best credit card company for rental car insurance, covering cardholders for up to $75K and 31 days.

No Rental Coverage: Citi and Discover no longer provide rental coverage on their credit cards.

Avoid Renting: A truck, open-bed vehicle, exotic/antique car, large van or full-size SUV if you want credit card rental car insurance coverage (usually excluded).

Coverage Duration: More than 32% of cards only cover domestic rentals for up to 15 days.

Road Conditions: 23% of credit card rental car insurance policies won’t cover damage that occurs while driving on a dirt/gravel road.

Country Coverage: All Chase cards provide global coverage. Ireland, Israel and Jamaica are the most common exclusions among other issuers.

Tire & Rim Damage: Almost half of cards do not cover all rim/tire damage.

Loss-Of-Use Losses: More than 92% of cards will reimburse you for loss of use, which can cost over $100.

Best Issuer for Business Cards: Chase offers the best business credit cards for rental car insurance, covering cardholders for up to 31 days.

Typical Credit Card Rental Car Insurance Coverage

	Example of a Standard Policy	Example of a Best Policy
Sign-Up	None required, but you must decline the rental company’s supplemental coverage	None required, but you must decline the rental company’s supplemental coverage
Type Of Coverage	Covers costs stemming from damage to or theft of rental vehicles	Covers costs stemming from damage to or theft of rental vehicles
Coverage Amount	The cost of repairs, the vehicle’s book value or the vehicle’s purchase price, whichever is lower.	Up to $75,000
Maximum Coverage Duration	30 days	31 days
Vehicle Exclusions	Certain popular SUVs and antique, exotic or luxury vehicles, vans, trucks, pick-ups, motorcycles, recreational or off-road vehicles	Off-road vehicles
Type-Of-Road Exclusions	Accidents occurring on dirt and gravel roads are covered	Accidents occurring on dirt and gravel roads are covered
Country Exclusions	Australia, Italy, and New Zealand	None
Loss Of Use & Personal Insurance Deductible	Both Covered	Loss of use not covered
Towing Costs	Covered	Covered
Tire & Rim Damage	Covers damage as a result of theft, vandalism or vehicle collision	Covered
Claims Process & Limits	Call card issuer’s benefits administrator; no claims limit	Call card issuer’s benefits administrator; no claims limit
Full Policy Details	American Express Rental Collision Policy	Chase Rental Collision Policy

Business credit cards seem to offer similar benefits. However, business cards seem to have policy details slightly enhanced (e.g. covering 31 days instead of 15 days rentals) and a few cards even offer the policy as primary coverage instead of secondary.

How To File A Credit Card Car Rental Insurance Claim

Issuer	Phone Number	Online Support
	U.S: 1-800-338-1670 Outside U.S : 1-216-617-2500	Here
	U.S : 1-800-592-4089 Outside U.S : 1-804-673-1468	Here
	U.S : 1-800-348-8472 Outside U.S : 1-804-673-1164	Here For Visa
	Sapphire Preferred: 1-888-320-9961 Freedom: 1-888-320-9656 Slate: 1-877-445-4153	Here
	U.S : 1-800-348-8472 Outside U.S : 1-804-673-1164	Here
	Visa: 1-866-200-9866 American Express: 1-888-884-6643	Here For Visa
	Visa - U.S : 1-800-348-8472 Visa - Outside U.S : 1-804-673-1164 American Express: 1-855-830-3727	Here For Visa

8 Money-Saving Car Rental Tips

We recommend taking the following steps to minimize the cost and liability associated with renting a car. Be safe out there!

Call your insurance company to see if rentals are covered under your standard policy. Older policies may not offer this coverage.
Call your credit card company to ask if any limitations apply to your card’s coverage, relative to your rental plans.
Double-check with long-term rentals. They might not be covered by your auto insurance policy, due to time limits.
Decide whether to mix business with pleasure. Your personal auto policy – if it even covers rentals – only applies when the vehicle is used for personal use. So if you’re traveling for business check what other options are available for you.
Get a rental like your everyday ride. Your personal auto insurance is more likely to cover your rental if you get a vehicle of similar value to your own car.
Ask about adding an insurance rider (for a small fee) if your policy doesn’t cover a certain type of rental car.
Consider a non-owner auto insurance policy if you don’t have a car but drive from time to time.
Make a plan before you hit the rental counter. You may want to accept a rental company’s liability insurance and collision damage waiver if you don’t have personal auto insurance and your credit card won’t give you enough coverage. In any case, you want to make an informed decision, not one based on panic at check-out.

Detailed Findings

Credit-card rental car insurance policies were previously evaluated at the network level, but we decided to examine coverage at the card level in 2016 after discovering discrepancies among offers on the same network and/or issued by the same company. Where no policy differences existed, cards were grouped by issuer or network for the sake of simplicity.

Personal Credit Cards

Cards	Total Score	Vehicles Excluded	Clarity on Exclusions	Coverage Duration	Type of Road Exclusions	Country Exclusions	Loss of use and deductible on your auto insurance	Towing	Damage to tires and rims	Activation	Claims Process	Info Accessibility
Max Score	100.00%	20.00%	5.00%	15.00%	5.00%	5.00%	20.00%	5.00%	5.00%	5.00%	5.00%	10.00%
Chase Sapphire Reserve	93.50%	15.00%	5.00%	15.00%	5.00%	5.00%	20.00%	5.00%	5.00%	5.00%	5.00%	8.50%
All Wells Fargo American Express cards	93.00%	15.00%	5.00%	15.00%	5.00%	3.00%	20.00%	5.00%	5.00%	5.00%	5.00%	10.00%
Other Chase Cards	91.00%	15.00%	2.50%	15.00%	5.00%	5.00%	20.00%	5.00%	5.00%	5.00%	5.00%	8.50%
All Capital One World Elite Mastercard cards	89.00%	15.00%	5.00%	15.00%	3.00%	3.00%	20.00%	5.00%	5.00%	5.00%	3.00%	10.00%
All USAA American Express cards	88.50%	15.00%	5.00%	15.00%	3.00%	5.00%	20.00%	5.00%	2.50%	5.00%	3.00%	10.00%
All USAA Visa cards	88.50%	15.00%	5.00%	15.00%	3.00%	5.00%	20.00%	5.00%	2.50%	5.00%	3.00%	10.00%
All Wells Fargo Visa cards	87.50%	15.00%	2.50%	12.00%	5.00%	3.00%	20.00%	5.00%	5.00%	5.00%	5.00%	10.00%
All Capital One Visa cards	87.50%	15.00%	2.50%	12.00%	5.00%	3.00%	20.00%	5.00%	5.00%	5.00%	5.00%	10.00%
Bank of America Visa Cards	86.00%	15.00%	5.00%	15.00%	5.00%	5.00%	20.00%	5.00%	2.50%	5.00%	5.00%	3.50%
Bank of America BankAmericard	86.00%	15.00%	5.00%	15.00%	5.00%	5.00%	20.00%	5.00%	2.50%	5.00%	5.00%	3.50%
All Capital One Platinum Mastercard cards	83.00%	15.00%	5.00%	9.00%	3.00%	3.00%	20.00%	5.00%	5.00%	5.00%	3.00%	10.00%
All American Express Cards	82.50%	10.00%	5.00%	15.00%	5.00%	0.00%	20.00%	5.00%	2.50%	5.00%	5.00%	10.00%
All U.S. Bank Visa cards	82.00%	15.00%	2.50%	12.00%	5.00%	3.00%	20.00%	5.00%	5.00%	5.00%	5.00%	4.50%
USAA Rate Advantage Platinum Visa	80.50%	15.00%	5.00%	9.00%	3.00%	3.00%	20.00%	5.00%	2.50%	5.00%	3.00%	10.00%
All U.S. Bank American Express cards	79.00%	15.00%	5.00%	15.00%	5.00%	5.00%	12.00%	5.00%	2.50%	5.00%	5.00%	4.50%

Business Credit Cards

Cards	Total Score	Vehicles Excluded	Clarity on Exclusions	Coverage Duration	Type of Road Exclusions	Country Exclusions	Loss of use and deductible on your auto insurance	Towing	Damage to tires and rims	Activation	Claims Process	Info Accessibility
Max Score	100.00%	20.00%	5.00%	15.00%	5.00%	5.00%	20.00%	5.00%	5.00%	5.00%	5.00%	10.00%
All Chase business cards	91.00%	15.00%	2.50%	15.00%	5.00%	5.00%	20.00%	5.00%	5.00%	5.00%	5.00%	8.50%
All Capital One business cards	90.50%	15.00%	2.50%	15.00%	5.00%	3.00%	20.00%	5.00%	5.00%	5.00%	5.00%	10.00%
All Wells Fargo business cards	90.50%	15.00%	2.50%	15.00%	5.00%	3.00%	20.00%	5.00%	5.00%	5.00%	5.00%	10.00%
All U.S. Bank business Visa cards	85.00%	15.00%	2.50%	15.00%	5.00%	3.00%	20.00%	5.00%	5.00%	5.00%	5.00%	4.50%
All Bank of America business Visa cards	84.00%	15.00%	2.50%	15.00%	5.00%	3.00%	20.00%	5.00%	5.00%	5.00%	5.00%	3.50%
U.S. Bank Business Cash Rewards World Elite Mastercard	83.00%	15.00%	5.00%	15.00%	3.00%	5.00%	20.00%	5.00%	2.50%	5.00%	3.00%	4.50%
All American Express business cards	82.50%	10.00%	5.00%	15.00%	5.00%	0.00%	20.00%	5.00%	2.50%	5.00%	5.00%	10.00%
All Bank of America business Mastercard's	82.00%	15.00%	5.00%	15.00%	3.00%	5.00%	20.00%	5.00%	2.50%	5.00%	3.00%	3.50%

*Citi and Discover do not provide rental coverage on their cards. **Barclays is currently offering only co-branded cards, which were not evaluated in this report.

Methodology

WalletHub reviewed the publicly available online car rental policies of all the credit cards currently being offered by the 10 largest issuers, excluding student and co-branded offers, and collected the information needed to answer the following questions: 1) What vehicles are excluded?; 2) What other exclusions do the policies have?; 3) What is the quality of the coverage?; 4) How does one activate the benefit?; 5) How should claims be filed?; and 6) How easy it is to obtain complete policy information?

Where policies were unclear, we contacted the issuers directly and requested clarification. All issuers responded to our questions and confirmed the accuracy of our data.

Each card’s policy was scored using the following criteria:

1) What vehicles are excluded? – Worth 25% totalA. Vehicles excluded – Worth 20%

If no exclusions apply - 20%
If regular exclusions apply (i.e. exotic, expensive, or antique cars; trucks; vehicles with open beds; and large vans) - 15%
If SUVs are not covered - 10%
If there is a large number of exclusions - No points

B. Clarity on exclusions – Worth 5%

If a full definition of excluded cars is provided (i.e. value and characteristics) - 5%
If a partial definitions of excluded cars is provided (i.e. just value or just characteristics) - 2.5%
If no description of excluded cars is provided - No points

2) What exclusions do the policies have? – Worth 25% TotalA. Coverage Duration – Worth 15%

- If the coverage duration is for 30 days and above - 15%
- If the coverage duration is between 20 - 29 days - 12%
- If the coverage duration is between 19 - 10 days - 9%
- If the coverage duration is between 10 - 5 days - 3%
- If the coverage duration is under 5 days - No points

*If a card provides 2 types of coverage, we averaged the 2

B. Road Type Exclusions – Worth 5%

If Dirt and gravel roads are covered - 5%
If Dirt and gravel roads are partially covered - 3%
If Dirt and Gravel roads are not covered - No points

C. Country Exclusions – Worth 5%

No country excluded - 5%
Up to 2 countries excluded - 4%
Up to 4 countries excluded - 3%
Up to 6 countries excluded - 2%
Up to 8 countries excluded - 1%
Over 8 countries excluded - No points

3) What is the quality of the coverage? – Worth 30% TotalA. Loss Of Use and Deductible on Your Auto Insurance – Worth 20%

If loss of use is covered - 20%
If the deductible portion on your auto insurance policy is covered - 12%
If the deductible from your auto insurance and loss of use not covered - No points

B. Towing Expenses – Worth 5%

If towing is covered - 5%
If towing is not covered - No points

C. Damage to tires and rims – Worth 5%

If damage to tires and rims is always covered - 5%
If damage to tires and rims is covered only when the result of theft, vandalism or vehicle collision - 2.5%
If damage to tires and rims is not covered - No points

4) How does one activate the benefit? – Worth 5%

If activation is standard (cardholders charge the entire rental car purchase on their credit card and decline supplemental insurance/Collision Damage Waivers (CDW) offered by the rental company) - 5%
If activation is more complex than the standard - No points

5) How should claims be filed? – Worth 5%

If filing a claim requires standard documentation ( i.e. a copy of the accident, a signed claim form, a rental agreement, an itemized bill and a receipt or statement showing to which card the rental was charged to) - 5%
If claims require up to 2 documents on top of the standard documentation - 3%
If claims require 3 or more documents on top of on top of the additional documentation - No points

6) How easy it is to obtain complete information about the policy? – Worth 10%A. How easily can one find the info? - Worth 3%

Information is prominent within card landing page - 3%
Information is not prominent within card landing page; or it is prominent but users need to log in to see the full disclosure - 1.5%
Information cannot be easily found on website - No points

B. How easy it is to read the info? - Worth 1%

Information is presented in normal size font - 1%
Information is in small size font - No points

C. How complete are the policies provided? - Worth 4%

Full policy provided - 4%
Part of policy provided - 2%
Benefits briefly described - 0.5%
No key details provided - No points

D. How open and transparent are issuers about the policies? - Worth 2%

Transparent about policies - 2%
Not transparent about policies - No points

The card with the most accumulated points received the highest score. The maximum number of points is 100%.

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Finance Xpress

2019’s Best & Worst States for Teen Drivers

2:53 AM

Posted by: Adam McCann

Getting a driver’s license is considered a rite of passage in American culture. But this exciting coming-of-age has instead become a death sentence for thousands of teens each year. Motor-vehicle accidents continue to be the leading cause of death among the population aged 16 to 19, which also happens to be the age group with the highest risk of crashes.

And the financial implications are staggering. Although 15- to 19-year-olds made up only 6.5% percent of the population in 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they racked up 8.4% percent of all costs resulting from motor-vehicle injuries. That’s not counting the costs of auto maintenance, insurance premiums, possible traffic citations and other vehicular incidents — expenses that can pile up over time.

To help parents ensure their teens’ safety while also safeguarding their finances, WalletHub analyzed the teen-driving environment in each of the 50 states using a collection of 23 key metrics. Our data set ranges from number of teen driver fatalities to average cost of car repairs to presence of impaired-driving laws. Read on for our findings, expert commentary and a full description of our methodology.

Main Findings
Ask the Experts
Methodology

Main Findings Embed on your website<iframe src="//d2e70e9yced57e.cloudfront.net/wallethub/embed/4598/geochart-teendrivers.html" width="556" height="347" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> <div style="width:556px;font-size:12px;color:#888;">Source: <a href="https://ift.tt/2y4pZAE>

Best States for Teen Drivers

Overall Rank (1 = Best)	State	Total Score	‘Safety’ Rank	‘Economic Environment’ Rank	‘Driving Laws’ Rank
1	Maryland	65.79	2	17	15
2	New York	65.73	1	20	3
3	Massachusetts	62.48	3	19	34
4	Louisiana	61.41	30	2	2
5	Texas	61.18	15	4	16
6	Michigan	60.97	18	1	41
7	Minnesota	60.56	5	10	38
8	New Jersey	59.73	4	23	33
9	Illinois	59.65	9	24	6
10	Delaware	58.91	13	26	4
11	Connecticut	57.50	8	32	23
12	Florida	57.24	11	11	43
13	Oregon	57.19	16	30	5
14	Iowa	57.19	20	7	36
15	North Carolina	57.03	29	5	25
16	Virginia	55.94	7	42	30
17	Kansas	55.59	31	12	17
18	California	54.33	6	49	8
19	Georgia	54.13	23	27	21
20	Arkansas	54.07	37	9	24
21	Maine	54.05	21	29	25
22	Ohio	54.00	14	15	49
23	Vermont	53.34	10	37	43
24	Kentucky	53.32	38	8	27
25	Nevada	53.16	19	40	22
26	Hawaii	52.61	27	34	20
27	Washington	52.33	12	50	1
28	Colorado	52.23	26	41	10
29	Indiana	52.15	25	35	30
30	Wisconsin	52.02	32	21	30
31	Alaska	51.99	24	44	11
32	Oklahoma	51.71	45	3	17
33	South Carolina	51.39	36	22	28
34	Nebraska	51.39	33	14	45
35	Rhode Island	51.38	17	46	14
36	Tennessee	51.16	34	39	7
37	West Virginia	50.61	41	18	9
38	Pennsylvania	49.10	35	33	39
39	Utah	48.60	22	48	19
40	Alabama	48.15	44	25	13
41	Idaho	47.54	28	45	34
42	New Mexico	47.44	42	36	12
43	Mississippi	46.24	49	6	29
44	New Hampshire	45.53	43	28	40
45	North Dakota	44.41	47	13	42
46	Montana	43.01	40	43	47
47	Arizona	42.44	39	47	37
48	Missouri	41.62	48	16	48
49	South Dakota	39.24	46	31	50
50	Wyoming	34.67	50	38	46

Ask the Experts

Although teens are responsible for their own actions, parents shoulder much of the emotional and financial consequences when things go south. And in areas where teen deaths resulting from car crashes are most prevalent, it’s up to lawmakers to implement programs and policies to reduce those numbers. For additional insight and advice, we asked a panel of experts to share their thoughts on the following key questions:

What tips do you have for parents of teen drivers?
What is the biggest risk that teen drivers face?
What tips do you have for minimizing the costs (insurance, etc.) associated with having a teen driver in the household?
Should we increase the age at which an individual is eligible for a license to 18?
What should policymakers do to increase the safety of teen drivers?

< >

Gary P. Sullivan MBA, CPCU, AIC, AIM, AIS – Assistant Professor, Risk Management, Mercyhurst University
Nick Ferenchak Ph.D., EI – Assistant Professor, Department of Civil, Construction & Environmental Engineering, University of New Mexico
Charlie Klauer Ph.D. – Associate Professor, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Alisa H. Walch Ph.D. – Assistant Professor of Instruction, Department of Mathematics, College of Natural Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin

Methodology

In order to determine the best and worst states for teen drivers, WalletHub analyzed the teen-driving environment in the 50 states across three key dimensions: 1) Safety, 2) Economic Environment and 3) Driving Laws.

We evaluated those dimensions using 23 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for teen drivers. For metrics marked with an asterisk (*), the square root of the population was used to calculate the “Number of Residents” in order to avoid overcompensating for minor differences across states.

We then determined each state’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

Safety – Total Points: 50

Teen Driver Fatalities per 100,000 Teens: Double Weight (~8.00 Points)
Vehicle Miles Traveled per Capita: Half Weight (~2.00 Points)
Traffic Indiscipline: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)Note: This is a composite metric that measures incidents due to poor behavior: phone use, speeding, aggressive acceleration, harsh braking, and poor turning.
Teen “Under the Influence” Traffic Violations per 100,000 Teens: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)
Share of Teen Drinking & Driving: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)
Share of Teen Texting/Emailing While Driving: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)
Share of Teenagers Aged 18 to 24 Years Always or Nearly Always Wearing a Seatbelt: Double Weight (~8.00 Points)
Cost of Teen Crash-Related Deaths per 100,000 Teens: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)
Quality of Roads: Double Weight (~8.00 Points)
Driving Schools per Capita*: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)

Economic Environment – Total Points: 40

Maximum Cost of Speeding Ticket: Half Weight (~2.67 Points)
Maximum Cost of Red-Light Ticket: Half Weight (~2.67 Points)
Maximum Amount of First-Offense Fines for Not Wearing Seat Belt: Half Weight (~2.67 Points)
Premium Increase After Adding Teen Driver to Parent’s Auto-Insurance Policy: Double Weight (~10.67 Points)
Average Cost of Car Repairs: Full Weight (~5.33 Points)
Average Gas Prices: Double Weight (~10.67 Points)
Punitiveness of Insurance Companies Toward High-Risk Drivers: Full Weight (~5.33 Points)Note: This metric is based on WalletHub’s States with the Highest & Lowest Insurance-Premium Penalties for High-Risk Drivers ranking.

Driving Laws – Total Points: 10

Provision of Teen Driver's Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) Program Laws: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)
Presence of Occupant-Protection Laws: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)
Presence of Impaired-Driving Laws: Half Weight (~1.00 Points)
Presence of Distracted-Driving/Texting-While-Driving Laws: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)
Presence of Red-Light & Speeding-Camera Laws: Half Weight (~1.00 Points)
Leniency Toward DUI Violations: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)Note: This metric is based on WalletHub’s Strictest & Most Lenient States on DUI ranking.

Videos for News Use:

Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, EverQuote, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Road Information Program, CarMD, InsuranceQuotes, the Governors Highway Safety Association, American Automobile Association and WalletHub research.

Image: Phairin Theekawong / Shutterstock.com

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Finance Xpress

How To Start A Successful Blog In 10 Steps

2:53 AM

Learning how to start a successful blog is no easy feat. If it were easy, then everyone would be doing it!

That being said, one of the best things I've ever done in my life is learning how to start a blog.

Blogging completely changed my life, and it's funny to think that I literally had no idea what blogs were until I started one in 2011.

So, even if you have no clue how to start a successful blog, you can do it! And, I’m about to tell you how.

I had absolutely NO IDEA what I was doing in the beginning, but I learned along the way and here I am now.

Back then, I also never realized that you could make money blogging. I don't think I even looked into it because that was never my goal when I first learned how to start a blog. I certainly never thought blogging would drastically change my future, but I’m so glad I gave it a chance.

Whether you're thinking about starting a blog or if you've been blogging for years, you may be wondering what actual steps go into creating a blog that earns income. I receive so many questions that are about the actual steps and what exactly a blogger does, so today I am creating a huge guide that covers everything you need to know about how to start a successful blog.

I know that blogging can seem scary in the beginning, but remember that most bloggers have been in the exact same place you were when they started.

Blogging isn’t as easy as it looks from the outside, but it is something that you can do. You can make money blogging so that you can work towards living the life you want.

Blogging has allowed my husband and me to leave our day jobs, travel full-time, see family and friends more often, meet great people, and live a great life.

Because of the great experience I’ve had, I love sharing my knowledge and helping others learn how to start a successful blog.

I never thought it would be possible, but here I am. Plus, I know many, many other bloggers in all sorts of niches who are making a great living online.

Related content:

Every blogger earns money, grows their traffic, and starts blogging in slightly different ways, but I’m going to go over the basic outline for how to start a successful blog. I’ve broken it down into easy steps and will explain each.

Here are the 10 steps to learning how to start a successful blog:

Decide what you'll write about
Create a blog name and URL
Create your blog
Make pages for your blog
Brainstorm and write content for your blog
Create an email list
Start social media accounts
Find ways to grow your blog
Learn how to make money blogging
Find photos for your blog

Now, you don’t have to go in this exact order for some of these. Some bloggers may choose to start their social media accounts first, and others may decide to write first. There is no right or wrong answer – do what fits you best!

Wait, can I still start a blog now?

2019 is still a great time to start a blog.

The online world is still so very new, and each year there are new ways to monetize and grow your blog.

It wasn’t until the past couple of years that companies and advertisers started realizing the value of online influencers, such as bloggers, and that means even more opportunities to earn money blogging once you learn how to start a successful blog.

Before that, it was mainly celebrities that companies advertised with, but now, it is actually shifting to bloggers and other online influencers (like Youtubers and Instagrammers!).

The online world is a huge place and it is just going to keep growing. Every blogger earns a living in slightly different ways, and everyone has a different message and story. And, because there have already been many new ways to make money blogging, I expect that the options will continue to grow.

Blogging is a lot of fun, but learning how to start a successful blog is like learning how to start any other kind of successful business – there will always be new things to learn, and you have to start somewhere!

So, if you are wanting to learn how to start a successful blog, today is the day to start one. Don't let your fears hold you back any further! You can find my free How To Start a Blog Course here.

1. Decide what you'll write about on your blog.

What do you want to write about?

There are so many topics that you could blog about!

I know bloggers who are successful and write about health, clothing, home renovations, DIY, finance, travel, homesteading, business, self-help, relationships, food, and more. I even know plenty of people who just write about their lives and earn a full-time income from doing that!

So, how do you determine what to write about?

There is no right or wrong answer to this question. I always recommend creating a blog around a topic that you are passionate about, that you are an expert in, that you like, or something else along those lines.

This makes blogging feel fun instead of like a chore.

You can blog about several topics or you can blog about one specific thing, such as personal finance. For me, I cover a ton of different topics here on Making Sense of Cents. I talk about personal finance, life, travel, RVing, sailing, self-help, and more. I blog about those things because they are a part of my life and I love sharing them with others.

Some things that you may want to think about when choosing your blog topic include:

What do you enjoy talking about? Because learning how to start a successful blog can be hard work, I always recommend that you start by thinking about what you are passionate about. Perhaps it's a sport that you really love, crafts, cooking, managing money, travel, or something else. Whatever it is, blogging about your passion is great because that will show in your writing, and your readers will enjoy that. It can also help keep you motivated.
What blogs do you enjoy reading? If you are thinking about starting a blog, I'm assuming it's because you probably enjoy reading blogs yourself. If that's the case, then you may want to think about which blogs you really enjoy spending your time on, and possibly blogging about something similar.
What are you an expert in? Now, you don't need to be an expert in your blog’s topic to earn money blogging (more on that below), but if you are an expert on something, then this could be a topic that you blog about. There are many successful “How To” websites because people love to learn new things through blogs. And, there is probably something you could teach (everyone’s an expert at something, even if you don’t realize that yet!). Think about the questions your friends and family are always asking you about, topics that you enjoy helping others with, and so on.
What things do you like learning about? Like I said above, you don't need to be an expert in a topic to blog about it. People LOVE reading blogs from people who are learning or trying new things. This is because everyone has to start somewhere, and people love following the journey and seeing how something is actually done. So, if you are learning how to start a successful blog, for example, that could be what you blog about. You can write about all of your mistakes, talk about what you've learned, show how you have tried and reviewed different options, and so on.

If you want to earn money blogging, there aren’t certain topics to write about. A successful blog can be about anything and/or everything. It's entirely up to you.

Here are some possible blog topic ideas. The list doesn't end here either. Choose one, all, or some. It's all up to you.

Your life
Home
Family
Finance
Crafts
DIY
Small business
Outdoor activities
Fitness and health
Food
Inspiration and advice
Animals
Travel
Games
Relationships
School
Electronics, and more!

That's the great thing about learning how to start a successful blog – you can write about pretty much anything and you can still earn money from it.

2. Create a blog name and URL.

Deciding on a name for your blog is probably one of the hardest parts of blogging.

I’ve seen many people who are learning how to start a successful blog almost stop at the name part. Some of these people even have articles written, but the name is stopping them from creating and launching their websites.

Coming up with a blog name shouldn’t lead to stress, so here are my tips for deciding on a blog name:

Make it easy. My blog name isn't the easiest for people to spell, and even I sometimes jumble it. So, my top tip would be to make sure that your blog name is easy for people to type or spell out loud. I've seen blog names that are extremely long, contain words that are difficult to spell, and so on. Instead, you should make it as easy as possible for your readers to find you.
Think about what you'll be writing about. Think about the topics you want to write about, who your target audience is, and more. Then, jot down descriptive words that are related to each of those points. Brainstorming like this is a good way to come up with a blog name!
Use a thesaurus to find similar words. If your first or second name choices are taken or if you want to see if there are some catchier sounding blog names, using a thesaurus can help you with some new ideas.
Make it catchy. You may want to think of something funny, use alliteration, or something else to make your blog name catchy and memorable.
Use your name. If you don't want something catchy and/or if you think you're not creative enough, then just use your name. It's super easy that way, and more and more people are starting to do this.

See, creating a name for your blog can be easy.

3. The tutorial that will teach you how to start a successful blog.

To actually learn the technical parts of how to start and create a blog, I recommend heading over to my tutorial, How To Start A WordPress Blog On Bluehost.

This tutorial teaches you everything you need to know about how to start a successful blog easily and on your own, even if you aren’t a computer person. It goes over:

The platform you should use
How to buy and register your domain name
Buying hosting services
Designing your blog (your options)

And more.

Basically, it’s teaches you all of the technical and behind the scenes parts of learning how to start a successful blog. It's all super easy with my tutorial.

4. Make pages for your blog.

Next, you'll want to create a few pages for your blog. You can see mine here:

When you are just learning how to start a successful blog, these are really the only pages you need to have. They tell people about who you are and how to contact you. Once you grow your blog more, you may want to add more pages, but that’s up to you.

Pretty much all blogs have these pages and they are fairly easy to make!

5. Brainstorm and write content for your blog.

With a blog, you will obviously need content.

I have published around 2,000 articles on Making Sense of Cents and I'm not running out of ideas any time soon.

I currently have a few hundred blog posts ideas that are just waiting to be written and published. Plus, nearly every single day, I add at least one more idea to the list.

This makes me laugh, because if you would have told me when I was younger that I would have learned how to start a successful blog and really enjoy writing millions of words for a living in the near future, I would have called you a liar!

I did not like writing or typing when I was in school, at all.

Now, it's one of my most enjoyable things I do.

But, I receive a lot of questions from readers about coming up with content, and they are: 1) How do you come up with ideas for new blog posts and 2) How are you constantly coming up with new blog posts after several years of blogging?

One of the most difficult parts of blogging is creating new content, and sometimes you may feel that you have hit a brick wall and can't find any inspiration.

For me, though, I have a system that works quite well, and due to that, I don't think I will EVER run out of ideas for content.

So, how do I still have things to write about after several years of blogging?

I find topics to write about through:

Life experiences. Here on Making Sense of Cents, I generally only like to write about topics that I have experience with. I think this is what helps set me apart from others. I also receive the best motivation and inspiration from taking financial topics that I personally come across in day-to-day life and turning them into fun and engaging content.
Reader questions. I receive a ton of emails and comments each day from readers, and most of them are questions, like the topic of today’s post – can you show me how to start a successful blog? If I feel like I have something valuable to share, then I like to turn questions into blog posts. This way, I can share my knowledge and expertise on a subject, and it also helps readers more than what I could say in a simple email. Plus, if one person has a question, I know that many other people probably do as well! Turning questions into posts is also great because the next time I receive the question, I can easily send the link over to the reader.
Research that I've done and articles that I've read. I read a lot of articles every day simply for fun, and sometimes I come across something that I feel should be expanded upon, a topic that I think the average person doesn't understand, things that boggle my mind, and so on. For example, if I see a crazy financial statistic that I find interesting, I may turn it into an article.
Brainstorming sessions. Occasionally, I will simply sit down and have a little brainstorming session. While I do have a long list of possible content ideas, I like to keep my list fresh and update it often. Some of the things I do in my brainstorming sessions is that I may read older content of mine and see how I could possibly expand further on a subject to make it better, think of new blog posts that I could write about on a subject that is popular on my site (I may look at Google Analytics or Pinterest Analytics to determine this), and more.
Survey readers. Sometimes I ask my readers what they want to read more about. This always leads to a ton of ideas for blog posts and can be a very quick and easy way to add to your content list.

As you can see, there are many ways to come up with new blogging content.

Also, if you're looking for even more ideas, I recommend checking out this freebie: 120 Awesome Blog Post Ideas from a blogging friend of mine, Ruth Soukup. This is a free resource that will help you come up with new blog content!

6. Create an email list.

Not having an email list is a huge mistake if you want to learn how to start a successful blog. I didn’t start my email list until years after I started blogging, and that is probably the biggest blogging mistake I’ve made. It took me even longer to take my list seriously, which I did after switching to Convertkit in 2016.

I can’t believe I waited that long!

I didn't really use my email list until 2016 because I didn't understand newsletters, and I also didn't realize how having an email list could help me engage with my readers and grow my blogging income.

I really wish I would have spent more time on my newsletter in those early years, but I'm glad that I've learned from my mistake.

This is why I recommend that all bloggers spend time growing their email list. Actually, starting an email list is important for anyone who wants to make money online, whether that’s a blog or other online business.

Here is why having an email list is important if you want to learn how to start a successful blog:

Your newsletter is all yours. Unlike Pinterest and Facebook (and any other social media sites), your newsletter and email subscribers are all yours, and you have their undivided attention. You don't have to worry about some social media algorithm not showing your content to your readers, as they are your email subscribers, meaning you aren't fighting with anyone else to have them see your content.
The money is in your list. I believe that an email/newsletter is the best way to promote products, from affiliate products to ones you create. Because your email subscribers signed up specifically to hear what YOU have to say, you definitely have their attention. Your email list, over any other strategy, will almost always lead to more sales.
Your email subscribers are loyal followers. If someone is allowing you to show up in their email inbox whenever you want, then they probably trust what you have to say and enjoy hearing from you. This is a great way to grow a loyal audience.
Email is a great way to deliver other forms of content. With Convertkit, I am also able to create free email courses that can automatically be sent out to my subscribers. This makes life easy because all a reader has to do is sign up, and then Convertkit drips out the content daily, weekly, or in whatever other timeframe I choose.

7. Start social media accounts.

Social media can help you to engage with your readers on a closer level so that they can get to know you better, it improves your traffic levels, grow your audience, and more. It might feel like extra work, but it’s an important part of learning how to start a successful blog.

So, you will want to create social media accounts for your blog. You may want to use Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, or something else. I do know some bloggers who do well without social media, but I also know many who do very well with it.

See, social media can help you make money blogging in many different ways. However, I also understand that it can be time-consuming to master one social media platform, let alone trying to master them all!

Learning how to use social media for your blog gets easier once you’ve been doing it for a little while. Plus, you can automate a lot of it, including scheduling posts in advance.

Below are my favorite social media resources – these are the ones that have helped me. To stay updated, I check these resources often for new articles, I read their emails, listen to their podcast episodes, and more.

My favorite Pinterest course is Pinterest Traffic Avalanche. This course shows you how to get free traffic from Pinterest to your blog. You'll learn about Pinterest SEO, how to set up Rich Pins, how to create viral content, how to make Pinterest images, all about group boards, and many other valuable Pinterest strategies.
If you're looking for great free Pinterest advice, that would definitely be Simple Pin Media. This website publishes high-quality articles on the topic of Pinterest as well as highly informative podcast episodes. They also have several great Pinterest courses.
My favorite Facebook page resource is the ebook Facebook Strategies Worth Sharing. I started with just around 6,500 Facebook followers when I first read this resource, and I currently have over 96,000. I owe a lot of that growth to this ebook. Growing my Facebook page has allowed me to reach new readers, improve my blogging income, grow my email list, and more.
If you want to learn about Facebook ads, I recommend reading How One Blogger Grew His Blog to Over 2 Million Visitors In A Year.
My favorite overall guide that covers many different social media strategies is 21 Strategies I Used to Increase My Monthly Page Views from 17k to 400k+ in 10 Months. This guide by Lena Gott is full of great information on how to increase your blog's page views. If you are feeling stuck or if you are a new blogger, check out this resource! Lena went from 17,000 monthly page views to 400,000 and shares all of her best tips in this resource.
My favorite overall free resource would be Social Media Examiner. This website shares tons of great updates for nearly every social media site. If there's some rumor going around about social media, I usually check this website first to see what they have to say about it.

As you can see, there are a TON of great resources for any social media help that you may need. There are plenty of other websites I regularly read and listen to as well.

And, if you feel overwhelmed by social media, it’s something you can go back to once you’ve mastered some of the other parts of learning how to start a successful blog.

8. Find ways to grow your blog.

When you’re learning how to start a successful blog, you are also probably wondering “How do I get traffic to my new blog?”

All blogs have to start somewhere, and learning how to grow your blog is something that everyone has to do.

You do not need millions of page views per month to make money blogging, but if you want to increase your income, it will be important to increase your page views.

Every blog is different, and it isn’t always the blogs with the largest number of readers that make the most money. That’s because once you understand what your readers want, understand how to effectively reach out to companies for partnerships, and know how to charge the correct rate, you can make a good income online in many cases, regardless of the amount of page views you receive.

But, if you want to increase your page views, here are my tips:

Publish high-quality blog posts. Readers come back to blogs with high-quality and helpful posts. I recommend that your blog posts be at least 500 words, but more wouldn’t hurt either. The majority of my blog posts are around 1,500 to 3,000 words (this one is clocking in at over 6,000 words!).
Be active on Pinterest. Pinterest is one of my top traffic sources. To increase your pageviews with Pinterest, I recommend creating great images, making sure the description and title of your images are catchy, pinning regularly, and only pinning long images. I use Picmonkey to edit all of my images and Tailwind to schedule them.
Be active on other social media sites. Like I’ve already said, social media lets you interact with your audience more and can help you reach a larger audience. Pinterest is one of my top traffic sources, but you may want to check out Facebook, Twitter, Periscope, Instagram, Snapchat, Youtube, and others.
Post regularly. If you want to earn money blogging, you should publish something at least once a week. Going for weeks or months at a time without a blog post can lead to readers forgetting about you.
Network with other bloggers. You should look at other bloggers as friends and colleagues, not competition. This means you may want to interact with them on social media, reach out to them via email, attend conferences, and more. Always be genuine and give more than you take.
Guest post. Guest posting is a great way to reach a new audience and helps build partnerships with other bloggers.
Make sure it’s easy to share your content. I love sharing posts on social media, but it gets frustrating when some blogs make it more difficult than it needs to be. You should always make sure it’s easy for readers to share your content. This could mean making your social media icons easy to find, having all of the info input that is needed for sharing (title, link, and your username), and so on. Also, you should make sure that when someone clicks on one of your sharing icons the title isn’t in CAPS (I’ve seen this too many times). No one wants to share a blog post when it sounds like you’re screaming at them.
Create catchy headlines. The title of your post is a major factor influencing whether or not readers click over. I like to use the CoSchedule Headline Analyzer to help me with my headlines.
Learn SEO. SEO (search engine optimization) is a pretty important topic for bloggers, but it’s too big to teach in this post. I recommend doing your research and learning more about what it is and how it can help you. If you want to learn about SEO, I recommend reading The exact template that helped my site earn $95,000 in affiliate income last year.
Make it easy for readers to browse. If you want more pageviews, you should make it as easy as possible for readers to read your other blog posts. Readers should be able to easily find your blog homepage, categories, tags, search bar, and so on. Also, I recommend including links for related posts in every single one of your blog posts.

9. Learn how to make money blogging.

For many, learning how to start a successful blog means that you're hoping to earn an income from it. And, there's nothing wrong with that. I'm so very happy that I am able to earn a living from something that I love to do, and I get excited when I hear that others are doing the same.

There are several ways to earn money blogging, including:

Affiliate marketing
Blog sponsorships
Display advertising
Product sales

I will explain each of these in detail below.

What is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing is a blog monetization method in which you place a link to a product or company on your website or social media platform. You earn money when a follower purchases the product through your link (this is called an affiliate link). Affiliate marketing can be a great way to earn money online because if there is a product or company that you enjoy, all you have to do is review the product and hopefully others will be interested in buying it as well.

Affiliate marketing is my absolute favorite way to earn money blogging. I love it because it can feel quite passive. With just one blog or social media post, you can potentially earn money years down the line. Now, you will have to maintain the post and keep generating traffic to it. Also, most bloggers who do well with affiliate income share their affiliate links in more than just one post. This is increases your chances of earning affiliate income.

Affiliate marketing allows me to relax a little and enjoy life more, all while knowing that I am earning a great living by promoting products that I use and enjoy.

I regularly earn around $50,000 a month through affiliate marketing. For the most part, all the work is done and the traffic that is generated to my email list and blog posts passively converts people into buyers with minimal work required from me.

If you want to learn how to make money blogging with affiliate marketing, read the tips below:

Use the Pretty Link plugin to clean up long affiliate links. I use this for all of my affiliate links because something like “makingsenseofcents.com/bluehost” looks much better than the long links that affiliate programs usually give you.
Provide real reviews. You should always be honest with your reviews. If there is something you don't like about a product, either don't review the product or do mention the negatives. Either be honest or don’t work with those companies and products.
Ask for raises. If you are doing well with a particular affiliate program, then ask for a raise. The worst thing that can happen is that your affiliate manager says no. The best is that they say yes!
Form a good relationship with your affiliate manager. Your affiliate manager can supply your readers with valuable coupons, affiliate raises, and more. These things help you earn money blogging.
Publish tutorials. Readers want to know how they can use a product. Show them how to use it, how it can benefit their lives, and more. This is helpful to your readers and to your affiliate income.
Have a recommendations page. I always like checking out a blog’s recommendations page because it helps me learn about new products and services. For the blogger, your recommendations page is a great way to list affiliate links and valuable resources that readers may need or want. Here's mine as an example.
Don't go overboard. There is no need to include an affiliate link 1,000 times in a blog post. Include them at the beginning, middle, and end, and readers will notice it.

You can learn more about affiliate marketing strategies in my course Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing.

Related: Affiliate Marketing Cheat Sheet – With this time-saving cheat sheet, you'll learn how to make affiliate income from your blog. These tips will help you to rapidly improve your results and increase your blogging income in no time. This is great if you are learning how to start a successful blog and trying to monetize with affiliate marketing.

What are sponsored posts?

Having a company advertise on your blog is one of the first ways the average blogger begins to earn money blogging. In fact, sponsored posts are exactly how I started!

This form of blogging income is when you partner with a company and advertise their brand on your blog or social media accounts.

I earn around $15,000 to $20,000 a month with sponsored posts. And, this is all from companies finding me and approaching me directly.

Whether you are brand new and just learning how to start a successful blog or have been blogging for years, you can start with sponsored posts right now.

I personally know several people who have found high paying sponsored partnerships in the very beginning of their blog. They started with an easy pitch email and knowing how to approach the company – I teach both of these topics in my sponsored posts for bloggers course.

Many brands are moving toward working with bloggers and social media influencers due to the kind of traffic and customers a sponsored post can bring to a brand. Brands can reach their desired audience with sponsored posts, then gaining authentic customers.

This is why we are seeing ads and sponsorships moving toward bloggers and Instagrammers.

And, the data supporting the continued success and growth of influencer marketing is out there. According to a study published on Social Media Today:

94% of marketers using influencer marketing found it to be effective.
48% of companies in the U.S. plan on increasing their online influencer campaign budgets in the future.
71% of marketers think that ongoing ambassadorships (such as with sponsored partnerships!) are the most effective form of influencer marketing.

This just proves that sponsored partnerships are here to stay, and your ability to earn money blogging with sponsored posts will definitely continue to grow in the future.

As the online world continues to expand, so will the opportunities to earn money blogging. There are many different types of bloggers out there, and we all make money in a slightly different way. With a variety of stories and niches, the sponsored partnership opportunities are endless!

Related: 8 Easy Tips To Make Money From Sponsored Posts On Your Blog – Sponsorships on your blog are a great way of earning a living online. Learn how I made my first blogging income, and how I'm now making $10,000-$20,000 a month with sponsored partnerships! This is a free cheatsheet.

What is display advertising?

Display advertising is another popular way of making money from a blog, especially in the beginning when you are discovering how to start a successful blog.

Display advertising is a passive form of blog income because all you need to do is place advertisements (usually through an advertising network) on your blog’s sidebar, below a blog post, or somewhere else. Your display advertising income will increase or decrease based on your page views, and once you place the advertisement, there’s no other direct work to be done.

If you want to learn how to make money blogging through display advertising, then some popular networks include Adsense, Media.net, MediaVine and AdThrive.

Personally, I use AdThrive for my display advertising network. I don't have many display advertisements on my blog, but I regularly earn around $1,500 to $3,000 a month from them.

Create your own product to sell.

To really be in control of how you earn money blogging, you'll eventually want to create a product to sell to your audience. There are many products you can create and sell on your website, such as an ebook, course, etc.

I launched my first product to sell around three years ago, which is a blogging course called Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing. I am making around $20,000 to $50,000+ a month from this course, and because I have already created and finished the course, it's a nice form of somewhat passive income.

Plus, I have helped many, many people improve their affiliate marketing income as well, which is such a great feeling!

Related: 7 Surefire Ways To Boost Your Blog Income Overnight. By signing up through this link, you'll receive a free copy of the informative ebook 7 Surefire Ways To Boost Your Blog Income Overnight. Ruth also regularly sends out many other great blogging tips and it's a newsletter that I enjoy reading.

10. Find photos for your blog.

Finding and taking pictures for your blog posts and social media is important, even in the very beginning when you are first learning how to start a successful blog. They can help explain your story, break up text to make a blog post easier to read, and you need them for social media (such as Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram).

Now, you can’t just do a Google image search and use the pictures you find, and the same goes for images and pictures you find on Pinterest. People own those photos, and you can get in trouble if just take them without permission. It’s similar to how you wouldn't want someone to copy and paste a blog post of yours.

Currently, I source the pictures I use from two main areas:

My own photos. These are usually found in my travel-related content and Instagram. I use both my iPhone 6 and my super old DSLR for pictures. Photography is an area that I'm still looking to improve, so I mainly use the next option for the majority of the pictures I publish directly on Making Sense of Cents.
Ivory Mix. I absolutely love IvoryMix. They have great stock photos that fit perfectly with the vibe of Making Sense of Cents. They add over 100 photos monthly, and you can use them on your blog, social media, and more. Plus, Ivory Mix comes with unlimited download access.

My blogging to-do list.

After you’ve read the steps for learning how to start a successful blog, you may be wondering what I regularly do for my blog.

There is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes for each post, and it might sound like a pretty long process. But, it’s become quite routine over time. Other than me brainstorming and writing the actual blog post (besides guest posts, I have always written my own content myself because I enjoy it), almost everything else is now outsourced to virtual assistants.

Here is a list of what goes along with each new article that you see on Making Sense of Cents:

Think of new article topic ideas. Like I said earlier, I have a list of over 100 possible article topics that I keep on my laptop and my phone. These topics come from life experiences, reader questions, research, articles that I've come across, and so on. But, I’m constantly adding new ones.
Create a schedule. I have a schedule of topics for at least one full month, including the dates articles will be published. And, I like to make sure I cover a good variety of topics each week. For example, I don't usually like to have a week full of making money ideas. Instead, I like my posts to vary between making money, saving money, life improvement, and so on.
Write content. I like to sit down and write an article from beginning to end without any breaks. It may take me an hour to write an article or I may be at it all day. Sometimes, content does span a few days, but for the most part, I like to finish a piece of content in one sitting. I then hand over the content to my editor to fix anything from grammar and punctuation to the general flow of the article. The only thing she doesn't edit are my monthly income reports.
Add images and formatting. Once I get the content back from my editor, I add images (one for Pinterest and one for Facebook), format the post the way I want it to look, and add links to related content on my website.
Publish the article and share. Once the article is published on Making Sense of Cents, I share it to Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. I also schedule it to share on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter for future dates as well.
Email my subscribers. The last thing I do is send an email to my subscribers about a new blog post being published.

I also do this for all of the articles I write for other blogs too. If I'm guest posting on someone else's blog or taking part in an interview or podcast, I usually share it a little more than I do my own content. If you guest post on a person's website, you should do the same – the more you share it, the more traffic that person will get, and the more likely they are to re-share it too. Everyone wins!

Are you ready to start your blog?

After reading all about how to start a successful blog, you might be thinking that it sounds really overwhelming or you might be really excited to get started. Being overwhelmed is completely normal when you are doing something new. Just remember that all bloggers were there at one point.

If you’re really excited, that’s great! Learning new things, like how to start a successful blog is exciting and a fun new challenge that can completely change your life. Keep that motivation going by thinking about why you’re starting a blog in the first place.

But, for anyone, remember that reaching success doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a lot of work, but with the right mindset, tools, and resources, you can earn money blogging.

Are you interested in learning how to start a successful blog? What questions do you have for me?

The post How To Start A Successful Blog In 10 Steps appeared first on Making Sense Of Cents.

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8. Going to the Movies

9. Buying New Summer Gear

10. Failure to Plan Ahead

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How To Start A Successful Blog In 10 Steps

Wait, can I still start a blog now?

1. Decide what you'll write about on your blog.

2. Create a blog name and URL.

3. The tutorial that will teach you how to start a successful blog.

4. Make pages for your blog.

5. Brainstorm and write content for your blog.

6. Create an email list.

7. Start social media accounts.

8. Find ways to grow your blog.

9. Learn how to make money blogging.

What is affiliate marketing?

What are sponsored posts?

What is display advertising?

Create your own product to sell.

10. Find photos for your blog.

My blogging to-do list.

Are you ready to start your blog?

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