Best of Young Adult Money 2014

It’s hard to believe another year has passed, but tomorrow 2014 will be history and 2015 will have begun.

To put a close to 2014, we have the best posts of 2014 for Young Adult Money:

• How Much Money Would you Need to Live off Dividend Income? [Free Download] – In this post I shared a free Google Spreadsheets tool that tells you how much money you would need to live off of dividend income. You can do this two ways: entering the stock ticker and amount you have to invest OR by entering the desired income and how much income you desire. It’s a great tool for actually seeing what sort of investment it would take to live off of dividend income.

• 5 Creative Ways to Pay for Travel – This post lists 5 creative ways to pay for travel. I wrote this post in part because my wife and I like to travel but we don’t like putting thousands of dollars towards travel. The good news for us and others who want to travel but don’t want to spend a lot of money on it is that there are a number of creative ways you can fund travel.

• 10 Money Mistakes You Can Easily Avoid – This post was one of my favorite by our staff writer, Cat. There are pretty much an unlimited number of money mistakes you can make, but if you can at least avoid the “easier” ones you will be much better off long-term.

• The Dirty Little Secret of How People Make Money Blogging – This was a post that I went back and forth on whether to publish or not. I’m glad I did, and not just because it was one of our most popular posts this year. The way most smaller websites make money is completely surprising to people who haven’t heard about the strategy.

• 12 Tips for Beginner Couponers – If you are looking to save money on stuff you already spend money on, couponing is a good way to accomplish that. Couponing can be time-consuming but it’s hard to argue with the results. My wife and I have been doing it for a few years now and have saved thousands of dollars because of it.

• 4 Ways to be Better Prepared for Taxes Next Year – The past two years my wife and I have had to pay in a lot of money at tax time. This year we were dedicated to making sure that we don’t have to pay in a dollar. This post highlights some of the strategies we have been using to be better prepared for taxes this year.

• How to go to Vegas for Cheap – or even Free – I think Vegas is a great weekend getaway regardless of how old you are, your relationship status, income level, etc. The great thing about Vegas is you can really customize the trip. This post tells you how to go to Vegas for cheap or even free.

• 4 Lessons I’m Teaching My Kids About Money – This is another post by our staff writer, Cat. I really liked this post because I don’t have kids myself and with her twins she has children on her mind much more often than I do. She has some solid advice so consider checking it out if you have kids or plan on having kids.

• 5 Drawbacks of Freelancing and Consulting – Freelancing and consulting are put on a pedestal in the blogosphere, especially in the personal finance and lifestyle niches. I think freelancing and consulting have a lot of benefits, but I think they are often sugarcoated. In this post I point out some of the drawbacks to freelancing and consulting.

• How to get free stuff on Craigslist – A friend of mine told me about how to get free stuff on Craigslist and I had to share it with everyone because it’s so simple. Check out this post if you are looking for free stuff for your home or to flip for some extra cash.

• How I Networked Into Almost Every Job I’ve Ever Had – I’ve had a number of jobs over the years but have networked into all but one of them. I did not plan for things to work out this way, but it’s definitely a testament to the power of networking.

• Why You Should Pay the Minimum on Student Loans – When I first started blogging I made a statement that received about 50 negative comments and 3 positive comments. That statement was this: in almost every situation, you should pay the minimum on your student loans. In this post I showed through a spreadsheet how from a financial perspective you actually lose money if you pay more than the minimum on student loans. Not surprisingly no one disagreed with me in the comments. It pays to back up your statements with evidence!

• How to Make Money Entering Giveaways – My wife and I have won two vacations and countless other things through giveaways. It’s a “side hustle” for us and people are usually surprised when we tell them we make money on giveaways. This post was meant for everyone wondering how you can make money entering giveaways.

• 5 Things Every Blogger Struggles With and 5 (More) Things Every Blogger Struggles With – Blogging isn’t easy. After more than six years of blogging and two years of running Young Adult Money I’ve been through the ups and downs of blogging. These two posts were popular ones and bloggers and non-bloggers alike seemed to appreciate reading about some of the downsides to blogging.

• How to Discuss Finances Early On in a Relationship – This post is from our staff writer, Erin. Finances are the #1 most important thing to be on the same page with in a relationship. Regardless of income, couples will inevitably have some sort of conflict due to finances at some point in their relationship. The sooner finances are discussed, the better.

• How to Get Started in Freelance Writing – Freelance writing is one of the most desirable side hustles out there. You can typically do the work anywhere you have an internet connection. I freelance a bit on the side and it’s been a really great source of side income. The most difficult part of freelance writing is getting started, so hopefully this post sheds some light on the process to wannabe freelance writers.

• The Top 10 Financial Moves for People in their 20s – 20s is a time of transition for many people. Jobs, relationships, and housing situations are just a few things that are typically changing. I share my top 10 financial moves for people who likely are too important to dedicate much time to their finances.

• 8 Ways to Save Money Shopping at Target – Target is one of my favorite places to shop. Some people think it’s higher-priced than it’s competitors, but they oftentimes aren’t aware of the many ways to cut down on your bill.

• How Motif Investing Works – One area I will be focusing on more in 2015 is investing. As a whole Young Adult Money doesn’t have a lot of investing-related articles. My post about Motif Investing is a sign of things to come, though, with a focus on investment strategies and tools/services that make investing easier.

• Why an HSA is the Absolute Best Retirement Account – Health Saving Accounts – or HSAs – are by far the best retirement account out there. The problem most people have with them is that they are generally uneducated about how HSAs work and therefore miss out on some of the huge benefits that come with an HSA.

• How to Budget Your Time Like You Budget Your Money – This was another post by our staff writer, Erin. It was an extremely popular post and I think people are really interested in time management strategies.

• 5 Best Travel Reward Credit Cards for 2015 – Our post about the best travel reward credit cards for 2015 was published just last week but I thought it was worth listing in this list. All five of the cards mentioned in this post are excellent “churn” cards for those looking to save money on travel.

That was quite a few posts but I did my best to limit it to only the “best” of 2014. I hope you enjoyed our posts the past year and we plan on continuing to deliver quality content in 2015.

Don’t forget to check out our FREE 2015 Editorial Calendar in Google Docs.

Happy New Year!

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