Category: Finance

Since passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, the number of uninsured Americans has gone down nationwide. However, some states are doing better than others when it comes to helping their residents obtain health insurance.

While the federal government gave states the option to expand eligibility for Medicaid — a joint federal and state health insurance program primarily for people with low incomes — not all states took Uncle Sam up on the offer.

By and large, those states with the largest share of residents without health insurance are those that chose not to expand their Medicaid programs.

The Census Bureau reports that 8.3% of people nationwide (27.2 million) did not have health insurance at any point in 2021, but the following states all had higher rates. Here’s a look at the states with the largest percentage of uninsured residents.

If you don’t see your state here, see if it lands among the “15 States Where the Most People Have Health Insurance.”

1. Texas

State’s population without health insurance coverage in:

• 2021: 18.0%
• 2019: 18.4%
• 2010: 23.7%

State’s Medicaid expansion status as of Jan. 1, 2021: Not expanded

2. Oklahoma

State’s population without health insurance coverage in:

• 2021: 13.8%
• 2019: 14.3%
• 2010: 18.9%

State’s Medicaid expansion status as of Jan. 1, 2021: Not expanded

3. Georgia

State’s population without health insurance coverage in:

• 2021: 12.6%
• 2019: 13.4%
• 2010: 19.7%

State’s Medicaid expansion status as of Jan. 1, 2021: Not expanded

4. Wyoming

State’s population without health insurance coverage in:

• 2021: 12.2%
• 2019: 12.3%
• 2010: 14.9%

State’s Medicaid expansion status as of Jan. 1, 2021: Not expanded

5. Florida

State’s population without health insurance coverage in:

• 2021: 12.1%
• 2019: 13.2%
• 2010: 21.3%

State’s Medicaid expansion status as of Jan. 1, 2021: Not expanded

6. Mississippi

State’s population without health insurance coverage in:

• 2021: 11.9%
• 2019: 13.0%
• 2010: 18.2%

State’s Medicaid expansion status as of Jan. 1, 2021: Not expanded

7. Nevada

State’s population without health insurance coverage in:

• 2021: 11.6%
• 2019: 11.4%
• 2010: 22.6%

State’s Medicaid expansion status as of Jan. 1, 2021: Expanded

8. Alaska

State’s population without health insurance coverage in:

• 2021: 11.4%
• 2019: 12.2%
• 2010: 19.9%

State’s Medicaid expansion status as of Jan. 1, 2021: Expanded

9. Arizona

State’s population without health insurance coverage in:

• 2021: 10.7%
• 2019: 11.3%
• 2010: 16.9%

State’s Medicaid expansion status as of Jan. 1, 2021: Expanded

10. North Carolina

State’s population without health insurance coverage in:

• 2021: 10.4%
• 2019: 11.3%
• 2010: 16.8%

State’s Medicaid expansion status as of Jan. 1, 2021: Not expanded

11. South Carolina (three-way tie)

State’s population without health insurance coverage in:

• 2021: 10.0%
• 2019: 10.8%
• 2010: 17.5%

State’s Medicaid expansion status as of Jan. 1, 2021: Not expanded

11. Tennessee (three-way tie)

State’s population without health insurance coverage in:

• 2021: 10.0%
• 2019: 10.1%
• 2010: 14.4%

State’s Medicaid expansion status as of Jan. 1, 2021: Not expanded

11. New Mexico (three-way tie)

State’s population without health insurance coverage in:

• 2021: 10.0%
• 2019: 10.0%
• 2010: 19.6%

State’s Medicaid expansion status as of Jan. 1, 2021: Expanded

14. Alabama

State’s population without health insurance coverage in:

• 2021: 9.9%
• 2019: 9.7%
• 2010: 14.6%

State’s Medicaid expansion status as of Jan. 1, 2021: Not expanded

15. South Dakota

State’s population without health insurance coverage in:

• 2021: 9.5%
• 2019: 10.2%
• 2010: 12.4%

State’s Medicaid expansion status as of Jan. 1, 2021: Not expanded

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to reflect the projected average Medicare Advantage premium, which was announced on Sept. 29.

Despite inflation running near a 40-year high, some Medicare costs are set to buck the trend.

The premium and deductible for Medicare Part B will decrease for 2023, the federal government announced Sept. 27. The average premiums for Part D and Medicare Advantage also are expected to drop.

The Part B decreases stem partly from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ April 2022 decision to only cover the cost of a new treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, Aduhelm (aducanumab), in limited situations. The treatment was approved by the Food and Drug Administration via an accelerated process rather than the FDA’s traditional approval process.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the federal agency that oversees the Medicare program, explained:

“Lower-than-projected spending on both Aduhelm and other Part B items and services resulted in much larger reserves in the Part B account of the Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI) Trust Fund, which can be used to limit future Part B premium increases. The decrease in the 2023 Part B premium aligns with the CMS recommendation in a May 2022 report that excess SMI reserves be passed along to people with Medicare Part B coverage.”

Medicare Part B costs

Part B is the component of Medicare that typically covers outpatient care, such as physician services, outpatient hospital services and durable medical equipment.

Its falling costs are the:

1. 2023 Medicare Part B standard premium: $164.90 per month, a decrease of $5.20 from $170.10 in 2022. That’s compared with an increase of $21.60 per month for the prior year.
2. 2023 Medicare Part B deductible: $226 per year, a decrease of $7 from $233 in 2022. That’s compared with an increase of $30 for the prior year.

For many people on Medicare, their Part B premium is deducted automatically from their monthly Social Security payment.

This means the decreased Part B premium for 2023 will effectively leave them more of their 2023 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to spend on other costs — a rare situation.

More commonly, increases in Medicare premiums eat up at least a chunk of an increase in the Social Security COLA. This stems in part from how these amounts are determined: Social Security COLAs are tied to inflation, while Medicare premiums are tied to the Medicare program’s per-person cost, which often outpaces inflation.

As we reported in “2 Things That Hurt Social Security’s Inflation Protection,” Social Security COLAs averaged 2.2% between 2000 and 2020, while annual increases in the Part B premium averaged 5.9% during the same period, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

The Social Security COLA for 2023 — which is expected to be the highest in decades — will be announced in mid-October.

Part B Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amounts

Medicare Part B premiums are based on income. For 2023, the standard monthly premium listed above applies to:

• Individuals, and married people filing separate federal income tax returns, who earn up to $97,000
• Married couples filing joint returns who earn up to $194,000

Folks with incomes above those thresholds — about 7% of people with Part B — pay higher premiums, which will range from $230.80 to $560.50 per month in 2023, depending on income and federal tax-filing status. This is because what’s known as an Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount, or IRMAA, is tacked on to their Part B premium.

For a breakdown of all Part B IRMAAs for 2023, see the two charts titled “Full Part B Coverage” in the Sept. 27 announcement from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Medicare Part A costs

Medicare Part A typically covers inpatient care, such as inpatient hospital services as well as skilled nursing facility services.

About 99% of Medicare beneficiaries don’t have to pay a premium for their Part A coverage due to how long they worked and therefore had Medicare taxes withheld from their paychecks. They might face other Part A costs in certain situations, however.

These costs can include the following, all of which are set to tick upward, as they typically do each year:

• 2023 Medicare Part A inpatient deductible (for the first 60 days of a hospitalization in a benefit period): $1,600, up from $1,556 in 2022.
• 2023 Medicare Part A coinsurance (for the 61st through 90th day of a hospitalization in a benefit period): $400 per day, up from $389 in 2022.
• 2023 Medicare Part A coinsurance for lifetime reserve days: $800 per day, up from $778 in 2022.
• 2023 Medicare Part A skilled nursing facility coinsurance: $200 per day, up from $194.50 in 2022.

Medicare Advantage and Part D premiums

Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage are the two main types of Medicare.

Original Medicare is the traditional Medicare program offered directly by the federal government that includes Medicare Part A and Part B. Folks with Original Medicare also have the option of buying a Medicare Part D plan, which covers prescription drugs, from a private insurance company.

Medicare Advantage plans are an all-in-one alternative to the traditional program offered by private insurance companies that contract with the federal government. Folks with Medicare Advantage generally cannot buy separate Part D plans, but the vast majority of these plans include prescription coverage.

Because Medicare Advantage and Part D plans are offered by private insurers, their costs, including any premiums and deductibles, vary by plan and insurer.

On average, though, Medicare Advantage premiums for 2023 are expected to be $18 per month, down nearly 8% from $19.52 in 2022, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

The standard Part D premiums for 2023 are expected to average $31.50 per month, down 1.8% from $32.08 in 2022.

Part D Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amounts

Medicare Part D premiums are based on income. For 2023, taxpayers with the following incomes — which is roughly 8% of people with Part D — will pay more:

• Individuals, and married people filing separate federal income tax returns, with a modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) of more than $97,000
• Married couples filing joint returns with a MAGI of more than $194,000

Specifically, folks with incomes in these ranges will pay an Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA) in addition to the standard Part D premium. For 2023, these additional amounts will range from $12.20 to $76.40 per month, depending on income and federal tax-filing status.

For a breakdown of all Part D IRMAAs for 2023, see the last two charts in the Sept. 27 announcement.

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Don’t you wish you could go back in time and be one of the first to invest in the internet? You’d make a killing.

Well, you can’t go back and invest in Web 1.0: That was just static webpages — read-only.

And you can’t go back and invest in Web 2.0: That’s what we have today, creating content and interacting with each other on sites like Facebook.

But what about Web 3.0? That’s the latest version of the internet, still on the drawing board, being built on blockchain technology.

Don’t know what the heck I’m talking about? Then you’re in the right place.

Because today we’re talking about Web 3.0: what it is, how it works and, most important, how you can make money from it.

As usual, host Stacy Johnson is joined by financial journalist Miranda Marquit. Listening in and sometimes contributing is producer Aaron Freeman. Today’s special guest is Robert Farrington, a Web3 expert and founder of digital asset education website Cult of Money.

Remember, even though we sometimes talk about specific investments on this show, don’t take them as recommendations because they’re not. Before investing in anything or making any money moves, do your research and make your own decisions.

You can watch this episode below, or if you’d prefer to listen, you can do that with the player at the top of this article or download the episode wherever you get your podcasts:

Don’t forget to check out our podcast page for more episodes designed to help you make the most of your money and our YouTube page for more videos.

What is Web3?

Understanding Web3, also known as Web 3.0, can help you decide if it makes sense for you to invest in it. Web3 encompasses the next evolution of the internet, including concepts like the metaverse, virtual reality and augmented reality. Robert gives a great definition of how the blockchain works and how this structure can be used in the next iteration of the internet.

How to invest in Web3

If you want to invest in Web3, there are several ways to do so. We talk about five different ways to invest in Web3: cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), play-to-earn crypto games, Web3 stocks and even exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

When investing in these assets, it’s important to remember a few things:

• Don’t risk more than you can afford to lose.
• Some of these investments are considered to have above-average risk.
• We don’t know whether or when Web3 will really be a thing.
• Watch out for scams.
• Look at the use case, delivery and development.

Meet this week’s guest, Robert Farrington, MBA

Robert Farrington is the founder of The College Investor. He’s one of America’s top student loan debt experts and regularly talks about everything from paying for college to navigating student loan repayment.

He’s also the editor-in-chief of Cult of Money, a website dedicated to personal finance for the crypto-curious.

Don’t listen to podcasts?

A podcast is basically a radio show you can listen to anywhere and anytime, either by downloading it to your smartphone, or by listening online. They’re awesome for learning stuff and being entertained when you’re in the car, doing chores, jogging or riding your bicycle.

You can listen to our latest podcasts here or download them to your phone from any number of places, including Apple, Spotify, RadioPublic, Stitcher and RSS.

If you haven’t listened to our podcast yet, give it a try, then subscribe. You’ll be glad you did!

About the hosts

Stacy Johnson founded Money Talks News in 1991. He’s a CPA, and has also earned licenses in stocks, commodities, options principal, mutual funds, life insurance, securities supervisor and real estate.

Miranda Marquit, MBA, is a financial expert, writer and speaker. She’s been covering personal finance and investing topics for almost 20 years. When not writing and podcasting, she enjoys travel, reading and the outdoors.

Editor’s Note: This story comes from partner site DealNews.com.

October isn’t known for having a ton of deals or shopping holidays. In many circles it’s most well-known as the month of spooky vibes, thanks to Halloween.

With Black Friday around the corner, it might seem like saving opportunities won’t come for another month, but October has plenty to offer as far as deals go. In fact, if trends from the last two pandemic-era Black Fridays return, noteworthy deals for that shopping holiday could arrive even sooner.

Check out our guide on what to buy in October, as well as the few things you should buy later — or at least do extra research on before you add them to your cart.

Top Offers to Shop in October

Cinnabon: Members of the Cinnabon Rewards program can redeem a buy one, get one free baked good offer in the app. Unlock the code ROLL22 in the Cinnabon app which applies to Classic Rolls, MiniBons, 4-count BonBites, or Center of the Roll. This offer is valid October 4-7.

Additionally, orders via app or the Cinnabon website qualify for free delivery during this time.

Fan of Schlotzky’s Deli? Download the restaurant’s app to take advantage of the same BOGO free offer above, redeemable at any locations that feature Cinnabon items. It’s available in the app only, and valid from October 4-7, no code required.

Noodles & Company: Celebrate National Noodle Day by taking 20% off all regular-sized entrees. This offer is exclusive for Noodles Rewards members and valid on October 6.

Yogurtland: October 7 is National Spoon Day, so head to your local Yogurtland and score a giant turquoise spoon for free with a $10 purchase in-store. What better way to display your love for delicious froyo? Online and third-party delivery orders are excluded from this offer.

The 9 Best Things to Buy in October

General Fall Savings Events

With Labor Day behind us and Black Friday officially coming up on November 25, you might be surprised to know that retailers offer general savings events during October. In fact, last year during this time frame, we saw almost 400 general sales that covered a variety of categories, including clothing, kitchen and dining items, toys, shoes, and seasonal decor, among others.

Some of the most notable October sales we saw included a Uniqlo event that took up to 70% off men’s items and a Kirkland’s clearance sale that knocked up to 75% off all kinds of decorative items. Both earned our Staff Pick badge, reserved for deals we consider “the best of the best.”

Kohl’s had a couple of noteworthy sales, as well; it took up to 60% off plus an extra 20% off fall home decor items. Additionally, it offered an extra $10 off $50 on select purchases. Aside from that sale, Kohl’s also took 40% to 50% off plus an extra 25% off select men’s clothing, which was perfect if you wanted a fall wardrobe refresh.

The discounts aren’t all for clothing and decorations, though. We also saw Steam offer up to 90% off during its Halloween sale, eBay offer a “buy two, get an extra 20% off” Blu-ray sale, and Macy’s offer up to 50% off select cologne and beauty clearance items.

This is a small selection of the sales we saw last year, and we expect a significant number of events to happen in October 2022, as well.

New Cars

This may not be as true these days due to recent vehicle-inventory shortages, but historically, October has been an excellent time to purchase a new car. It’s near the end of the year, when dealerships are often trying to clear out older inventory to make room for newer models, especially in time for the winter holidays. How many car commercials have you seen featuring shiny new vehicles with a big red bow on the hood and a snowy landscape in the background?

To ensure you’re able to get the best deal that you can, though, be careful about when you shop.

For instance, Autotrader notes that you may have better luck getting a deal if you buy a new car at the end of the month; that’s usually when salespeople are trying to reach quotas.

And you may have even better luck if you shop at the beginning of the week. In other words, go car shopping on a Monday. Chances are, salespeople will have more time to sit and negotiate, since the dealership could be less busy.

It’s also worth checking out the cars most likely to have deals before you start shopping, too. Those that are slow to sell will probably allow for more negotiating power — just make sure you aren’t sacrificing quality to save some cash.

Grills

While grills might be big during the warmer summer months, they’re also popular products during the fall, especially for those who enjoy tailgating. We tend to see deals surface around Labor Day, but there should be some in October, as well. Even better, there’s a good chance some will earn our Staff Pick designation.

Last year, about 20% of the grill deals we saw in October were Staff Picks, and included big brands like Pit Boss and Char-Broil. Watch for portable charcoal grills to drop to as little as $30, smokers to be $110, and gas grills to go for around $130.

We’ll likely also see deals on accessories. For instance, last year we saw wood grill brushes for $9, tongs with a removable LED light for $15, and water-resistant grill covers for $18.

Halloween Gear

Obviously, October is going to be one of the best times to buy Halloween items. Whether you have spooky vibes year-round or go all-in for this one month, you’re bound to come across deals on costumes, candy, and everything in between.

Watch for decorations to be as little as $4, while 13-piece sets of pumpkin carving tools could drop to $14. Keep an eye out for sales, too. Last year, Amazon knocked up to 30% off select Halloween items from Disney and Wayfair offered inflatable decorations priced from $27, for example.

Of course, sweet treats are a huge part of Halloween. Watch for a 34-pack of Halloween-themed Oreos to be $7, a Charms Mini Pops 400-pack to go for around $8, and a Nerds and Laffy Taffy 40-ounce variety pack to cost around $9. Needless to say, you should have plenty of options for goodies to hand out!

Plants

If you enjoy gardening, get ready to stock up on perennial plants. In October, many nurseries and even home improvement stores try to clear out inventory of these items, which means you have a good excuse to overhaul your home landscape.

Perennials don’t require replanting each year, making them fairly low maintenance as far as plants go.

If you want flowers for spring, consider looking for bulbs now; you can plant them before temperatures really drop and they’ll bloom when winter is over.

Jeans

Denim is a quintessential fall item, so if you’re in need of new jeans as the temperatures start to drop, October is a good month to keep an eye out for deals.

Last year, we saw women’s jeans for as little as $8 and men’s jeans for only $12. We also saw October sales at Levi’s, which took up to 60% off and had prices starting at $17, and Buckle, which offered jeans from $19.

Camping Gear

Some people are happy to camp year-round, but gear for this outdoor activity is usually most popular during the warmer months. Because of that, October tends to be a good time to find noteworthy savings on all kinds of gear for the great outdoors.

For instance, chilly fall mornings spent around the campfire call for coffee in aluminum camping mugs, which could be as little as $2 each in October. Light sources like pop-up lanterns could cost only $7, and inflatable pillows could be $9. Watch for personal coolers and trash cans to be priced from $10, while HotHands hand warmers could come in a variety pack for only $11.

And if your destination experiences high October temps, look into getting a portable air conditioner, too.

As for camping-themed sales? They could include Marmot taking up to 50% off a variety of tents, REI Outlet taking up to 50% off new markdowns, and Columbia offering up to 60% off.

In-Season Produce

With the price of groceries still high, many shoppers are feeling the pinch on their weekly trips. One way to mitigate those costs is by taking advantage of purchasing fresh, in-season produce when you can. We recommend checking out this seasonal food guide for the kinds of fruits and veggies that are native to your area and are excellent buys this month.

6 Things NOT to Buy in October

TVs

When to buy: November

Why: Black Friday still tends to have the most TV deals and often the best prices we see all year. November should bring a larger selection of discounted models, plus more stores offering savings.

Gift Cards

When to buy: December

Why: Thanks to the holiday season, December is an excellent time to shop for gift cards. Retailers and restaurants alike offer bonus cards with the purchase of select gift card amounts, so you can ensure your dollar goes further.

iPhone 14 devices

When to buy: November

Why: Apple announced the iPhone 14 in September, but by Black Friday we should see retailers like Target offering deals on the latest Apple devices.

Laptops

When to buy: November

Why: There are two times per year that are best for laptop purchases, and Black Friday is one of them because of the sheer volume of deals and quality of discounts.

Electronics

When to buy: November

Why: In general, Black Friday is huge for electronic discounts, so if you’re looking at these kinds of products, you’ll likely find a great deal during November.

Winter clothing

When to buy: November, or during postseason sales

Why: You’ll find some fall/winter items on sale around Black Friday, but if you want to bulk up your winter wardrobe, you’re probably better waiting for sales in January and February.

More from DealNews:

If you’re trying to make ends meet on a teacher’s income, I know firsthand the struggle is real. Not only are we among the lowest paid professionals, but our jobs demand advanced education we likely had to take out student loans to pay for — meaning an extra monthly expense. 

Thus, many of us have to take on second jobs on top of our already demanding workloads. Although I can’t lighten the load for you, the good news is that there are plenty of flexible side gigs that work with a teacher’s schedule.

And who knows? A side job could even mean you have extra money in your pocket for once.

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Side Business Ideas for Teachers

The best side hustles for teachers are those with flexible schedules that can fit around your school day and also allow some wiggle room for all that time you spend outside the classroom grading papers and prepping classes. Additionally, they take advantage of your natural teaching skills and expertise in education. 

1. Selling Educational Materials

• Pros: Can work as much or as little as you want; no startup costs; get paid for work you do anyway; potential for passive income
• Cons: Requires some tech savvy; takes a lot of time and effort before you see real income
• Verdict: You’ll have to put in some work upfront, but once your online shop has accumulated a lot of materials, this can be an excellent way to earn passive income. If you work for a company, it can start as a part-time job and turn into a full-time one. 

Want to add an extra income stream without a lot of extra work? Because you have to create curriculum, lesson plans, quizzes, reading guides, and classroom worksheets anyway, why not earn extra money selling them to other teachers through a platform like Teachers Pay Teachers? 

It may take a while to build up your sales and customer base. But quality, original materials sell year-round and can continue to generate passive income for years. 

Alternatively, you can opt for a job with an educational material company like eNotes. Many educational websites, textbook publishers, and software developers collaborate with teachers part-time or full-time to design lesson plans, worksheets, and test questions.

2. Selling Online Courses

• Pros: Passive income potential; high potential income; get paid for your expertise 
• Cons: Must be tech savvy; requires marketing skills; income depends on your customer base
• Verdict: Selling an online course can be a lucrative source of passive income as long as you know how to market it and drive customers. 

Teachers are experts in their fields. But even more, they excel at making tough material more easily digestible. And many people, including adults, can benefit from topics you cover, whether it’s economics or how to read a poem. 

Although you need to put in some work upfront to create your course, it can become a source of passive income once it’s up and running. You may need to update it now and then, but you can resell the same course over and over.

Post your course on an online platform like Udemy, Teachable, Skillshare, or Thinkific. For a small fee, they’ll take care of hosting your materials and processing payments. You’ll only need to focus on creating your content and finding students. 

3. Tutoring

• Pros: Can set your hours and rates; can choose who you work with; high income potential; no startup costs
• Cons: Time-consuming; pay is by the hour, so your income potential is limited 
• Verdict: Although tutoring isn’t passive income, it’s a natural side gig for most teachers.

Tutoring is a natural choice for many teachers and one of the most accessible and popular teacher business opportunities. That’s because you’re doing something you already do all day anyway.

For example, my mom, who taught special education courses for high school students, earned extra income using her expertise to help students of all ages with literacy. And I used a calculus tutor in high school who my mom knew through work because he was also a math teacher. 

Many parents search for tutors for their kids, especially if they struggle in a subject. And the fact that you’re a teacher who’s already an expert on that topic and making it digestible for kids puts you instantly ahead of the pack. 

Depending on your subject area, you could earn $1,000 or more per month working in your free time. And you can do it from the comfort of your own home — either in-person or via video conferencing.

Setting out your shingle lets you get all the perks that come with being your own boss, including the ability to set your own rates and make your own schedule. 

You can start your own tutoring business quickly by spreading the word in your community. You can advertise in parent-centric community papers or job boards. Or set up shop on a platform like Wyzant, which matches students with tutors and lets you set your own rates, typically $30 to $60 per hour.

Alternatively, you can contact online or brick-and-mortar tutoring agencies. There are many online tutoring platforms, such as BookNook — a math and reading tutoring company for kids in grades K through 8 — or Chegg, which offers tutoring in all high school subjects. However, if you go this route, you won’t be able to set your own rates and will often earn less, usually between $20 to $30 per hour.

4. Test Prep

• Pros: Can make your own hours; higher income potential than other types of tutoring  
• Cons: Typically can’t go into business for yourself; can’t set your own rates 
• Verdict: Although test prep isn’t generally a be-your-own-boss situation, it can pay higher than other forms of tutoring and is a natural fit for high school and college teachers.

There is a ton of demand to prepare students for college admissions tests like the SATs and ACTs as well as advanced placement (AP) tests, which allow students who’ve taken AP courses to gain college credit for their high school classes.

Because these tests can make or break a student’s admission to their choice of college, parents pay a premium for tutors who can help their children get high scores. And that means you can make a premium prepping students in your spare time.

This type of tutoring is ideal for high school or college teachers familiar with the tests and their requirements or the subject of the AP course. But it can pay higher than other forms of tutoring.

Although starting your own business is possible, you’re likely to find more customers by signing up with a test prep agency like the Princeton Review or Kaplan. That’s because parents and students looking for this kind of help are most likely to go directly to the branded agencies with proven track records.

Fortunately, test prep agencies pay higher than general tutoring agencies.

5. Teaching English Online

• Pros: Open to all English language speakers with bachelor’s degrees; can set your own hours; tutoring is virtual 
• Cons: Can’t set your own rates; no passive income potential  
• Verdict: Tutoring English online is a way to use your teaching skills to meet a wide variety of students from other countries, but there are more lucrative ways to use your expertise.

Teaching English online is a close cousin to tutoring in your subject area. But with this kind of tutoring, you work with international students. There’s also no prerequisite that your teaching certification be in English language arts (ELA) or foreign language. 

As long as you speak English, you can tutor foreign language speakers. Additionally, most tutoring platforms require you to have a bachelor’s degree. But that’s something you, of course, already must have as a classroom teacher.   

Also, unlike typical tutoring, you must sign up with an online platform that matches you with English language learners. On the upside, they often give you all the training you need. But it does mean you can’t set your rates, and the rates are typically on the lower end — around $20 per hour. 

6. Giving Lessons

• Pros: Can set your own hours and rates; can work with children or adults; high income potential; no startup costs
• Cons: Potentially requires lots of time; not typically a passive income stream
• Verdict: Giving lessons in subjects like art or music can be a lucrative way to generate extra income beyond the classroom, especially if you use an online platform to give live or prerecorded classes.

If you teach a subject like art or music, giving lessons is an ideal way to use your expertise to bring in extra revenue, just like a math or English teacher who tutors in their subject area. 

For example, I played the flute when I was a kid, and my mom enrolled me in lessons taught by a middle school music teacher.

But you don’t have to be stuck in the one-on-one tutoring model. You can turn just about any subject area into fodder for online classes that are perfect for parents who are homeschooling and looking for curriculum additions or kids who are home for the summer who need things to do. 

For example, Outschool lets you offer classes on everything from dinosaurs to how to play Dungeons & Dragons.

Additionally, you don’t need to feel limited to giving lessons only to school-aged students. Tons of adults appreciate painting classes, pottery workshops, or acting lessons. And these can be led as classes, meaning you can collect an income from multiple students at once.

Alternatively, you can record your lessons as a single class or a course and resell them over and over on a platform like Udemy, resulting in a continuous stream of passive income.

7. Adjunct Professor

• Pros: Can make additional money doing what you already do
• Cons: Time-consuming; fixed schedule; low income potential; high potential for burnout 
• Verdict: Teaching part-time at the college level lets you earn money by doing what you already do all day. But that means it has a high possibility of burnout, and most colleges don’t pay well enough to compensate for the overwork.

As a teacher, it’s perfectly possible to earn extra money doing, well, more teaching. Most colleges and universities hire part-time teachers, referred to as adjunct faculty. In fact, most college-level courses aren’t taught by tenured professors but by part-time or contingent faculty.

Whereas full-time faculty generally need a Ph.D, it’s possible to be an adjunct instructor with only a master’s degree, especially if you teach at a community college.

And at the college level, it’s possible to teach at night, on the weekends, or during the summer, particularly at community colleges and schools that cater to older adult students, such as online colleges. I got my start teaching at the college level with night courses. And I’ve met many adjuncts over the years who were also K-12 teachers by day. 

However, teaching additional courses on top of a teacher’s already demanding workload is a recipe for burnout. And unfortunately, most colleges don’t pay their adjuncts well. The average going rate for a college course is about $3,500 as of 2022. 

If you consider you’ll spend at least 10 hours per week on teaching, class prep, and grading for a single course, that’s about $20 per hour in income.

Additionally, your classes will take place at a fixed time and location, although some colleges allow you to teach remotely. But you can’t work whenever you want.

8. After-School Instructor

• Pros: Can work where you already teach; can focus on fun activities
• Cons: Fixed time and location; low pay 
• Verdict: Teaching in an after-school program can be ideal since you’re already there anyway. But the income potential is meager.

Elementary teachers who enjoy playing and having fun with kids in addition to teaching them can find an additional income stream through working in an after-school program. 

As a bonus, you’re already there since most after-school programs occur on school grounds. Thus, you can transition seamlessly from your day job to your evening job.

And although you may be ready for a break by the time the end-of-day school bell rings, thankfully after school programs aren’t generally curriculum-focused. 

I’ve worked in a couple of programs, and although some can be pretty structured, the structure usually revolves around arts and crafts, physical activity, free play, snack time, and homework help. 

The biggest downside is that typical after-school programs don’t pay well. The average income is barely above minimum wage. 

However, you can earn more by starting your own extracurricular program. For example, May Najafabadi made $12,000 in eight weeks teaching crafting and jewelry making after school. And it only required one hour per day of work.

9. Coaching

• Pros: Can work where you already teach; lets you pursue a hobby; no startup costs
• Cons: Fixed time and location; low income potential 
• Verdict: Working as a sports coach is an ideal way for a teacher to earn extra income at the same school where they teach all day, but the income potential varies widely by school district.

Coaching sports is an ideal job for a high school teacher who wants to earn extra money at the same school where they work. Because you’re already there, it allows you to easily transition from your school day into your side gig.

Plus, if you love sports, coaching lets you actively participate in a favorite hobby. And you get to work more closely with many students you may already see in the classroom. 

Coaching can also be an ideal summer job if you opt to coach for a local recreational facility or your town’s parks and rec center.

On the downside, you’ll have to give up many of your nights and weekends to practices and games, which come with fixed schedules you can’t negotiate. 

And the pay usually isn’t wonderful. After all, you’ll earn your income from the same school district that writes your teaching salary checks. 

However, the pay can vary widely by school. Some schools pay coaches a modest stipend of a few thousand dollars annually. At the same time, others pay a full salary of tens of thousands. It all depends on how much money the district or private school has and how strongly they want to see particular sports excel.

10. Blogger

• Pros: Can be your own boss and work on your own time; can use your teaching experience or pursue a hobby or passion 
• Cons: Must stand out in an overcrowded space; requires a lot of time and effort to make money; requires a lot of tech savvy 
• Verdict: Blogging is a nice side gig if you can make it work because it lets you pursue whatever you want on your own time.

Blogging lets teachers do what they do naturally — share extensive knowledge about whatever they’re interested in. You can create education-related content that helps parents or other educators, or you can pursue any topic you want.

For example, Lindsay Ostrom, creator of Pinch of Yum, started her food blog in her spare time when she taught fourth grade. More than a decade later, her blog is now a household name with over $1 million in annual revenue.

You can make money with your blog through pay-for-click advertising, sponsored posts, affiliate marketing (selling others’ products), or by selling your own products — like online courses, printables, or merchandise — on your website. 

Alternatively, if speaking is more your thing than writing, you can blog through video (often called vlogging). Then post your content to YouTube, which pays you for advertising on your channel after you’ve reached a minimum of 1,000 subscribers. 

Be aware that making money through blogging is a long haul. Expect it to take at least six months to a year of building up followers before you make any money. And know that most blogs aren’t million-dollar cash machines but rarely make more than a few hundred to thousand dollars per month. 

Plus, you’ll need to put up at least a small amount of startup money, including paying for web hosting, and you’ll need a great deal of web-building know-how. Fortunately, most web-builders have become fairly plug-and-play, and there are tons of free tutorials and online courses that can help you figure it all out.

11. Freelance Writing

• Pros: Remote work you can do whenever you have spare time; high income potential; little to no startup cost 
• Cons: Must meet deadlines; must tailor writing to clients’ needs; can be time-consuming
• Verdict: Freelance writing lets you showcase your talents and write about your passions, and it comes with high income potential compared to other side gigs for teachers. 

Whether you’re an English teacher or a biology professor, teachers develop extensive writing skills throughout their careers. From writing reports and publishing in journals to grading students’ work, writing, editing, and analyzing are skills teachers use extensively. You can use those skills to earn extra income as a freelance writer. 

Because you’re already an education expert, writing articles for industry magazines and online publications that provide insight into teaching methods and the world of education is an excellent place to start.

Alternatively, you can freelance for magazines or websites on any topic you’re passionate about. For example, I write freelance articles about education. But I also frequently write about personal finance, parenting, and health and wellness. 

You can get started by following the submission guidelines at publications in your writing niche or visiting freelance job boards like Upwork, Fiverr, Freedom With Writing, or FlexJobs. 

You can also offer your services as a copywriter, or writing for advertising, in addition to writing articles. Copywriters often help small businesses showcase their products and services on their websites. And your expertise as a teacher could help you sell your copywriting services to companies specializing in education content. 

12. Author 

• Pros: An ideal way to establish your expertise; potential for passive income
• Cons: Time-consuming; income depends on your marketing skills and subsequent sales
• Verdict: Becoming an author can lead to substantial passive income if you know how to market your book and generate sales.

Remember that old professional adage “publish or perish”? Writing is often expected of teachers anyway. Thus, writing books is an ideal side gig for teachers. It helps you meet professional obligations, especially for college teachers. It also helps establish your expertise in your field, thereby giving you a competitive edge.

In fact, publishing a book can lead to additional side jobs, including speaking gigs. For example, if you write a book about an aspect of higher education, colleges and universities may pay you to present at their schools. And if fiction is more your forte, elementary schools might pay you to showcase your books to their students. 

By making school visits or speaking at conferences or webinars, you essentially get paid to promote your work, which is a consistent income stream for many book writers. 

To start as an author, you can go the traditional route and seek publication with a publishing house. Or you can self-publish. The world of e-books has not only reduced the stigma of self-publishing, but platforms like Kindle Direct Publishing, Lulu, and Smashwords also have made it relatively easy.

13. Proofreader

• Pros: Can typically work from home; uses skills you likely already have 
• Cons: Requires specialized knowledge of grammar, usage, and mechanics and specific style conventions; low to modest income potential
• Verdict: Proofreading is probably most ideal for English teachers, and the average pay isn’t the greatest. But you can probably fit it easily into your schedule, especially because it’ll feel like more of what you do anyway — grading papers.  

As an English teacher, I spend a ton of time correcting grammar, sentence structure, and punctuation errors. But any teacher who teaches a subject involving paper writing — from English to history to science teachers — has extensive experience with proofreading. 

Proofreading differs from editing in that you’re not reviewing what a writer is trying to communicate but rather the mechanics of their writing, including spelling, punctuation, typographical errors, and word usage. 

Thus, knowledge of the subject matter or even the extensive knowledge of writing that an English teacher would have isn’t strictly necessary. But you need an understanding of the basic rules, such as where to put commas, how to use a semicolon, and how to rewrite passive voice into active voice. 

You may also need specialized knowledge of certain style conventions, such as which words you should capitalize according to Associated Press (AP) style.

Additionally, your income can vary depending on whether you freelance or work for a company. Freelance income depends on your ability to market yourself and build a client base, whereas your company salary depends on who you work for.

14. Public Speaking

• Pros: High income potential; can earn money for skills and expertise you already have; no startup costs
• Cons: Requires you to market yourself; must have a network of contacts; requires some professional renown for well-paying gigs
• Verdict: Paid speaking can be a tough side business to break into, but once you become well-known, it can have high income potential. 

Public speaking is another skill all teachers develop. Learning to communicate effectively with a crowd is a necessary part of the teaching profession. And many organizations will pay you to talk about your expertise, including schools, corporations, and conference organizers.

Usually, paid speakers start small with local events. As you build up your experience and network of contacts, you’ll be able to get work speaking at larger events, and organizers may even reach out to you.

Alternatively, you can use your writing skills to write speeches for others. Many people must make speeches but aren’t necessarily good with words. As a teacher, you know how to choose words for their effect on an audience. 

And unlike actual public speaking, speech writing lets you work from home and typically only requires you to have a computer and access to the internet.

15. Podcaster

• Pros: Can share knowledge on any subject; can work on your own time 
• Cons: Some startup costs; need to learn how to edit and record a podcast as well as how to host, distribute, and market it 
• Verdict: Podcasting can be a fun way to share your knowledge with an audience of interested listeners. However, it can also involve a learning curve and requires a substantial amount of listeners to make money. 

Podcasting is another side gig for teachers that lets you showcase what you do best — sharing your knowledge on any topic of your choosing. 

As with any other side gig that involves content creation, you can have a podcast about teaching, education, or your subject area. Or you can focus your podcast on a favorite hobby or passion, like science fiction movies, professional sports, or gardening. 

Podcasts make money in similar ways to a blog: by selling advertising space, getting companies to sponsor their show, using affiliate marketing, or by showcasing the podcaster’s own products.

However, you need a significant number of listeners before companies will pay you for advertising, usually at least 10,000 downloads per episode.

You also need to invest in some equipment. At the very least, you need a computer, a microphone specialized for recording vocals, and editing software.

You also need to sign up with a podcast hosting site, such as Captivate or RSS.com, which stores your podcast recordings and generates your podcast feed, just like a server stores a website. Then you post your podcast with a podcast distributor like Apple or Spotify. 

Thus, this side gig involves some startup costs and a learning curve. You need to learn how to record, edit, and post your podcast. And to make money, you’ll need a lot of marketing savvy to generate substantial listeners.

16. Social Media Influencer

• Pros: Easy to do in your spare time; passive income potential
• Cons: Income depends on your follower count; can involve a steep learning curve if you’re not already proficient in social media and marketing yourself; can take a while before you see an income
• Verdict: Becoming a social media influencer isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme, but it can lead to significant passive revenue if you’re willing to put in the time.

The role of social media influencer isn’t just for celebrities and tech-savvy teens. There’s a growing trend of teachers turning this side gig into genuine cash, so much so that the term “teacher influencer” is beginning to catch on.

That’s because teachers are already natural influencers, thanks to the need to constantly inspire and engage students in learning. And you can get paid to use those same skills to promote brand awareness by talking about useful products and services on social media.

Teacher influencers are like other social media influencers who focus on a niche like fashion or travel. But teachers generally focus on education products and services. And just like in other niches, education-related companies, such as software developers or textbook publishers, are constantly looking for influencers to advertise their products.

You can even use your influence to promote your own products, such as online courses, e-books, or your Teachers Pay Teachers storefront. 

If you don’t already have a website and social media presence, it can take some work to set them up and gather enough followers to interest companies in paying you to promote their stuff. But once you have an online presence, this side gig can be a recurring source of passive income.

17. Real Estate

• Pros: High income potential; flexible schedule
• Cons: Must take a class and pass a licensing exam; income potential requires self-marketing and establishing networking contacts
• Verdict: This side gig requires a lot of prep work, but the income potential is high once you get started.

Believe it or not, it’s possible to be a part-time real estate agent taking on just a few clients at a time. You can work on the weekends during the school year when buyers and sellers are more likely to be available anyway due to their own job schedules. 

And if you’re a teacher with the summers off, real estate is an ideal summer job because summer is the peak home-buying season. 

To get started, you need to take a class. But as a teacher, you should be natural at that. Real estate lessons involve an understanding of property law and contracts and the ability to assess property values. Once you’ve completed the course, you take a test to get licensed as a realtor. 

The next step is to sign up with a recognized brokerage and get started helping clients buy and sell their houses. 

Realtors don’t get paid a salary but instead work on commission. They earn a percentage of the house’s sale price, usually 5% to 6%, which the seller’s and buyer’s agents split.

For example, if you help a client sell a house for $400,000, you’ll make a $12,000 commission. However, you’ll likely have to split that commission 50/50 with your brokerage firm, netting you a final take-home of $6,000. 

18. Small-Business Owner

• Pros: High growth potential; flexible schedule; be your own boss
• Cons: Time-consuming; business growth depends on marketing skills; could involve high startup costs 
• Verdict: If you’re looking for a way to eventually exit the teaching profession altogether, starting your own business could be your ticket out. 

As a teacher, you already have the general skill set you need to start your own business, from great organization and time management skills to creativity and tenacity. All that’s left is to ask yourself if you have an entrepreneurial spirit.

If so, many part-time small-business ideas can suit a teacher’s schedule. And if you’re burned out on teaching, a small business can easily grow into a full-time gig.

For example, I know a former teacher with a passion for photography. She started doing wedding photography and family portraits on the weekends. After her business grew, she decided to leave teaching altogether and become a full-time photographer so she could spend more time with her sons.

Another small-business idea with a flexible schedule includes using your expertise to sell education-related crafts or printables through an Etsy shop or Shopify storefront. For example, you can make or resell educational toys or classroom posters, design fun print-on-demand products like T-shirts with cute teacher-centric sayings, or make candles or bath bombs geared toward helping teachers destress.  

Alternatively, you can start a brick-and-mortar business like tutoring or test prep or even explore a passion unrelated to teaching, like candy making or furniture flipping. 

Online businesses come with the pro of low startup costs. But even an in-person business can start small. For example, you can tutor at home or meet in a library. 

Or you can run a holiday break, summer camp, or extracurricular activities for homeschooling by meeting at a park when the weather’s nice or renting facilities in a community center. For example, I once ran a drama program for elementary-aged kids by renting space in a local church.   

Sometimes all it requires is a little out-of-the-box thinking.

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Final Word

There are a slew of side gigs perfect for teachers looking to supplement their incomes. And this list isn’t exhaustive. Teachers can use their unique skill sets in numerous ways that involve extracurricular teaching, sharing their knowledge of hobbies or passions, or using their writing or speaking skills.

But if you’re looking for something completely unrelated to teaching to make money in your off-time, the sky’s the limit when it comes to side business ideas. 

For example, you could sell crafts on Etsy, walk dogs, or loan others your interior design expertise. Or you could opt for something more hands-off, like renting your spare room as an Airbnb host or renting the spare space in that free corner of your garage for neighbors to store their stuff.

After all, there are already enough demands on your time with your teaching workload. And who doesn’t love a relatively easy way to make more money?

Large companies could save as much as $100 million a year by holding fewer unnecessary meetings and cutting down on their invite lists, according to a recent study. 

A common refrain among workers who were polled as part of the report — produced for meeting note software maker Otter.ai by Steven G. Rogelberg, a UNC Charlotte professor and expert on meeting strategy — was that they are pulled into too many time-wasting gatherings. That often leads to boredom and frustration, with employees saying the squandered time interfered with their completing more productive work, the survey found.

Overall, companies spend a total of $37 billion per year on meetings, according to Harvard Business Review, underlining the enormous investment in such communications. For example, a previous study by Rogelberg published in Small Group Research, a scholarly journal, cited research that found copy-machine maker Xerox spent more than $100 million a year on meetings in their manufacturing and development unit.

But much of that money appears to be ill-spent, his research suggests. Rogelberg’s survey of 632 workers across 20 industries asked how many meetings they attend in a week and whether respondents felt their presence had been critical. The answer? Respondents said they didn’t need to be in 30% of the gatherings they attended.

“The most valid account of whether something was necessary is the individual report. They are the best arbiter of whether they felt like their time was actually used well and honored or if it was wasted,” Rogelberg told CBS MoneyWatch

Based on how much time workers said they spend in nonessential meetings as well as their salaries, the survey estimated that organizations employing 5,000 people waste around $100 million annually on unnecessary gatherings. For a company with 100 employees, the financial savings from eliminating unnecessary meetings would amount to $2.5 million per year, the report said. 

To determine the potential cost savings to companies, Rogelberg first calculated organizations’ total expenditures on meetings, including those that employees said were worth attending. Over the course of a year, he found that the average large organization spends the equivalent of roughly $80,000 on meetings per employee, taking into account individuals’ salaries and the amount of time they spend in meetings.

Of the 18 hours a week employees spend in meetings, they reported that nearly six hours were unproductive. That amounts to more than $25,000 in annual “wasted” investment in terms of direct monetary costs like salary and benefits and indirect costs such as focusing on tasks that boost the bottom line, according to Rogelberg. 

The research then extrapolated the data out to companies of different sizes. For example, an organization of 5,000 employees spends a total of roughly $320 million a year on meetings. If roughly a third of those annual hours are unproductive, the company is effectively wasting $101 million per year on meeting time that could be better spent on other activities, the study concludes.

Eliminating unnecessary meetings also cuts down on employee frustration, which our research shows affects productivity,” Rogelberg said. “So it gets rid of that, and they’d be able to engage in other work activities and have greater opportunity to engage in more deep work and get into a flow.”

Other research also drives home that ineffective meetings hurt the performance of businesses. According to the Harvard Business Review, a study of 20 automative supply, electrical, packaging and other companies found behaviors such as wandering off topic and complaining in meetings were linked with lower levels of market share and reduced innovation. According to research in the MIT Sloan Management Review, some 70% of corporate managers reported that meetings were costly and unproductive.

Switching off the video

Employees across different roles and management levels spend an average of 18 hours a week attending 17.7 meetings, Rogelberg found in his latest survey. By contrast, employees said it was important they attended only 11.8 of those meetings, or roughly a dozen hours a week.

Nearly half of workers said they had too many unnecessary meetings on their calendars. Even more, at 53%, said they still felt compelled to attend those meetings.

Workers who attend what they view a unnecessary meetings report multitasking in 70% of the gatherings — it was also common for people to hide or mute their video and audio, Rogelberg found. 

“When you’re having a meeting and some people are multitasking, it has a negative effect. Furthermore, multitasking is contagious. People start to feel guilty if they’re not multitasking,” he said. 

Gender differences

Female employees were more loath to decline meeting invitations than male workers, expressing concern over how they’d be perceived by coworkers and that they might be seen as disengaged from their duties. Furthermore, they did not want to burden coworkers with having to bring them up to speed on what they might have missed. 

“Proclivity to not turn down a meeting invite is amplified for women. They were concerned about burdening others, had greater sensitivity to impressions and using others’ time,” Rogelberg said. 

Too few leaders are trained in how to hold an effective meeting, according to Rogelberg. Many organizations also lack ways for workers to provide feedback. 

“We need to level-up skills, and build feedback and accountability systems,” Rothelberg said. 

For example, meeting agendas should be framed as a set questions to be answered, versus a list of topics for discussion, he said. “Now you’re really thinking about why you’re actually having this meeting. By framing it as a question to be answered, you know who to invite. If you can’t think about any questions, it likely means you don’t need a meeting.” 

Norms around workplace gatherings also need to shift. Meeting holders should consider whether a meeting requires interaction and whether a given worker’s participation is important to the topic and relevant to their role, Rothelberg said.

“Those are all the litmus tests to have a meeting,” he said. “If you’re not requiring interaction, it’s just not needed and the problem at hand is not something of great relevance, and we can rely on more passive asynchronous communication strategies.”

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, crimes related to vehicles — from car thefts to stolen catalytic converters and carjackings — have surged. And a new analysis by the National Insurance Crime Bureau indicates things aren’t getting much better.

Thieves stole close to 500,000 vehicles through June 30 of this year, which is equivalent to $4.5 billion in losses. That is a full 25% increase over the same period in 2019, the last year before the pandemic.

The NICB projects that by the end of this year, about 100,000 more vehicles will have been stolen in 2022 than were taken in 2019.

In a summary of the analysis, David Glawe, president and CEO of the NICB, says:

“Since the start of the pandemic, used car prices have increased 35 to 40 percent. Criminals are exploiting these high prices as vehicle and catalytic converter thefts are crimes of opportunity. And crime is a business, and business is good.”

Vehicle thefts have surged in three cities in particular from the first half of 2019 to the first half of 2022. They are:

• Denver: 155% increase
• Philadelphia: 106%
• Austin, Texas: 64%

Over that same period, catalytic converter thefts have surged 1,215% higher nationwide, and carjackings have jumped between 160% to more than 500% in some major cities.

Glawe says there is one good solution to the problem:

“To stop this lawlessness, we must focus our attention on these criminals and take back our streets. We must re-invest in our law enforcement.”

In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this year, Glawe recommended the following policy changes:

• Increasing community policing programs
• Revisiting well-intentioned criminal justice reform policies
• Enforcing the laws as written
• Focusing attention on violent offenders
• Collecting national and state data on carjackings
• Identifying and implementing successful early intervention programs

The NICB notes that President Joe Biden recently used an executive order to adopt many of these recommendations.

How to protect your vehicle from thieves

To keep your vehicle safe, the NICB recommends you use common sense with your car. This includes such simple measures as locking doors and windows and parking in well-lit areas.

In addition, consider installing:

• Audible warning devices and other deterrents. Visible deterrents — such as column collars, steering wheel locks and brake locks — can scare off crooks.
• Immobilizing devices. For extra protection, install these devices, which prevent crooks from bypassing the ignition and hot-wiring the vehicle. Such devices include smart keys, fuse cut-offs, kill switches and wireless ignition authentication.
• Tracking devices. Systems that combine GPS and wireless technologies allow remote monitoring of your car. If the vehicle moves, you will be notified.

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Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on Living on the Cheap.

A few years ago, Marianne Kilkenny’s elderly parents moved into an assisted living community. That got her thinking about her own plans, because she didn’t want to end up in a similar community or a facility run by a company.

Kilkenny, 65, the founder of Women For Living in Community, is among a growing number of baby boomers who are taking matters into their own hands by creating their own retirement communities.

“I’m part of a movement,” says Kilkenny, who lives in Asheville, North Carolina, and is the author of "Your Quest for Home: A Guidebook to Find the Ideal Community for Your Later Years.” She says the focus of the movement is “aging in community as opposed to aging in place.”

These resident-created retirement solutions, or intentional communities, are taking different forms, from shared homes to cohousing communities to “pocket neighborhoods” of people who choose to live in the same area and watch out for each other, which includes cooking and doing errands together and taking care of people when they are sick.

Charles Durrett, an author and architect who designs cohousing communities, and his wife, Kathryn McCamant, who is also an architect, live in a multigenerational cohousing community of 34 households they developed in Nevada City, California, a town of 3,000 people 60 miles northeast of Sacramento.

“Cohousing, by design, is a social agreement where people know about you, care about you and support you,” says Durrett, 59.

He recently experienced the benefits of a caring community when he had major surgery and needed help. Without that support, he would have had to spend time in a rehab home, a setting where he “would have gone crazy,” he says. “If you don’t have a community at some level, you’re going to be institutionalized.”

Housemates and pocket neighborhoods

Bonnie Moore created another version of shared housing when a home renovation and a divorce in 2008 left her with a five-bedroom house and not enough money to pay for it. She started taking in roommates — all single, middle-aged women.

Moore says her situation is clearly a landlord-tenant arrangement and not an intentional community. The women in her home don’t spend a lot of time together, though they try to organize at least one shared meal a month. But it is different from living alone.

“The best thing is, I come in at night and somebody says, ‘Hi, how was your day?’” Moore says.

Kilkenny is still experimenting. She and two neighbors have developed a pocket neighborhood. When she goes to bed at night, Kilkenny turns on an outside light, and when she gets up, she puts a sticker in her window. Her neighbor does the same, letting each other know that they’re OK.

She says the journey toward community begins with knowing yourself and then reaching out. “You can, in the neighborhood you live in now, say, ‘Can we make this into a community?’” she says. “It’s taking the step forward to say, ‘I intentionally want to get to know you, and I want you to get to know me.’”

Building a cohousing community

Building a cohousing community is a more deliberate process, and that is part of its strength, says Durrett, who has built more than 50 such communities throughout the U.S. Before building the Nevada City community, which was completed in 2006, he and his wife offered a presentation to find interested people.

They chose the site for the community, paid $5,000 for the land, and started working on the community in 2002.

Organizers typically form a limited liability company, and participants end up putting up about 20% of their home’s cost in cash to cover land, hire architects, and organize the project.

Design is a group project, which helps unify the community as it forms. Once the design is finished, each person gets a construction loan to build his or her own home, transitioning to a permanent loan once it’s completed.

“The individuals pick the community. The community doesn’t pick them,” Durrett says. “There is no such thing as like-minded people. Wait until you get into a discussion about cutting a tree down.”

Cohousing communities usually have a common house, a place where people can meet formally or informally, and a senior community might build a caretaker apartment as well. Residents contribute to the community, and those who are interested share meals several times a week.

The recent intentional retirement community trend might sound as if baby boomers are moving back to the communes they knew in the 1960s. But Moore, who lived in a commune in San Francisco in 1972, says the new communities are different.

“What I learned is nothing happens unless you have a leader,” she says. “In the commune lifestyle, the whole idea was to have an equal playing field … and you never got any decisions made, and things did not get done.”

Baby boomers are experimenting with numerous models for retirement living, including what are known as “naturally occurring retirement communities,” neighborhoods that were not designed as retirement communities but that have a large population of older people.

Communities that require residents to be at least 55 are common in areas such as Florida and Arizona.

The Village to Village Network seeks to help older Americans find community and resources to stay in their own homes. But in those types of communities, residents still have to build their own support systems or hope they create one organically with friends.

Here are seven things to consider if you want to create an intentional retirement community.

Architecture matters

Cohousing places a strong emphasis on community design, with garages to the backs of homes, common areas, and elements such as front porches that require neighbors to see each other. “If I have to walk out and get my mail, I’ll see my neighbors,” Kilkenny says.

Someone has to take control

Durrett has a consulting business that helps groups get from cohousing ideas to reality. It’s unlikely a community will get built completely through consensus.

The place may precede the people

Many people start out believing they’ll find a group of like-minded people and then choose a place. But the group often falls apart over disagreements on where to live. “You don’t know who you’re going to like,” Durrett says. “There’s plenty of my best friends I would not want to live in my cohousing community.”

Build the community while you’re still young

Starting now enables people to develop bonds before anyone needs help. “You don’t wait until you’re 82,” Kilkenny says. “At some point, you have to take this giant leap of faith to say ‘I’ll buy the house.’”

Expect rules

An intentional community operates a bit like a homeowners association. As she gained experience as a landlord, Moore created a six- or seven-page policy manual outlining everything from how to handle recycling to who should clean the kitchen. You’ll also need procedures to admit new members if residents move or die.

Build to age in place

This could mean building a cottage for a future live-in caretaker, putting grab bars in bathrooms, or minimizing the number of steps.

Know yourself and be prepared to compromise

Not everyone is cut out for a communal environment or wants to interact with neighbors when they take out the trash. Sharing your life with others is inevitably messy. Be prepared for relationship issues to arise and be willing to compromise.

What’s required for a legal secondary suite? 

In Canada, the provinces and territories set their own building codes and regulations. The specific rules can vary from one province or territory to another, but most have standards and requirements that cover things like: 

• Permissible location of the secondary unit
• Room size, ceiling heights and number of windows
• Heating and ventilation
• Plumbing, electrical and lighting systems
• Fire safety, including smoke alarms, and carbon monoxide detectors
• Number and location of exits and emergency escapes

Although these standards are implemented by the provinces and territories, municipalities enforce zoning and land-use bylaws that allow for secondary suites to be built. This means secondary suites may be legal in some parts of a province or territory but not in others. So if you’re buying a home with a secondary unit, or you’re planning to add one to a property, confirm what is allowed and required with your local government. 

Do you need a permit? 

If you’re building a secondary unit as part of a single-dwelling home, one of the most important steps is obtaining the proper permits. Permits grant you the approval to make changes to the property and certify that the work will be done safely and according to code. It doesn’t matter if you’re not doing major construction—a permit may be needed simply to change the use of the building.

Depending on the scope of the work, you may need to request permits for different components, including the building, plumbing and electrical. 

What happens if you have an illegal secondary suite?

You should never create or maintain a two-unit dwelling without proper authorization. Without a permit, you may be fined, forced to end your tenancy agreement or ordered to stop construction (regardless if the demolition work is already in progress). 

Being found in violation of building codes, such as fire safety standards, can also lead to prosecution and significant fines—even jail time. In Ontario, for example, a fire code violation can result in a fine of up to $25,000 and a prison term of one year. Any income you might receive from renters pales in comparison.

If you plan to buy a property with a secondary unit, you should still have the unit inspected and approved for tenant use by the municipality. If the unit was not previously authorized, and a fire or flood occurs under your ownership, you could be held responsible for building code violations.

And don’t be caught off guard by a surprise inspection. Remember that anyone can inquire and request an inspection of your second unit. It could be a neighbour or tenant, or even a city official inspecting a different unit in the neighbourhood. Protect yourself by ensuring everything is up to code from day one. 

The Biden administration has changed its guidance to eliminate some student loans from eligibility for forgiveness, a major reversal as the Department of Education makes final preparations to launch debt relief applications. 

As of Thursday, borrowers with student loans through the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program and Perkins Loans who have not already consolidated their debt into direct loans will now no longer be able to do so and are no longer eligible for federal debt relief, the Education Department now says. Those programs, though federally guaranteed, are held by private institutions. Borrowers with FFEL and Perkins Loans who applied to consolidate in the direct loan program before Thursday are still eligible for debt relief. 

At this point, the Education Department “is assessing whether there are alternative pathways to provide relief to borrowers with federal student loans not held by ED, including FFEL Program loans and Perkins Loans, and is discussing this with private lenders,” the department says on its website. 

The department hasn’t explained the reason for the change, which came the same day that six GOP-led states sued the Biden administration over the student debt relief. The Biden administration is canceling $10,000 in student debt for those earning less than $125,000 or households with less than $250,000 in income, while Pell Grant recipients, who come from less affluent families, may have an additional $10,000 forgiven. 

The administration’s justification for the debt relief hinges on a post-Sept. 11, 2001, law that the White House says allows it to act during a time of a national emergency, which in this case was the COVID-19 pandemic. The plaintiffs in the GOP lawsuit cite a CBS News “60 Minutes” interview in which President Biden said the pandemic is “over.” 

Borrowers may apply for the debt relief yet, but the administration is encouraging them to apply by Nov. 15, so that they can obtain relief ahead of Jan. 1, 2023, when borrowers will be required to resume student loan payments. They haven’t had to make a payment since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. 

According to the White House, borrowers will still be able to apply for debt relief into 2023. 

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