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The web is filled with more than 1.5 billion sites. At some point, many of them start looking awfully similar. Small business owners, therefore, might find it difficult to discover new and innovative ways to attract customers. Fortunately, there are plenty of innovative ways to increase sales at your online store.

Knowing these options is — like much in life — half the battle. Once you realize the steps you can take, you can start testing what works best for your business. For a head start, check out the following 14 ideas for increasing online store sales:

1. Facebook and Instagram Targeted Ads

Targeted social media ads are the way of the future for small business owners to direct traffic to their online stores, and targeted ads for Facebook and Instagram are fairly easy to establish. Because Facebook owns Instagram, you can run your ads on both social media platforms without creating the ads twice.

First, you need to set up a Facebook business page, then connect it to your Instagram business profile. Once that’s done, access the Facebook Ad Manager and select the guided ad creation. This tool will walk you through the ad creation process.

Additionally, Facebook and Instagram ads can be targeted directly toward an audience of potential customers based on factors such as location, language, hobbies, relationship status and more. This targeting will help you get the most clicks for your ad budget.

2. Run a Deal with Voiced Market

Reaching new customers is hard; Voiced Market makes it easy. One of the most effective ways to get a new customer is by offering a first-purchase discount, but you still face the costs to advertise and educate the market about your product or service. Voiced Market does the work for you. It leverages discounted offers across its network to attract new customers and garner exposure for its merchants.

Customers love Voiced Market because they get to buy from brands they love and try new brands they haven’t heard of yet – all at a discount. After all, 81 percent of consumers say discounts are on their minds when they shop. Customers also love the fact that Voiced Market donates a percentage of its profits to educating and feeding those in need.

Merchants love Voiced Market because they can increase exposure, revenue and their customer bases on a performance basis. Merchants only pay a percentage of the sales that are made through the site. Voiced Market takes care of the whole process, from content creation to promotion, at no additional cost. If you’re product or service doesn’t sell on the platform, you pay no fees. Why not try it out and apply to become a Voiced Market merchant today?

Interested in applying to be a merchant with Voiced Market? Click here to get started!

3. Spice Up Your Sales Copy

When a potential customer looks at your website, you want to make sure that whatever copy they read is interesting and engaging – and reflects your brand. If your target audience is millennial women, for example, then your website sales copy should sound different than an online store whose target audience is male business professionals older than 50.

Your sales copy needs to be a reflection of your business and your brand. Weak sales copy can actually cause you to lose out on potential customers as well as any sales or referrals you could have gotten from them.

4. Create A Mailing List

Sending out monthly newsletters to let your customers or potential customers know about the sales and latest deals for your business will drive more eyes to your website, which will result in increased revenue.

One of the best ways to reach customers is by encouraging them to sign up for a mailing list. Collecting the emails of your customers with their consent can help you grow your mailing list. It’s crucial, however, to get permission from everyone on your mailing list – or your emails may become a nuisance and actually hurt your sales.

Thankfully, the task can be made simpler if Constant Contact creates a mailing list for you. Constant contact is one of the largest and most powerful email marketing tools and offers easy-to-use templates that help you create beautiful customized content to send to those on your mailing list.

One of Constant Contact’s most popular features is the collection of email addresses from people on your website and Facebook business page, which ensures that your mailing list is constantly growing. It’s the perfect software to organize your mailing lists and keep track of the results.

With more than 600,000 users, it’s clear that Constant Contact is a trusted source for small business owners who want to create quick and easy mailing lists.

Sign up for Constant Contact here to get started with a 60-day free trial and start creating the perfect mailing list as soon as possible.

5. Hold a Giveaway Competition

A great way to attract new customers and gain more sales is to hold a giveaway competition. If you give away one of your more valuable items, you will see a lot more traffic to your online stores. Running a giveaway competition is easy, and there are numerous free websites available for business owners that help them hold the competition.

You can require people to sign up with their email to enter the giveaway or require them to follow your online store on social media to score extra entries. Little tactics like this can help pay back the cost of the giveaway by boosting your brand awareness – and eventually increasing sales.

6. Display your Customer’s Glowing Testimonials

People tend to trust fellow consumers’ word over a brand’s word. A business owner can write about their online store’s superiority and trustworthiness, but it won’t mean much to the consumer. However, if a potential customer sees rave reviews for your online business, they will be more likely to trust your business and make a purchase.

Incorporating glowing testimonials into your online store’s landing page is an effective way to feature them. Making these reviews one of the first things your potential customers see when they visit your website can make a positive impact on their buying behavior and cause them to seriously consider making a purchase because trust has been established.

7. Holiday Sales

While offering small sales and deals on your merchandise all year long is a great idea, holding bigger sales around the holidays will be sure to capture the attention of your target audience. People tend to expect deals around the holiday season when they are spending more money, which is why it is smart to meet your audience’s expectation and offer them deals when they need them the most.

The better the deal, the more customers you will gain, and you will see a spike in your online store’s sales each holiday season.

8. Create A Landing Page

There are numerous benefits to creating a landing page for your online small business. Essentially, a landing page is the webpage that’s the first point of contact a visitor on your site will see – and it’s designed to drive them to take action (contact you or buy your stuff). Landing pages are valuable because they can generate leads for your business by enticing potential customers to fill out an interest form or contact your business.

Leadpages is an affordable and effective tool that helps create great-looking and effective landing pages for online businesses. With Leadpages, you easily can build a landing page for your website that will generate a high conversion rate – more potential customers who visit your site will purchase your products or services. The best part is that Leadpages can help you get started in just minutes.

You don’t have to be an expert at creating websites to use it, either. Anyone can use the simple drag-and-drop buttons to customize a landing page.

Learn more about Leadpages here, and sign up for a free trial today!

9. Reduce Abandoned Carts

In 2018 alone, approximately $4 trillion worth of online goods were abandoned in online shopping carts. Business Insider estimates that almost 63 percent of those online shopping carts could have been recoverable.

You can install applications and programs onto your website that will send people an email after they have abandoned their shopping carts on your website. This reminder should significantly increase the number of people who come back and complete their purchases.

10. Increase Your Payment Options

Of course your online store takes credit cards, but did you know there are many different payment methods you could add to make it even easier for customers to purchase your goods?

Adding payment methods like Stripe, WePay, PayPal, Google Wallet, and Apple Pay – and even cryptocurrency – will thrill your customers because you’re giving them more choices. These days, not everyone prefers to use their credit cards when shopping online. Aside from security concerns, prompting potential buyers to type their card numbers into your site gives them ample time to reconsider their purchase.

By offering a variety of payment options to your customers, you will also increase sales on mobile devices. Mobile sales are higher than they have ever been thanks to these alternative payment methods that make it quick and easy to checkout from smartphones without ever leaving your site.

11. Upgrade Your Website

Providing a user-friendly website experience is crucial to making sales for your online store. Buyers want a smooth, simple online shopping experience, and even small changes to your website can have a positive impact on your sales numbers.

If you haven’t upgraded your website in 5 years or longer, your website may look a little bit dated.

If you want a sales-boosting makeover for your site, Siteground could be the solution. It offers reliable web hosting so you can have a fast and secure website. In fact, Siteground is trusted by the owners of over 2 million domains. It offers easy and quick website building so you can customize your site, and there are premium features plus all the tech support that you will need to launch a new website for your small business.

Get started on making the website of your dreams for your small business by signing up for Siteground now! You can also click here to see 5 other companies that can get your website launched tonight.

12. Improve Your Website’s SEO

Search engine optimization may sound complicated, but it actually is something that any small business owner can do to make their online stores rank higher in Google search results. When people search for keywords related to your online store, you want to make sure that you appear high on the first page.

An easy way to improve the search engine optimization (SEO) for your small business’ website is to use SEMrush. SEMrush offers software that can improve your website’s visibility and search ranking, while also improving your marketing efforts.

Just one of its features is the “On Page SEO Checker” that will analyze Google ranking factors that could be affecting your website’s performance. Additionally, SEMrush will provide you with actionable recommendations based on its data.

With more than 3 million users and 130 million domains serviced, it’s clear that SEMrush is a trusted software for many small online business owners across the world. For example, SEMrush is trusted by sites like eBay, Quora, Booking.com, HP and more.

Sign up for SEMrush today to make sure that your website never slips in the Google rankings again.

13. Avoid Clickbait

There’s nothing more frustrating than seeing an online advertisement for a great deal, only to end up at a website that has almost nothing to do with the ad you just saw. Clickbait like this can not only frustrate potential customers who were interested in your business, it also can negatively impact your small business’ online reputation.

If you deceive too many people with clickbait and false advertisements, you likely will begin to receive negative reviews – which can scare away other potential customers. That’s why being straightforward with your ads is crucial. Consistent messaging and avoiding clickbait ultimately will help you increase sales for your small online business.

14. Native Content is King

Native content is that which you create and post directly to your social media pages. For example, if you upload a video to your Facebook business page, it will perform better (get more likes and shares) than if you shared a video from another page to your Facebook business page. By posting your own unique “native” content, Facebook and other social networks will show your posts to more people.

When it comes to social media, you must do more than just share posts that are related to your business. Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram really prefer native content, and it tends to perform better than shared content.

The more native social media content you feature on Facebook and Instagram, the more followers will see your content. The more that your social media followers see your content, the higher the number of sales for your online store.

The post 14 Ways To Increase Sales To Your Online Store appeared first on Wall Street Insanity.

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If you’re looking to save money on food and lower your weekly grocery bill, you’re in the right place. These low-cost recipes not only taste good but are good for your wallet. By avoiding eating out and taking advantage of delicious recipes with affordable ingredients, you can reach your savings goals much faster.

Minimizing your monthly cost of meals is one of the best ways to save money on food. You might not have realized that the average person spends over $4,000 per year on food costs. A traditional four-member family spends about $11,000 a year on food.

Eating out can get really expensive. Although a $10-$20 meal outside the home may not seem like a lot, it can quickly add up and become one of your largest expenses. Eating out less and preparing cheap dinner recipes in order to save money is an awesome way to get started on money-saving goals. On top of that, cooking at home means you know exactly what’s going into your food!

Cooking recipes are a great way to spend your time and can be a fun way to hang out with your friends or loved ones without spending money.

If you’re looking to cut costs, preparing tasty and cheap recipes might be the most effective option for you. You don’t have to sacrifice taste with cheap and easy recipes!

2 Cash Back Apps To Save Money On Food

Ibotta ($10 signup bonus) — Ibotta has already helped hundreds of thousands of users get over $500,000,000 in cash back. With Ibotta, you can find and save great offers before shopping and then redeem the offers by taking a picture of your receipt with your smartphone. Don’t go grocery shopping without Ibotta if you want to save money!

Ebates ($10 signup bonus) — If you shop with the partner retailers of Ebates, you can get coupons and cash rebates back! Ebates can get you up to 40% cash back at over 2,500 online stores. Additionally, you can get your cash rewards sent you every quarter through either a check or a PayPal transfer. Save money by doing the shopping you were already planning on doing anyway!

Don’t have time to shop for these cheap recipes? Try affordable meal delivery service Dinnerly.

With Dinnerly, you can get meals delivered right to your front door in an insulated box for $4.99 per meal. Dinnerly provides you with all of the ingredients for affordable meals, all you have to do is cook them and enjoy. With just 6 ingredients per dish, all Dinnerly recipes can be made in 30 minutes. It’s perfect for the busy person who still loves the taste of home-cooked meals without having to break the bank!

Click here to try out Dinnerly today (and get free shipping on your first order)!

12 Cheap Recipes To Save Money On Food

1. Mexican Stuffed Peppers

NGi on Pixabay

Cooking Time: 30 Mins

Ingredients

• 6 medium bell peppers sliced in half lengthwise with their tops and cores removed
• 12 oz can of black beans
• 1 cup of salsa
• 3 cups of cooked brown rice
• 2 cups of shredded Pepper Jack cheese

With just five ingredients, it’s clear that this recipe isn’t going to break the bank. Additionally, this recipe is vegetarian so anyone can make it whether or not they eat meat!

So, after you’ve decided to save money on food and buy the ingredients for this recipe, you can get started. Simply preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and place your peppers on a lined baking tray so that the cavity side is facing upwards.

Next, in a large mixing bowl combine the black beans, salsa, and brown rice and 1 cup of shredded cheese. Stir this mixture until it is well combined. After your filling is complete you can fill the cavity of each bell pepper with the rice mixture. When each pepper is filled you can top them with the remaining 1 cup of shredded cheese.

Finally, bake the peppers in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes. The peppers should be soft and the cheese should be completely melted when they are ready to eat. Make sure that you serve the peppers immediately after adding any additional toppings that you desire. Although these ingredients are not part of the original recipe you can also add additional toppings like sliced avocado, sour cream, cilantro, and extra cheese. When it comes to cheap dinner recipes, this one is very customizable.

2. Zucchini Bolognese

Cooking time:  4 Hours

Ingredients

• 2 chopped onions
• 10 chopped medium zucchinis
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• ½ cup of water
• 2 bouillon cubes
• juice of half of a lemon
• 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• ¾ lb of your pasta of choice

This recipe is one of my personal favorite ways to spend money on food. I make this whenever I want to avoid buying meat at the grocery store because it can get so expensive. The best part about this recipe is that you will always have leftovers of the sauce that you can save in the freezer and defrost whenever you’re hungry for more.

This zucchini bolognese recipe is extremely easy to make and will quickly become a fan favorite for anyone looking to save money on food. In addition, this recipe is meatless but the sauce is so delicious and hardy that no one will be able to tell that there wasn’t meat in it.

The first step in making this yummy and cheap dinner recipe is to heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Once the oil is hot you can add the cooked onion until it becomes soft and golden brown. Then stir in the water, bouillon cubes, and the zucchini.

After that, you will simply turn the heat down to low and cover the pot. The sauce will cook for four hours and make sure you stir it every once in a while until the zucchini is falling apart and becomes sauce-like.

When the sauce is nearly done, you can boil a pot of water and cook your pasta according to the instructions on the box. Put half of the sauce in a container in the refrigerator to save for later in the week or put it in the freezer if you plan on eating it within the month. When the pasta is drained, combine the pasta and the remaining sauce in the large pot and add the lemon juice and shredded parmesan. Serve immediately.

3. Lemon Butter Fish

Spencer Selover on pexels

Cooking Time: 30 Mins

Ingredients

• 1 pound of the fish
• ¼ cup of melted unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• garlic salt
• pepper

When you think of cooking fish you may associate it with being very expensive, but it’s actually one of the greatest ways to save money on food. However, if you top your fish with the right ingredients, it doesn’t have to break the bank. If you’re looking for ways to save money or just want to make sure you have enough to pay rent, cooking up a cheap recipe like lemon butter fish is a great option that is sure to impress.

The key to this recipe is buying the right fish. This recipe will work with almost any white fish so you have some options when selecting your fish. For example, you could choose Dorade which is typically less than $10 a pound and much cheaper than buying cod.

Catfish also have a known reputation for being a cheap but delicious white fish option for people. Catfish is also a very sustainable fish option because it is typically an invasive fish. Another fish that is not only cheap but also easy-to-cook and sustainable is Skate Wing.

When cooking lemon butter fish, you will need to preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and grease baking dish that’s big enough to fit your fish filets without overlapping. Then, combine your butter and lemon juice in a small bowl with a whisk.

Place your fish in the baking dish and season them with salt and pepper to taste. Then you can coat your fish with the lemon butter mixture. If you bought a lemon and did not use bottled lemon juice, you can place two lemon slices on top of each filet.

Finally, place your fish into the oven and bake it uncovered for 30 minutes. When you take the fish out over the oven it should flake easily with a fork.

4. Curried Lentil Soup

Cooking time: 4-5 hours

Ingredients

• 2 cups of diced carrots
• one diced medium yellow onion
• 3 minced and peeled cloves of garlic
• 6 cups of chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon of curry powder
• 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• salt & pepper

Now onto the next of our cheap recipes. There is nothing more satisfying than a big warm bowl of soup at the end of the day of long, hard work. And the soup will taste even better knowing you didn’t break the bank on ingredients.

To get started on this recipe you will need to add the carrots, onion, garlic, chicken stock, curry powder and cumin powder to the slow cooker. Once the ingredients are added make sure you thoroughly stir it to combine the ingredients. Then, simply set the slow cooker to cook on high for 4-5 hours.

After the soup is done simply stir in the lemon juice and add salt and pepper to taste. Make sure you serve the soup warm and you can add lemon slices as a garnish to the soup if you wish.

5. Broccoli Quinoa Salad

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup of cooked quinoa
• 1 pound of broccoli
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 minced cloves of garlic
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese
• salt & pepper

This is a healthier at-home recipe option to save money on food.

First, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the broccoli to the boiling pot for 3 minutes and remove it with tongs and drain the broccoli. Make sure you get rid of as much moisture as possible and then chop the broccoli into small pieces.

Then, heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat until it is hot. Head the garlic in the pan for 1 minute. After that, you can add the chopped broccoli and salt. Keep stirring the broccoli for 5 minutes until it is more tender. Finally, you want to add the broccoli and the oil from the pan to a large bowl. Combine the broccoli with the lemon juice, and grated parmesan cheese. Stir to combine then add salt and pepper to taste. Serve this warm or at room temperature.

6. Ground Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 pound of ground beef
• 9-ounce bag of coleslaw mix
• 2 scallions that are thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of sriracha
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

This last recipe is a great one if you want to save money on food but still make a filling, delicious and cheap meal. Additionally, the recipe only requires 5 minutes of food prep time and 15 minutes of cooking time. You can save your money and save your time by adding this ground beef and cabbage stir fry to one of your weekly rotations of cheap recipes.

Luckily, many of these ingredients such as the soy sauce, sriracha, and olive oil are typical household ingredients that you may already have on hand in your home. This is a huge added benefit because it means you will not need to spend any additional money when you want to make this cheap dinner recipe.

Making ground beef and cabbage stir fry only involves a few steps. First, you will need to stir together the sriracha and the soy sauce in a small bowl. Then, you should heat a large pan on medium heat. You can add the oil and ground beef to the pan and cook for around 5 minutes or until it is brown. Continuously stir the meat and break it apart. After that add your coleslaw mix to the pan and cook it for around 6 minutes until the cabbage is soft and tender. Then, turn the heat down to low and add the soy sauce and sriracha mixture to the pan and stir until it is well mixed. Take the pan off of the heat and stir in the scallions. Serve immediately.

7. Kimchi Fried Rice

sharonang on Pexels

Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• 3 cups steamed rice
• 1 cup chopped kimchi
• ¼ cup kimchi juice
• ¼ of cup water
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 3 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 chopped green onion

This delicious recipe is so cheap and easy to make. And the best part is that you don’t have to buy the ingredients!

The first step for cooking this recipe is to heat up a large pan with the olive oil. Then you can add the kimchi and cook it for one minute before adding the rice, kimchi juice, and water. Then you can combine the ingredients by stirring and cook for 7 minutes. Finally, add the sesame oil to the rice mixture and take the pan off of the heat. You can then add the chopped green onion to the top of the kimchi fried rice and serve immediately.

8. Strawberry French Toast

Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients

• ¼ cup strawberry jelly
• 8 slices of bread
• 2 large eggs
• ¼ cup of 2% milk
• 2 tablespoons butter
• sliced fresh strawberries
• maple syrup

Who doesn’t love breakfast for dinner?! It is not only delicious but it also one of the simplest cheap recipes that you might already be prepared to make. With such common ingredients like jelly, bread, eggs, milk and butter, it’s likely that you already have all of the ingredients and won’t need to spend a dime! By eating breakfast for dinner once a week you can save time and money! Breakfast recipes and this French toast recipe in particular tend to be quick to make but still great tasting!

The first thing you need to do in order to make strawberry French toast is to spread the strawberry jelly over four slices of your break. Then top those pieces of bread with your remaining bread as if you were making jelly sandwiches. Next, whisks eggs and milk until combined in a medium and shallow bowl.

Next, heat up the butter in a pan or skillet over medium heat. As the butter melts, dip both sides of the jelly sandwich into your egg and milk mixture. When both sides are soaked, put the sandwich on the pan and cook on each side for 2-3 minutes until each side is brown. Repeat those steps with the remaining sandwiches. Then, top the French toast with fresh strawberries and serve with syrup!

When finding ways to save money on food, classic recipes like this are a no-brainer.

9. Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken Thighs

Cooking time: 4 Hours

Ingredients

• 3 pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs
• ¾ cup of sugar
• ¾ cup soy sauce
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch
• 4 teaspoons cold water
• ¾ teaspoon ginger

This is another delicious and cheap recipe that will leave you with leftovers for days. Additionally, because you can make it in the slow cooker, you don’t have to do much other than place it all in the cooker and wait for it to be done. This recipe is perfect for the person who wants to save money on food but is always short on time. Because you end up with so much yummy teriyaki chicken after this, you can pack it in your lunch for work and save even more by not eating out!

First, you will need to place the chicken in the slow cooker. Then, in a small bowl combine the sugar, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger. Once the sauce is combined you can pour it over the chicken. Turn the slow cooker on and have it cook on low heat for 4-5 hours or until the chicken is cooked through and tender.

When the chicken is done you should remove the chicken from the slow cooker and keep it warm. Then, put the liquid left in the slow cooker in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. While that is boiling, combine cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl and keep stirring until the mixture is smooth. Then you can stir the cornstarch mixture into the boiling juices and return it to a boil and cook for 1-2 minutes until it has thickened. Then, drizzle the sauce over the chicken and you can serve the meal over rice if desired.

This chicken dish is one of the most sweet and savory cheap dinner recipes out there!

10. Cheeseburger Cups

Cooking time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• ½ cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• 1 12 oz tube of refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
• ½ cup of cubed Velveeta cheese

This cheeseburger cup recipe is great for anyone who spends too much eating fast food and wants to save money by cooking cheap recipes without sacrificing their favorite food. Additionally, if you are cooking for a family while on a budget, making cheeseburger cups is sure to have kids and adults excited to eat!

The first thing you’ll need to do to make these cheeseburger cups is to cook the beef in a parget skillet over medium heat. Continue cooking the beef until there is no longer any pink. Then, stir in the ketchup, brown sugar and mustard into the beef. Once the ingredients are well mixed you can remove it from the heat and set it aside.

Next, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease a muffin tin and press each biscuit into the bottom and sides of the muffin tin cup. After that, you will spoon the beef mixture into each of the biscuit cups. Finally, you can top each cup with a few cubes of Velveeta cheese and bake them for 14 to 16 minutes. Once they are looking golden brown you can serve them immediately with toppings like pickles or lettuce and tomatoes.

Putting a twist on a classic recipe is one of the most fun ways to save money on food!

11. Corn Quesadillas

nevena313 on Pixabay

Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients

• 4 flour tortillas
• 1 cup of shredded pepper jack cheese
• 1 cup fresh or frozen corn
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 3 thinly sliced green onions
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• guacamole (optional)

If you’re trying to save money on food, corn quesadillas are a great meal when you’re hungry after a long night out on the town or just as a mid-day snack. This meal is so versatile and can save you from spending significantly more if you ordered a quesadilla at a restaurant or food truck.

First, you will combine the cheese, corn, sour cream, and green onions in a large bowl. Then, brush the tops of two tortillas with half of the olive oil and turn them over so they’re lying flat on a large dish or plate. After that, you can top the tortillas with the cheese mixture. Then, place the remaining two tortillas on top of the cheese mixture and brush them with the remaining olive oil.

To cook the corn tortillas simply place them on a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook one quesadillas at a time for 1-2 minutes on each side or until the cheese is melted and they appear golden brown. Once cooked, cut each quesadilla into six wedges and serve with sour cream and guacamole.

12. Garlic Lemon Shrimp

Cook time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound of peeled and deveined uncooked shrimp
• 3 cloves of thinly sliced garlic
• 1 tablespoon lemon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• hot cooked pasta

This final recipe may be the best of the cheap recipes. Depending on where you live and how many of these ingredients you already own this recipe will cost you under $15 and keep you full for days to come if you have leftovers. This shrimp recipe is one of the best ways to save money on food that doesn’t sacrifice flavor.

The cooking instructions for this are also relatively light and you will have delicious garlic lemon shrimp in no-time at all! First, heat up the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Then, add the shrimp and sauté them for 3 minutes. Once the shrimp are done you can add garlic, lemon juice, and the salt. Stir those ingredients into the shirt and cook until the shrimp turn pink. Remove the shrimp from heat and serve with hot cooked pasta.

It’s one of the tastiest cheap dinner recipes you’ll find!

The post Save Money On Food With These 12 Cheap Recipes appeared first on Wall Street Insanity.

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Paying off student loans is a widespread, relatable struggle that many of us are currently dealing with.

The current national student loan debt in the United States is more than 1.5 trillion dollars. This means that there are tens of millions of Americans that have student loan debt. Additionally, there are many Americans that are struggling with making the minimum payment on their student loans each month which often causes one’s debt load to grow gradually larger and larger. For many, paying off student loans early can feel like an insurmountable challenge that they will never be able to dig their way out of.

Lucky for you, this article is filled with 12 great tips on how to pay off student loans fast. Stop struggling to make the minimum payment every month and put those student loan bills behind you.

1. Student Loan Refinancing

You may be eligible for a much lower interest rate through student loan refinancing and not even know it! You have probably heard of student loan refinancing but do you know what it really means?  Basically, student loan refinancing lets you pay off your existing student loan and assume a new student loan with a lower interest rate. This means that you could have a lower monthly payment than your original loan. Additionally, this type of loan is usually unsecured which means you won’t need to put up any collateral in order to get it approved.

The interest rate for student loan refinancing can depend on a variety of factors. Some of these factors are things like the borrowers’ credit score, their credit report, and their debt-to-income ratio. If you have a good credit score, as well as a good debt-to-income ratio, then you would be considered a low-risk borrower. This means that you could be eligible for better interest rates than borrowers who may be deemed as a credit risk.

Refinancing student loan debt to get a lower interest rate from a trusted lender is fast and easy, and it’s a go-to strategy for paying off student loans early. Below are a few of the top student loan refinancing options for you to consider:

• Credible pulls together rates from up to 8 lenders in only two minutes for anyone who wants to refinance federal student loans, private student loans, or Parent PLUS loans. Checking your rate doesn’t impact your credit score. If users can find themselves a cheaper rate on another site, Credible will give them $200 with its best rate guarantee (terms apply).
• Lendkey links up borrowers with trusted community banks and credit unions. These financial institutions occasionally offer cheaper rates than traditional lenders. Loan terms range from 5-20 years, with competitive variable and fixed APR options. There are no origination fees, and LendKey’s customer reviews are a whopping 4.7/5 stars!

2. Maintain the Student Lifestyle

This one may sound difficult at first but it actually is much easier than the alternative – especially when you’re working toward paying off student loans fast.

When you graduate college and get your first post-grad full-time job, you will likely be making more money than any other point in your life. This means that people stop eating ramen and start going out for sushi. Instead of having wine nights in with their friends they can spend upwards of $100 at the bar in one night.

The trick to this is to maintain your student lifestyle in post-college life for as long as possible. Even though you will be making more money, you don’t necessarily have to upgrade your lifestyle. By eating out less, staying in with friends and keeping your costs low, you will be able to pay off your student loans faster than if you had upgraded your lifestyle.

Who cares if you have to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and microwavable mac and cheese for one more year? Check out some other easy ways to save money, to help you on your journey.

3. Get a Side Hustle

We are currently living in the “gig economy,” where almost everyone has taken on a side hustle to help pay the bills or make bigger payments on their student loans. Many people falsely believe that they do not have time for a side hustle, but there are plenty of gigs that you can work with limited free time.

Whether it be walking dogs during your lunch break at work or freelancing on the side. For example, if you are working in marketing, you could spend a few hours a week working on a couple marketing projects for small business owners in your area.

Check out our list of best side hustles to start making extra cash now.

4. Increase Your Monthly Payment

Increasing your monthly payments can help you pay off your student loans much quicker, especially if you’re paying well above the minimum payment each month. If you can’t afford to do this all the time, take advantage of the times during the year where you have extra cash. These times could include if you get a tax refund or unexpected money for your birthday.

5. Start Paying Your Loans Off Before You Graduate

Paying off student loans early while you are still in college may not sound like a lot of fun, but it can be an amazing way to get ahead of your debt.

If you are working while in school, you can put some of that money towards repaying your student loans. No matter how small your payments are, it’s never too early.

Take a look at some of the best jobs for college students.

6. Try Out the Snowball Method

The snowball method may initially sound confusing but it is actually a great way to start paying off student loans fast so you can get out of debt sooner. The first step for the snowball method of getting rid of debt is making a list of your student loans, ranging from the smallest loan to the largest loan.

This is where the “snowballing” aspect comes into play. You will snowball all of your money that you set aside for your loans and put it towards paying off the smallest loan first, while still paying the minimum for all of your other loans. This sounds crazy to some people because they believe that you should try to pay off your largest student loan first because it has the most debt. However, with that method, your smaller debts will also begin to grow and it will take you significantly longer to pay all of your student loans off.

By using the snowball method, you will have fewer loans as you continue to pay off the smallest loans first. This means that ultimately you will have fewer loans and less debt over time than if you had tried to pay off your largest loans first.

7. Make More than One Payment Every Month

This method involves the least amount of hassle and effort on your part if you have the funds. Instead of making one monthly payment, you can sign up to make weekly or bi-weekly payments.

Many people align their bi-weekly payments with their paychecks. This means that every payday some of their money goes straight to paying off their student loan debt.

By paying more each month through these extra payments, you will put yourself in a position to pay off student loans fast.

8. Sign up for Automatic Payments

An automatic payment program can be a helpful solution for people who are worried they will not remember to make a payment each month on time. Adult life right after college can be stressful and hectic as you start a new job and move on to a new section of your life. Put your student loan payments on autopay and put your mind at ease knowing that you won’t forget.

Many student loan programs have autopay options that will also give you a discount if you enroll, so this is something to take advantage of.

9. Negotiate for a Raise or a Higher Salary

When you’re looking for a job right out of college, it is always important to negotiate for a higher salary than what they offer you upfront. Now, it is not realistic to negotiate for an exorbitant amount more than they originally offered you. Make sure that you do your research ahead of time on the average salary for the position.

Having a higher starting salary can obviously help you to pay off student loans fast. Additionally, if you have been working a job for a few years and have not received a raise, it could be time to start looking into negotiating a raise with your boss.

10. Start by Paying Off High-Interest Loans First

Another helpful strategy for paying off your student loans is to begin by paying off the loans with the highest interest first. Even if you make the minimum payment every month on your high-interest student loans, the balance will barely go down because of the interest.

By paying off your higher interest loans first, you will be able to save money in the long run. While paying the monthly minimum on your other loans, make sure that you are putting the majority of your money towards your highest interest loan every month. This means that you will have it paid off much sooner than the rest of your loans and will have an easier time paying off student loans in the long run.

11. Find a Job With Student Loan Repayment Assistance

In addition to offering health and retirement benefits, many companies today are offering student loan repayment assistance. Although it is a fairly new trend among companies, you will see that more and more jobs are adopting this benefit.

Some of these companies that have student loan repayment assistance benefits will give money directly towards your loans as taxable income, while other companies will pay your loan servicer directly.

12. Take Advantage of Tax Deductions

Did you know that you may be eligible for tax deductions because of your student loans? For example, according to the IRS, anyone paying off their student loans could be able to deduct up to $2,500 of the interest paid in the past year on a qualified student loan. But keep in mind that this deduction is only available to anyone making less than $80,000 a year.

Some other qualifications for this student loan tax deductions are that the loan has to have been for a student enrolled, at least half time, in a program leading to a degree. This means that if you got a loan from a relative or through an employer plan to pay for your college that you are not eligible for this tax deduction.

Luckily, many post-grad students are not making more than $80,000 a year as a starting salary and may be able to deduct up to $2,500 from their taxable income. Make sure to consult with a accountant.

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