#Also I think I like this subtitle color better for Fit. I think it suits him more

[sugar-petals]

Hey Caro ☺️ I just took your super m quiz - thanks for making such a fun quiz, I feel like it helped me get into super m! I know nothing about them yet but I thought it fit soo well that I got Kai bc I’m a full time dancer - now you have me super curious about him 👀👀

KAI :: INTRODUCTION MASTERPOST (dance focus)

so you wanna know about the god of k-pop choreo? oh yeah, i’ll talk to you about fucking kai! if you dance, this guy is the #1 must-know. once you see him move, there’s no going back. i don’t exaggerate: kai is the gold standard. brace yourselves, i’ll show you why.

kim kai aka kim jongin (27) is a solo artist and super m’s plus exo’s main dancer — est 2019 and 2012 respectively — heading either group with a passionate, hyper-physical style that roots in his early practice of of jazz dance and ballet. the influence definitely shows. 

learning choreography, he’s become the gorgeous fusion of emotional grace and explosive power that unites both tension and extreme accuracy. while at the same time: never sacrificing his interpretation. and HOW MUCH HE BLEEDS FOR HIS CRAFT. he enjoys it so much. 

and he’s communicating it 100%, jongin’s dance is so interactive and raw, luring. i swear to god, put the seatbelts on for this one. it’s never just him, it’s you as well. you’ve never seen this before. he’s like “yes, i meant you, i’m looking at you”:

he’s even gonna modify the choreography to point right at you to underline that very thought. he’s so good, he can learn it, ace it, epitomize it, and do his own thing anyway. even the person in the last row will get whatever point kai wants to make. this is dance that belongs on the biggest stages.

even when he films without a crowd, it’s like you’re literally standing opposite to him. he focuses on two people: his moves, and the viewer. he has it look like you made him smile and self-aware, or you made him determined. INCREDIBLE. he shows his charisma, BUT he also shows your own (!) impact on him. it’s a duet. he wants you to join him on the dancefloor. this is from exo’s call me baby mv where kai does his famous come-hither:

he flirts and he encourages. he values the audience and wants them to be confident as well. i think it’s the reason why he’s so outstanding and addictive, kai thinks beyond himself. it’s a tango he involves you in with his eyes and how he opens his body, interprets a lyric.

it’s not about imposing himself going one way. instead: he plays the back and forth ALL. THE. TIME. in any context. whether it be frivolous, or fun, or gloomy, or sweet. even with a simple little smiley wink it’s happening. and he acts like you had a reaction to it. there’s literally just a camera.

this guy’s physique, strength, elegance, feeling for the beat, character portrayal (!), and control is unbelievable. he’s destroyed it in every fancam out there. he can’t switch it off even if he tried. your eyes would go toward him in the largest group formation still. put him in the center, that’s his spot, he showcases it.

because he doesn’t just show learned moves, he makes it radiate something dynamic and animalistic (he embodies superm’s ‘tiger inside’ all the way). 

jongin’s dance says: i love this, you love this, let’s do this, the feeling is right. he makes bodies and unrestrained touch the opposite of wrong, he pronounces it a source of having fun and being instinctual. and he never breaks the tie with you throughout, and uses his shoulders and lips to put the oomph into it. 

he uses innuendo and a ‘we both know’ sentiment perfectly as an invitation rather than just going through his routine. that’s how he can make each move fascinating. you can tell kai knows exactly how to make everyone scream their lungs out. i bet somebody held their breath just reading this post already.

exo’s most famous choreo is ‘monster’ (kai focus linked) with good reason: jongin can turn himself into nothing short of a roaring beast. it’s one sharp, complex move after the other. kai can bend any gravitational law he wants to show any feeling and pose he wants. a glimpse:

now, how to spot him in general if you’re new to him? here are some pointers. kai’s execution is clean, fast, and powerful. those are two decades (!) of experience showing. kai is an all or nothing dancer, he plays no games. he treats every group and solo stage like his best and last. his work ethic is beyond words. yeah, he’s a capricorn. his style is direct as can be, working every axis.

as you can see, jongin is hard to overlook anyway: he’s a 182cm giant made of steel. he strives to acutely visualize impact in his style and it is always successful. in fact, it’s his signature. it’s like he creates invisible objects and pushes through them. boom, he just burst another bubble.

when the song gets to his part, i guarantee you won’t miss him and all the boldness and expression he brings to enrich the performance. hell... he carries it. jongin can handle the center, i’m telling you. (look how fast he rotates here)

talking features — this is what to look for when he dances in a group setting: you can recognize kai’s face by how wide, bluntly structured and sensual it is. jongin is a sight. he has such an aura, serious, sultry, and smiling alike.

with a very recognizable silhouette (like... holy hell!):

he’s very cute as well ♡ the fandom and kai himself have an adorable analogy going on. jongin calls himself a teddy/nini bear and we joined in on it. (i made a thread about it here, it talks more about his offstage life) — hence kai’s fans are called eri-gom, eris as in exo’s fanbase and gom meaning bear. 

and i mean. look at him. what an attractive guy. he’s that handsome. strong brows, teddy eyes, square jaw, swept hair, glorious lips, tan skin. 

now yes, something important concerning his appearance and a serious topic: i don’t want to list you the endless instances of colorism that kai has to endure but it has to be mentioned. jongin has been called every name in the book and people agonize him over his skin incessantly. it goes on and on and on. every day a new terrible comment about him emerges because some pitiful person thought it was funny and would elevate them. 

he’s had to deflect, ignore, reframe, defend, remotivate, assert, harden, prove, denounce, and push himself, protect his confidence, decline skin bleaching constantly, laugh along, dance and practice thrice as hard to get the respect, and still see his dignity torn to pieces all day. i’ll just give it to you straight, that’s all fucked up. kai’s skin is perfect, he’s amazing and wonderful. 

in his own words:

— exactly right. say it even louder.

having him at the bottom of every joke is weird and messed up. this man is an utter beauty and nothing has to be fixed. it is up to him to define himself rather than get called ugly for his skin’s appearance by default, and get whitewashed at every opportunity. it’s been going on for 27 years, he scrunitizes himself all the time and doesn’t look at himself fondly because he hears these beatdowns daily.

it’s heartbreaking that this happens literally with no end in sight (’kai is just a stripper!’... ‘he has bad vibes’... ‘darkest guy jongin!’). for his skin, and how he decides to show it, too. jesus christ his skin looks fantastic, end of debate. they just can’t handle him, kai couldn’t be any more immaculate.

♡

jongin has vigorously protected fans from discrimination, bullies, and shaming himself whenever it came up. in a very straightforward and deadpan manner because he knows exactly how it damages you. (”J” in the subtitles = jongin, he’s wearing the plain white top at the very back)

we need to protect and praise him that way right back. it’s important.

so, needless to say. all in for jongin getting the center stage he deserves. because he has the wow factor in every regard. kai usually opens an MV because there’s no better way to get people’s attention with that level of presence. with kai, you can’t go wrong. if you get the center in a an all star group like superm, you are the king.

being part of that presence, kai’s stage alter ego has reached levels of infamity you can’t even imagine. it’s great to see him being sovereign without apology.

and it doesn’t stop there. he shows time and again that acting, props, and commanding the audience has to be mastered to be an exceptional dancer. kai owns his sex appeal. sometimes, he even dances a portion of choreo with his eyes closed because he’s feeling it so much.

he is a pro in using his surroundings as well, superm’s stages are a glorious opportunity for kai to show how he comfortably ‘lives in’ the 3D space around him.

which makes the viewer do the same: watching kai makes you feel amazing, energized, but also serene and enjoying the moment. 

there’s always balance. it’s the magic of it. e.g. he comes along with so much impetus and decisiveness but eventually, he halts to offer himself. here i am — take me. i’m yours. closed arms, open arms. walking, kneeling. looking down, looking up.

kai goes every extra mile there ever was and makes each eye contact count. involving the audience, one grin at a time. it works. it’s about establishing contact. he connects to the onlooker with so much nuance. 

kai’s smirk is notorious and you can see why it’s so raw and real: he makes it linger. it’s such a duality since his dancing says i’ll come over, while his message is come and get me, i know what’s on your mind.

with a hilarious twist – kai expertly uses humor. you don’t get that in many dancer repertoires. i love it. all those quick expression changes. his smile! 😊 what a man.

so — what makes him so good and known: yes, his style doesn’t deny that dancing and eroticism are one in his business. that takes courage. kai has it. iconic performances have been his reward. point dance/killing part: exo’s love shot choreo. 

that suit has swept the nation. what’s more: kai shows you it’s more than just good hip movement that a good dancer needs. he does everything at once, he puts the pleasure on his face, all his limbs are following the template he chooses.

the thing is. kai couldn’t be any shyer, but when the music starts he becomes a oscar-winning madman. he emotes constantly (!) and stays in character. this is gold.

jongin always plays it up. he knows how to use that face and does a lot of power posing. this is how visceral looks like. he’s interpreted exo’s aggressive concepts to a T.

and he has so. much. fun. it propels him. on every beat.

past every hurt, heartbreak and injury, man. if you know about his genre you knew this was coming, kai does all of that with 4 herniated discs. since debut days, never recovered. every gif in this thread, he dances with a battered spine. wheelchairs, stage collapses, relapse-recovery-schedule tales, the dilemma of injuries being inevitable, limping, kai falling into depression during breaks, constant pain killers, countless tears on stage, we’ve seen it all, the extreme end of it. 

kai works out like hell to literally keep his body from falling apart. but it doesn’t help the nerves in his back that are impacted. doing choreo you can sometimes literally see the pain kicking in and he pulls himself through with force for the last minute. once you know how strained his back is, you can see it.

at the end his expression goes fuck now it’s coming when the adrenaline fades. he takes every second-pause he gets to rest but still finishes each move. even when he holds back, he keeps it together and executes each turn. sometimes, he has to restrict himself and soften his movements to protect his health (especially in hard choreographies such as lucky one which is universally disliked by exo — still jongin makes the very best of it smiling bright and dancing so hard his sleeves come off).

he frequently states he ‘dances in any case unless his legs are affected by something’. all torso injuries are fair game, this guy is hardcore. and people claim he’s just pretending. chen (a fellow exo member) says not a single part of jongin’s body is intact. he has paid every price to get this far to follow his love. he’ll step on stage with crutches. he works SO HARD.

that being said: exo being called the official nation’s group, i say kai is the nation’s dancer. period. he has had his great moment at the korean olympics flawlessly dancing in a hanbok with traditional instruments and fulfilling his dream. 

i love the tension and drama he can bring. he can also thrill with slow, vulnerable movements alike.

kai’s is called a legend, he’s all that and even more. the facial expressions alone are feared by any kai stan because they hit home. 

this guy is a sex icon and goes off like a gun, messing around was never kai’s incentive. 

while at the same time being incredibly nuanced and so, so descriptive with his movements.

point dance: baby don’t cry. yep, kai has danced in water. must-watch.

this man loves what he is doing. he said he wouldn’t regret to die on stage because dancing is his destiny. boy, it shows. this guy has found his purpose. he can tell any story he wants. he’s a complete artist.

he’s perfectly portraying his incentive and he couldn’t look any more like a god on earth.

long story short, kai is dance and motivation goals. if you dance professionally, you can easily look toward him for the right words.

if you want to further your study and knowledge: he released a self-titled solo album recently. highly recommended. he worked forever on it, and he’s really dishing it on there. you get to hear his soft voice plus sizzling footwork. and he isn’t even getting started yet. you’ll hear from kai, i promise. he constantly achieves new levels of artistic perfection.

a last remark. jongin is amazing for a myriad of reasons that go beyond what i show you here given the post focuses on his work on stage. but the point stands, while other people have tried to break him, he broke through every barricade instead and stood up for himself. we can be extremely happy to have him and witnessing his unreal dance is an exceptional pleasure. here’s to jongin continuing his passion and confidence, healing, and getting the sweeping respect and acknowledgement that is his.

[tigercomplex]

anyways. so. wfc siege was uh, something?

not nearly as bad as i thought it might be but theres certainly.... problems.

The animations not so bad imo, better than prime wars at least. Colors could use some saturation, and most of the setting is too... samey. Like, you’ve got grey, more grey, grey ruins, grey.... The only really distinct locations would be like, the arc, that arena megatron gave speeches in, and the sea of rust (but MAN did they go hard with that one, wish it had more screentime). Should’ve taken a cue from fall of cybertron for the rest of the settings. Uh, and the music was nice whenever I noticed it. Nothing really iconic that sticks into my mind but at the beginning I liked the combinations of strings/synths or whatever the hell they used. It could be worked on to be actually memorable though.

The voice acting is like. super hit or miss. Most of it was like, trying too hard to be dramatic and all “war is hell”. Plus I’m still miffed about hasbro clearly not wanting to pay cullen and welker, and apparently not wanting to work with union VAs. The decepticons also like, all have this same/similar quality even on characters I don’t think it necessarily fits? Like they’re all “yes, I am eeevilll” and then that voice comes out of frickin impactor, who I’ve always seen as more gruff. Also impactor should have gotten an f-bomb. Soundwave’s voice is off, and feels like he doesn’t have very much.... presence, compared to everyone else. Shockwave’s voice isn’t bad by itself but I think the VA would be better suited by a less G1 design.

Elita-1, arcee, chromia, and moonracer’s designs kind of suck. They all have incredibly similar silhouettes (to the point several of the subtitles incorrectly identified one as another) and stick out like a sore thumb against the dudes. They’re significantly more frail, and have alot of round shapes and lack of kibble, and it’s clearly because they’re girls. G1 accuracy is worthless if it it’s done like this. They have these like, weird necks too? The guys are more like, segmented from their heads, because fleshy looking necks has always been weird in transformers. Also, rip moonracer you had no character whatsoever but we’re still expected to be sad about you I guess.

Speaking of character, I feel like transformers media is particularly prone to relying on past material to do the characterization work instead of actually writing it in. We all expect a character to act a certain way, so the writers take advantage of that to fill in the gaps they’ve left. Most of the characters weren’t really compelling to me, and then the like, exact second I start giving a shit about impactor, he gets shot like once and dies. Death is largely inconsistent in this franchise. Dude has a skyscraper land on him and gets saved, but can’t take a bullet mr. president style without getting shafted. And not to mention like, whats-his-face. Cog. got half his torso blown out and he was back up in no time. It’s all about what’s convenient for the writers. Back to talking about characterization. 2~ hours of content isn’t enough time to flesh out the cast at all. You’d have to drastically reduce the amount of characters, and just aim for a movie instead of a six episode series. Like, we clearly saw what a lack of time did for cyberverse, hasbro seriously needs to learn that these kinds of constraints are always going to negatively impact the show.

Also, like, am I the only one who’s getting kind of tired of this whole megatron and revolution thing? Like, it keeps being done kind of. crappily. And nobody really wants to do anything different in a substantial way. Siege being absolutely no exception because it’s always talked about by the characters in extremely vague terms, like going back and forth constantly like “no YOU started the war” and  “no YOU broke the planet” and it’s so boring. Give me an actual series of events. Show me what happened, show me why characters did these things, show me a halfway new take on it.

Oh, and like... this weird ass forced oplita is weird. I’m not opposed to the pairing in concept but, like I’ve said, there’s not much room to make decent characterizations and arcs and develop relationships. Plus it’s like... they really go hard on the no homo bro thing with mags and megs. Like. They Knew. But after all that I’m betting money impactor/ratchet is going to be like, THE ship for this whole series, maybe with some impactor/mirage on the side. Anticipate that, hasbro.

In the end hasbro probably isn’t going to change much, because we’re all still going to watch it, and we’re all still going to buy the toys. Well, I mean, maybe not all the toys. Earthrise arcee sucks so bad.

[suranflower]

Tips for starting college: my back to school post

I said college, but this is also useful for anyone studying at the moment.

It is possible I am not the most indicated to do this kind of post since I am a very messy person myself, but after studying all my life, I know what works and what doesn't. With this post, I hope I can help you a little if you feel clueless as where to start with your study, and also encourage myself to follow these things I know first hand are useful and very helpful. If with my experience I can give you just a clue as where to start, I’ll be grateful. So here we go!

Get yourself an agenda

An agenda is basic. I personally buy one literally every year and only use it for about two months and then forget about it, but the truth is that they are useful and should be used all throughout the academic year. I recommend a physical agenda/diary to note down everything you have to do. A calendar is, in my opinion, just as useful or even more.

You may use an app for this as well! I personally have tried about three different ones. Right now, I have School Planner installed and it works good. Agendas and apps like this are great since they allow you to have everything —dates, teacher's names, contacts, and to do lists— in one place. I must add that many of the best organized and most efficient students I know use Google Calendar, which you can easily access in any device using your account. The virtue of non-physical agendas and calendars is that you can take them everywhere and get notifications as reminders, but you might prefer the traditional way, which allows you yo personalize the planning even more. Both ways are good and I highly recommend using a combination.

Some of my friends have also used other methods such as bullet journals but from what they told me, the experience was not the greatest and went back to more traditional planning methods. My advice is you try it all and see what suits you best.

The most important thing is you don't stop using them and rely on your friends telling you deadlines and last minute all-nighters and working. Trust me, you'll miss many of the deadlines and only get more stressed; trust me I spent a whole semester like this and the results were pretty terrible psychologically wise. Just be patient and constant!

Get an all-purpose little notebook

Now, this is a tip I don't see often, but it is something I think many students do and has proven to be useful, at least in my experience. A small, all-purpose notebook you can take with you anywhere will allow you to put all information needed in a certain moment in one place. You ran out of paper, your computer won't work, you forgot your agenda, need to prepare a presentation or your professor is saying something that doesn't quite fit the rest of the notes? You can use this all purpose notebook. Because it's small, you can take it anywhere with you. It allows you to put all these things together and it's always easier to search inside one notebook that try to look into all your lose papers or something similar. It's all in one place. This probably won't work for writing all your notes or doing all your study there, but it can be very useful for punctual things.

Note taking

You can use almost anything for note taking in class. Some people use notebooks, which I don't recommend since there will be days where you will need to take many notebooks with you, as well as books and other things so it will be heavy and bad for your back.

Some other people use file cabinets, which allows you to have the right amount of papers needed for each subject's notes so you won't carry extra weight. If you do this —which I did all six years of high-school— I highly recommend you putting numbers in the pages. And use separators for each subject. While I think pretty much everyone uses separators, not many people number the pages, which —believe me— will result in mixing papers, or losing them. If you give your notes to a friend, it is easier to relocate the pages later. I know this is very basic but I can't stop talking about how important this is. You'd be surprised how many messy notes, lost pages and stuff I have seen throughout these years that could be so easily avoided with just numbering the pages.

These days, I use my laptop (same as this can apply for tablets) for taking notes in class because a) I can type way faster than I can write b) having my notes written in my computer is more useful for later corrections and understanding and all you need to do to get them on paper is print them. I used to use OpenOffice Writer for taking my notes, using one archive per subject. What I liked the most about it was how easy it was to convert to PDF, the options for reducing the borders and the fact that it is a free software. It rarely crashed though I'll admit it did more than Microsoft Office Word, which I used too occasionally.

However, what I have been using since last semester is OneNote, and I couldn't be any happier. It comes with the Microsoft Office pack —which by the way, is FREE for students, you only need to check the conditions for your country and your college web site will probably have a link to it— but you can access it from the web too, and they have a free app (both for Android and iPhone). I believe the OneNote software alone is free to download in the official site. With this program you can have all your notes in sync and check them and edit them from any device, while your notes will be safe in an online storage, as well as in your computer. It is very easy to use and has many interesting features that writers don't have, such as voice recording, automatically adding date and time, easy way of writing formulas, archive linking, free writing, sharing and much more. I think this one is the best yet and throught the checklists you can even turn it into an agenda. Aditional tip: add the date to all your notes. I never did it until last year, and trust me when I say it's one of the best things I've done. When starting to write down, just add "Monday 26th September" and life becomes easier.

When note-taking: don't write down everything the teacher says. It is useless and will get tiring. It's more important you follow the thread of the class, understand what they are talking about and note only the most important things or the answer to the doubts you had. You can find everything they say on books, don't stress trying to copy everything. I know it can be hard to distinguish between the most important things, but it is essential you learn it in order to study better. Also, you don’t need to re-write everything. It takes way too much time and remember that functionality is more important than aesthetic. Therefore, following a wel-known tip, I sugest making summaries and schemes or writing down in a neaty way the most important stuff, instead of rewriting everything. Finally, you don’t need to change your handwriting. It is fine, just try to keep it clean and clear, but your handwriting is unique and you shouldn’t changing it for the sake of following the studyblr aesthetic or something like that. Because it says a lot about you, just try keeping your handwriting as clear and clean as possible, as I said before.

Just like with note taking, not everything you read is equally important. Many teachers won't admit it, but with some texts you can do a superficial reading and understand the general concept while others require deep reading. This means a 30 page text can take you 30 minutes to read in some occasions, but a same length text can take you hours. It is your work to learn when you have to do a deep reading and when not to. This isn't easy neither and I can't really give you tips about it. Another thing you should do is taking notes from these readings: underline and write down important things, use sticky notes, etc. In my experience, the best thing when doing a deep writing is highlighting when girst-reading and oing your notes-to-self, and then making a summary with the most important things and ideas. The Cornell method is wonderful for this and I have always got good results using it —comprehension wise, but also with grades. In my major we have to read so much, and the quality of the writings, translatios or just the content isn’t always the same. Keep that in mind.

Get a color code when studying

The truth is I don’t really do this myself. Instead of having a fixed color-code for highlightig and writing, I use the colors that are disponible in the moment. It works for me, but the truth is that having the same color-code always is more useful. Still I must add that I usually use yellow highlighter for less important things and another color, like blue, green or pink for the most important things. For keywords, I usually use the “most important thing” color and then circle or underline the word with my pen. When writing, I usually use bright colors for the titles, black for keywords, red for subtitles and bullet points and  blue for everything else. As I said, none of this is fixed and depends on the material I can use at the moment. Just create something that works for you ^.^

Optimize your time but also rest

I am working on this myself, I know it’s hard. But don’t ever stop taking care of your mental health. Your mind, safety and psychological well being is more important than your grades. Need to study for hours? Do it, but then take your time for sleeping, eating, taking care of your skin and doing your hobbies as well.

Try to keep yourself motivated

It can be through goals (”I want to become a doctor”), mid-term goals (”I am going to get a great grade for this exam”) or just motivating yourself for the sake of self improvement (”I can do this and will do it because I will feel great when I achieve it”). It can be anything, just do your best. I know it is hard, I know you struggle when studying. I have asked myself so many times why am I doing this? Why am I here? This class is terrible, I’d rather be at home. But remember without hard work, you cannot achieve anything. Do your best, don’t push yourself too much, stay healthy and active and keep going. I honestly don’t have any long term goals and have to constantly push myself to do things and struggle to find motivation, but I have discovered it is about going step by step and putting yourself achiveable day-by-day, week-by-week goals. You are doing great, and remember that hard work always pays off -sooner or later.

Remember not measuring your self worth by other people

Stop comparing yourself to your classmates: you are both different and doing what you can. Try not letting other’s comments hurt you. And I know somethimes parents pressuere you a  and have high stardard to meet, but remember YOUR standards are more important and YOUR mental and physical health is more important than trying to meet the goals other’s set for you. I know making your parents proud feels great, it’s not worth it if it sends you to exhaustion.

When studying a language, even more important than the study itself, it is keeping in contact with said language

Listen to podcasts, read whenever you can, listen to music, watch TV shows in that language. You don’t have to understand everything, just keep that contact so you won’t forget those words, the pronunciation, etc. Don’t have time for German class this semester? Ok, you have apps like Duolingo that allow you to practise in a casual way. Cannot afford Japanese classes and don’t really have time for self-study right now? Alright, keep watching that anime. With social networks, it is as easy as following people that speaks said language. Just don’t give up!

Talk to your teachers. They don’t bite and actually many — in my experience most of them — are actually grateful that you approach them

I am working on this as well because I am a very shy person, but truly, this is so important. Have doubts? Tell them after classes. Further doubts or you don’t know how to approach the subject? Arrange a meeting in their office. Are you really interested in this and don’t know where to start? Teachers always have resources. Your teacher is also a person and their duty is to help you out. Forming a bond with your teacher is always a good thing, studying gets better and more interesting, and it’s even useful for networking in anticipation for future job finding. It will be good for you and it will probably make them happy as well seing that you have interest. Just don’t abuse it, they have other things to do and other student’s as well.

[cielospeaks]

i have no idea on the title but f-h shakes themed (dancer) banner

5 person (1 presumably temp trials? prolly morrigan), everyone (with exception) based on a shakespeare play, but loosely so. they all have “play” instead of sing/dance, which is basically the same thing. its supposed to be post musician/bard (ie niles) so with the same sorta dealio

my thought was basically like “welp theyve done everything now next years dancer banner could be renaissance outfits instead” and then that went directly to “shakespeare play banner” so. this wont happen but i love it and its so indulgent (imean 2 of them are my ocs so)

- kasumi (twelfth night)- blue tome, infantry. tome is personal and called “the wind and the rain”, grants the water/wind + at the start of turn and/or to the partner when danced to. kasumi herself is enjoying herself, maybe suggested the idea to the others. mentions how she can feel free to speak her mind while acting.

- fernand (hamlet)- red sword, infantry. weapon is called “poison fencing sword” or something like that and deals effective against infantry. is taking this seriously, stews on the nature of a revenge play for family. probably relates most to laertes out of the play. finds hamlet kinda dishonorable and annoying/hard to read but is dedicated to seeing this through.

- hrid (amnd)- colorless dagger, infantry. weapon is a tambourine and gets really into it in his dance animation. has poofy renaissance pants. the story of the paralogue is either solely these idiots or abt the other nifl sibs showing up for his performance (and none of the other ocs). the animation on his weapon has little donkeys and fairies and flowers. the same sweet and oblivious (bottom) boi we love.

- luci (ro+ju)- green tome, horse. tome is like “garland concoction” or something, based on the poison from the play. my original thought was masqureade lucimorri but this is same idea only better. takes this masked role seriously too. a good bean in any outfit. maybe called “star crossed future”? in reference to original lucis subtitle? bc it sounds so darn awesome.

- morrigan (ro+ju)- color? dagger, infantry. “macabre masquer” maybe? weapon is based on the dagger from the play. super stoked to be playing this role with luci! even if its just for the play its so up her alley- morbid and deadly but also tragic and romantic and gutwrenching. she eagerly says she hopes her parents and friends (johann and orion) are watching the play.

the plot of the paralogue as mentioned in hrids, is prolly his sibs going to the world. like they all 3 got an invitation to the world, wondering where he is. the first map is vs maybe hrid/luci/fern and is like “nobles theme”, whereas the second is “non nobles theme” w morrigan and kasumi. the last one is all of them together ofc. the nifl sibs are the only heroes ocs that appear in it. or the tempest trial for that matter. prolly luci is tt boss

also included but not appearing is (if they were there) caesar represented by kronya and ursula, who have an argument as to who should be cassius, since theyre both more suited to play him. kaze just sits it out and kinda wants to go home. laegjarn represents macbeth, but fits macduff much closer characterwise. she also respects his motives and thinks shed do the same if anyone brought harm to laevetain. idunn just kinda. well shes kinda just watching, but if she wants to join delthea shares the narrator script w her.

[uschickens]

Getting to know you meme

Okay. Okayokayokay. I said I was going to post more, actually engage more, so that requires, you know. Actually posting more. (Plus @momosandlemonsoda has graciously tagged me twice now, with no response from me, and that shall not stand!)

So. That meme thing going around.

Part I

name: Fannishly, I’m uschickens pretty much everywhere. Back in The Olden Times, I used Vix as my first name with uschickens, as in short for Vixen, as in a fox in the henhouse, which, like so many things with me, is so obscure as to only amuse myself.

star sign: Sagittarius, which seems a little ::skeptical headtilt:: at first, until you pair it with my Gemini rising and Virgo moon, and then it becomes a lot more we-know-but-hey-john-mulaney.gif

height: 5'5" (165.1cm)

time: 11:12pm

birthday: every handful of years, it coincides with Thanksgiving, so I get cake AND turkey.

nationality: american

fave bands/groups/solo artists: Like, currently listening to, or of all time, or or or??? This is a loaded question! Recently, Taemin’s Never Gonna Dance album hooked me hard. My other most-played playlists are called “last of the hardcore troubadours,” “frenzied banjos,” and “forest gods,” so I’m working the alt country/folk pop/whatever Florence and her Machine and Hozier have going on. Oh, and the Sleep No More soundtrack, so 1930s jazz, Hitchcockian strings, and edm all mashed together.

song stuck in your head: not even a song, just the one line from Taemin “we were just two kids/too young and dumb” over and over and over on repeat.

last movie you watched: I...have not watched a movie in a long, long time. Possibly a Knives Out rewatch? It Part Two? No, all my media consumption time lately has been devoted to...

last show you binged: All Things Tomb. I started watching reboot in, hmmm, late October? Early November? And with very few exceptions, various dmbj adaptions have been ALL I watched since then. It’s...kind of a problem. It goes in fits and starts, not a true binge since reboot, except for some blocking-out-the-outside-world plunges into Ultimate Note in early January. Reboot is the Tomb of My Heart, with Sha Hai a microscopically close second. Chen Minghao is my one! true! Pangzi, with surfer!Pangzi from tlt2 being a worthy predecessor. I am mostly here for post-Bronze Gate Wu Xies, and I vastly prefer the more realistic fighting style of reboot!Xiaoge than emo!XG, mathnerd!XG, or dancer!XG. But this was supposed to be about a binge, not my Standard Tomb Opinions Dissertation.

when you created your blog: 2010? There was a brief period when apparently I used tumblr for...interior design porn?? Rather than porn porn??? I quickly learned my lesson.

the last thing you googled: firstly, that would be the last thing I duckduckgoed, if we’re being strictly accurate, but I digress. It was [Richard Diebenkorn Guggenheim], part of a long-running conversation with my dad, who is a landscape painter currently going through an abstract expressionism phase. It’s getting wild up in here, folks.

other blogs: as I said, uschickens everywhere, by which I mean Twitter and dreamwidth and ao3.

why i chose my url: back in The Early Days of Livejournal, I lurked even more than I do now, so when I finally took the plunge, I couldn’t resist going with a name that really captured my inner Do Not Perceive Me, crossed with big band music and Louis Jordan. Ergo my tag line was “ain’t nobody here but... [us chickens]”.

how many people are you following: fuck if I know

how many followers do you have: fuck if I care

average hours of sleep: NOT. ENOUGH. But better than it used to be; see also my Twitter for some of the more bizarre paths my mind goes down when I’m in the middle of a juicy bit of insomnia.

lucky numbers: 3

instruments: a couple decades of piano and a solid eight months of French horn.

what i’m currently wearing: the dress I wore to work over pajama bottoms. I’m getting ready for bed, I swear. Halfway there!

dream job: ::hollow laughter:: I feel I would be excellent at being independently wealthy, at which point all my time would be devoted to travel, food, and writing about/photographing that travel and food, plus whatever experimental theater/circus/dance performances I happened to run across. But I shudder to think of actually relying on that sort of writing/photography to earn my keep, because there’s no faster way to kill my joy in a thing than to make it an obligation. Is “dilettante” still a thing? I’d be very good at that.

dream trip: do you want that chronologically or alphabetically? I have spreadsheets! I *will* be going to Singapore once all this ::gestures vaguely at the world:: sorts itself out. There’s a weeklong food tour in Mexico City for which I have lust in my heart. I want to rent a beachside with a million bedrooms for a month and just have friends show up for as much or as little of that month as they want. When I want true escapism, I look at the Aman hotel website, pick a location at random, and decide which suite I would like for a) myself, solo, b) myself with family, c) myself with friends and d) whichever characters currently live in my brain.

fave food: ha, I couldn’t pick a favorite band, and you want me to pick a favorite FOOD? Gumbo. Spaghetti and meatballs (but only good ones). Georgian khachapuri and aubergine satsivi. Fresh strawberries and cream.

top three fictional universe you’d like to live in: something written by Diana Wynne Jones, because it’s always a good mix of fantastic and pragmatic, with fundamentally decent people. Probably Howl and Sophie’s neck of the woods. Star Wars, because fuck it I want a lightsaber. And faster than light space travel. And I can’t think of a third offhand, but something with magic. Because if you’re going fictional, go big fictional or go home.

Part II

last song: the moody acoustic version of the Guardian theme song.

last movie last stream last podcast: We’ve already talked movies, and Vix Does Not Stream, so let’s go to the only thing that means my laundry gets folded in a timely manner - podcasts. I would be remiss in not mentioning the primary ‘castular joy in my life, the I Saw What You Did pod, which is two fortysomething women of color talking nerdily about two movies based on a theme each week. You’ve probably never seen most of these movies, and it doesn’t matter in the slightest. They themselves are a delight, and it’s exactly the sort of chewy discussion over media that I adore, especially because it is not done in an exclusionary, clerk-at-that-one-independent-video-store-who-always-seemed-to-be-sneering-at-your-choices way. Highly recommended. But, uh, the one I really should talk about is All About Agatha, a very good podcast reading and ranking all of Agatha Christie’s novels in order, because it is an excellent segue into...

currently reading: ...the fact that I am a solid 80% of the way through all of Agatha Christie’s novels in audiobook. In, like, the last two months. I haven’t read a book with my eyeballs since ::gestures vaguely at the world again:: (wait, no, I made it through the dmbj novels, for better or for worse), as reading with my eyes seems to be reserved for fic these days. But I am plowing through these audiobooks like it’s a part-time job. What even is life if not narrated by Hugh Fraser at this point? I’m not sure if I recommend the endeavor or not, but I and my knitting and my mystery audiobooks will be over here getting our Miss Marple on as long as possible. (For the record, the audiobooks have edited out some but not all of the egregious bits of racism but left most of the anti-Semitism. So, uh, there’s that.)

currently watching: Mystic Nine, my last full Tomb series. The only I’m not going into preemptive withdrawal is the presence of several side stories on iqiyi with English subtitles. Naturally not the ones I really want (heeeey, Liu Sang vs haunted paint can, plus whatever the hell is going on with Hei Xiazi from last month), but needs must. I suppose after that, I’m back to a reboot rewatch, for fic research purposes, if nothing else. I mean, I suppose I could watch a non-dmbj property? Like the backlog of recommendations I’ve been collecting?? Sounds fake, but okay.

what is antipoetry to you: I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s another form of poetry. Something something even by rebelling against the form one is inherently bound by its concepts, especially when one tries to define oneself in opposition to something one cannot help but be shaped by it blah blah.

currently craving: I could say something existential about what the pandemic has made me yearn for (live! theater! with! friends!), or I could talk about the roast pork from Big Wong’s that I’m seriously contemplating for lunch tomorrow, but what I want most right now is for the goddamn construction crew that dug a hole in the road right outside my window starting at 10pm would finish and go away ASAP.

[davidcdelreal]

What You Should Do With Your Tax Refund

Should you use your tax refund on a big-ticket item like a MacBook, designer apparel, a musical instrument, or a wall-sized TV?

If you’re tempted, I understand. Getting a tax refund can feel like the IRS just dropped free money into your account. Why not treat yourself to something cool?

But that’s not true. Your refund is your hard-earned money. It was your money all along. The government took more than you owed in taxes all year. Now it’s paying you back.

If you like the idea of using your earnings to get ahead in life, your refund — whether it’s a few hundred dollars or a few thousand — can go a long way toward giving you more freedom in the future.

And with more freedom, you can unlock more spending power throughout the year and not just when your refund comes through.

Best Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund

Reduce High Interest Debt

Open a Savings Account

Open a CD

Become an Investor

Invest in Your Retirement

Improve Your Home

Pursue Your Dreams

Improve Your Life

Give Back

How You Should Spend Your Tax Refund

Of course, nobody should tell you how to spend your money. If you’d like your refund to pay for a weekend-long shopping spree (and you and your family aren’t hungry or homeless), that’s your prerogative. You earned the money.

My job as a financial advisor is to make recommendations that could pave the way to a more stable financial future for you and your family.

With that in mind, here are some of my favorite, and some of the most responsible, ways to spend your tax refund.

With all these ideas I am assuming you already have an emergency fund set aside with at least three months worth of living expenses. If you don’t, you should use your refund to create one.   

1. Reduce High Interest Debt

Being in debt to a credit card or another unsecured lender can bleed you financially. Think about this common scenario: a $2,000 credit card balance at 26.99 percent interest. By making the minimum payment, you’ll spend about $3,800 paying off that $2,000.

Using your refund to pay off the entire $2,000 balance right now could save about $1,800 in finance charges. And you’d be avoiding future rate increases or late charges that could drive the balance even higher.

If you have more than one card with a high balance, pay off the one with the highest interest rate since higher rates cost you more over time.

It’s not only about credit cards:

Maybe you have an unsecured loan from your neighborhood bank.

Or maybe you’d love to get that car paid off.

What about those student loans that just won’t go away?

Putting your tax refund onto the principal of a higher interest loan will save you money in the long run.

Being in debt makes it much harder for your money to work toward your future. Your money can’t work for you because it’s working for someone else: your creditors.

Your tax return can help turn this around.

2. Grow Your Refund In an Online Savings Account

Are you doing OK on the debt front? If so, your refund could provide a great way to start saving for the future.

While you could just transfer your refund money directly into savings, you can unleash stronger earnings with a more strategic approach

An online-only savings account at a bank like CIT Bank can pay you a much higher interest rate — sometimes 10 times higher than your neighborhood bank.

Your $2,000 refund would gain several hundred dollars worth of interest in a year in a high-yield account. 

Open an account

Quick Look

Returns 2.45%

Highly Competitive Interest Rates

$100 minimum investment

Best suited for investors who want higher returns with zero risk

Open an account

3. Build On Your Refund With a CD

Want even more interest on your saved refund? A Certificate of Deposit (CD) can deliver. Typically, longer-term CDs offer the highest savings rates, but even short term CDs are gaining high returns historically.

At the end of the CD’s term, you can cash out or renew your CD to generate even more interest. Whether you choose an 11-month CD or a five year one, each year, this year’s tax refund would grow even larger.

A CD is a great place to invest safely, keeping you from spending your return too hastily and earning you interest simultaneously.

Compare the Best CDs of 2019

Select your state to get started

United States

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4. Start Investing with Your Tax Refund

The risk of losing your refund is astronomically low when you save it using any of the methods above.

Investing your refund puts your money at more risk, but it also opens up the possibility of earning much more. Here are some of the safest ways to invest:

A robo-advisor: Robo-advisors such as M1 Finance, Wealthfront, and Betterment can invest your money in diverse funds without charging high brokerage fees or requiring you to know exactly what you’re doing. Start investing with M1 Finance>>

Fundrise: Fundrise lets you invest in real estate development without being a developer or having the responsibility to actually manage anything. Start investing with Fundrise>>

Lending Club: You’re the banker when you invest in Lending Club, which issues loans to individuals and small businesses. As your borrowers repay, you’ll earn from the interest they’re paying. Start investing with Lending Club>>

Your own home: A refund of a few thousand dollars could go a long way toward a down payment on your own home, or at least closing costs. If you already own, check out the next section.

5. Invest Your Tax Refund in Your Future

Why not consider investing this year’s tax refund into your long term goals? The money you earn from this year’s tax returns could be a stellar starting point for your retirement account, for instance.

A Roth IRA, for instance, is one of the most rewarding retirement accounts you can invest in.

If you foresee yourself having higher taxes at retirement than you do now, a Roth IRA is perfect.

Online brokerages are a great option for Roth IRAs, streamlining your retirement and providing resources to keep you on track to meet your goals, and Ally Invest is one of our top picks.

Open a Roth IRA with Ally Invest>>

6. Use Your Refund to Improve Your Home

Homeowners probably won’t be able to get a new roof or build a garage with their tax refund. But your refund could still improve your home in ways that add value to your property:

Fresh landscaping: Curb appeal helps sell homes, and new landscaping could also help you enjoy your yard more. Your refund could buy an outdoor sitting area, a new patio or walkway, or new shrubbery, for example.

New bathroom fixtures: Realtors say better bathrooms move homes faster. Maybe some new light fixtures, a new vanity, or a better exhaust fan will fit into your refund amount.

Under-counter lighting: Your kitchen may be the room with the most potential for adding value to your home. New appliances can help if you need them; new features like under-counter lighting, a new island, or better storage could add even more value.

Insulation or windows: While home maintenance may not add value directly to your home, getting better insulation or a few new windows with your tax refund will save money on heating and cooling.

7. Use Your Refund to Get Ahead In Life

So, you’re already out of debt and already save and invest as you see fit? Your home’s in great shape, too? You’re probably looking for other smart ways to use your tax refund to get ahead in life.

Consider these:

Invest in passive income sources: With some time and money up front, you can create sources of passive income that generate income, even when you’re asleep. Here are some of my favorite passive income ideas.

Learn a new skill: Your local community college most likely offers a variety of courses. In most areas, tuition may be low enough for your refund to cover a semester or two. You can learn new software or coding. You can even start something bigger like a career in nursing, teaching, dental hygiene, or hospitality.

Plant a garden: A vegetable garden in your yard could save you money on groceries and lead to a more healthy lifestyle. You’d need some equipment, some knowledge, and some seeds. Your tax refund could get it up and running this spring.

8. Use Your Refund to Improve Your Life

There’s more to life than making smart money decisions. If you’re in solid shape financially, you may be ready to simply make your life more enjoyable. If so, you may like these ideas.

Exercise: Scientists have proven people who get physical exercise feel better mentally and physically. Using your refund to pay for a gym membership and exercise gear may be just the catalyst you need. You may even be able to hire a personal trainer for a year.

Cosmetic dentistry: Maybe you never got braces as a kid and you’ve always regretted it. Maybe you need a crown or a bridge and your insurance isn’t as robust as you’d like. Your refund could make it happen.

Redecorate a room: Your environment at home can also impact your perspective on life. New curtains, new paint, new furniture — they may not add much to your home’s property value but they can add value to your everyday life.

Bon voyage!: A warm-weather vacation or an Alaskan cruise? Whatever your preference, a refund-financed vacation may be just what you need.

Learn an art: Music lessons, painting supplies, dance or ice skating lessons, a literature class — following a passion can give life more meaning and enjoyment. Your refund could make it happen this year.

9. Use Your Tax Refund to Help Others

Helping others is contagious. People with money get a genuine thrill from sharing with people who need it:

Charitable giving: This one’s self-explanatory. Just about every community has nonprofits to help everything from early childhood education to abandoned animals. You can also get a tax break for next year with your donation.

Religious giving: If you enjoy supporting your faith community financially, your tax refund can help you help more.

Simply giving: Whether it’s taking your friends out for dinner one at a time or paying the bill anonymously for a party of six across the dining room, giving can be infectious.

Is Your Tax Refund Too Large?

Common sense says there’s no such thing as too much money. However, common sense isn’t always spot on, especially when the subject is taxation.

Getting a huge refund means the government has been holding on to a lot of your money all year. That’s OK if you enjoy the windfall of a refund every winter or early spring.

But if you’d rather have the freedom to use your own money the way you want all year, you should consider changing your withholdings at work. Your human resources department can help.

For example, you could be investing your income all year and earning interest. Uncle Sam doesn’t pay interest on your money when the IRS holds onto it until refund time.

The opposite can also be true: If the government didn’t withhold enough of your income, you could have a tax bill this year instead of a refund.

How to Optimize Your Tax Refund

Simply put, taxes aren’t simple. Tax rebates and tax credits, along with overpayment or underpayment during the previous calendar year, work together to create your refund or your amount owed.

You can’t change last year’s withholdings at this point, but you may be able to claim more rebates and credits than you thought which can increase your refund. A tax professional can help you find out. You can also get professional tax help online through platforms like TurboTax and H&R Block.

Rebates and credits will require some documentation. The American Opportunity Tax Credit, for example, can repay you for your children’s higher education expenses.

New energy-efficient appliances, child care, even money you spent on sales taxes last year — they all can add to your tax refund this year when you file.

So if you want to maximize the power of your refund to make life better this year, first make sure you’re getting as much of your money back as possible.

The post What You Should Do With Your Tax Refund appeared first on Good Financial Cents®.

from All About Insurance https://www.goodfinancialcents.com/what-to-do-with-tax-refund/

[jpweb12]

The Pros, Cons And Future Of Flat Design

With so much information related to the evolution of the graphic design, I don’t think there is any designer who can deny that flat design is one of the latest and hottest trends in the graphic design world. Having its own roots in the minimalist design, this visually simple and simplistic style can have many different forms and definitions. But to clear the things right from the beginning, I think it’s a better option to describe flat design starting from what it isn’t:

Flat design is not 3D. In simple words, the style’s name comes from its two-dimensional characteristics that are given by the usage of the flat shapes and of the details that create depth and dimension, such as shadows, textures, and highlights.

Flat design is not skeuomorphic. It started as a reaction against skeuomorphism. Designed to suggest or to look like (resemble) the real-world objects or processes, skeuomorphism uses generously effects such as drop shadows, reflections, realistic textures, bevel and emboss, glows and so on.

Flat design started to be a recognizable style in 2012 and 2013 thanks to the release of Windows 8 and iOS 7.

Why is flat design so popular today?

There are many reasons for which the flat website design has taken the web world by storm. Easy user interface, bold colors, sharp images, simple navigation, distinctive fonts, easy to read the text, all together contribute in making flat design the best option for many designers and customers. Indeed, all designers know that flat design is two-dimensional, uses simple graphic design and icons and has some minimalist approach that makes especially the web design projects easy to manage. On the other hand, for the companies which embrace this style, it comes with attributes such as simple user interface, friendly aesthetics, clean, colorful, positive wire-framing effect, minimal, ease of use and maintenance and the list seems to continue.

We see today tons of SaaS companies and products leverage flat design for creating easy to understand and simple products. Here are a few resource management software tools to online banking apps, they all started to embrace flat design and absolutely nail it.

However, the web designers have to face these days not just the challenge of a new relative trend, but they also have to make sure the design is responsive enough to provide the user an easy access on other devices than just desktops.

Taking into consideration the flat design has been around for a few years and is still going strong, for sure it’s more than just a passing trend and it has come here to stay. As for any other trend, there are two sides of the same coin that each designer should know and not just blindly follow the trend.

So, let’s look at flat design pros and cons and also let’s see where it might head in the future.

The PROS

  Flat design is trendy

As we’ve already mentioned, flat design is one of the hottest trends nowadays. You may see it everywhere, whether it’s about brand design, print, packaging or web design. Those visual projects that use flat design are on top and this style has gained the attention of many graphic designers in a very short time.

Flat design is compatible with the responsive design

Since Microsoft, Apple and other big brands have embraced the flat design, this style was also adopted as a fresh approach to delivering a great experience to the users. From its appearance until now, it has been and continues to be an excellent choice for web and mobile design – and for some good reasons.

It’s true the flat design principles fits all design categories and can be applied by all of them, but its grid-based layouts and simple visual are particularly suited to web and mobile design because they can be easily resized or rearranged to display on different devices and screen sizes.

Taking into consideration that the number of people connecting to the internet using mobile devices surpassed the number of those who access the internet using a desktop, the reason for choosing flat design website is more than obvious. According to Ryan Allen, flat design can be used to “dynamically scale to a content-appropriate size much simpler than a pixel-perfect design.”

Flexible framework

No matter how you name it – grids, cards or modules – many visuals using the flat look tend to rely their graphics on geometric shapes, especially because this type of layout is easy to scan and navigate. The grids or modules are also flexible frameworks that can be shaped into different configurations. This allows the designers to create visuals that best suits with different design projects and display their content, rather than gather the content in limiting and pre-determined layouts.

Let’s take a look at the two examples listed below:

The San-Francisco based agency Moniker uses grids in different ways to show their work, profile, and news.

On the other hand, these brochure and flyer designs feature different geometric shapes for highlighting various design elements such as typography and icons. Also, the blocks of uniform colors and simple illustration bring the flat look for both of them.

Clean typography

Because of the lack of three-dimensional effects and of the quite simple visual, flat design also provoke the designers to approach the typesetting in a different way. Often, the result is a larger and more streamlined typography that combined with bright colors, bold and creative look makes it look absolutely stunning.

Clean and Sharp Visuals

One of the most important characteristics that make a flat design so appealing and interesting is its sharp design. The icons, shapes, lines, and buttons are all in the minimalist style, making the visual look beautiful. Also, the high-contrast features including bright colors, typography, and boldness all together make the design clean and easy to follow.

The CONS

  Lack of Distinctiveness

In terms of visual communication, every business or brand wants its design to communicate their unique characteristics, whether they are using about brochures, posters, websites, apps or something else to convey their message.

One of the downsides of flat designs is the constraints imposed to designers by the minimalist approach and relatively strict rules. With a limited choice of principles to apply, combined with other current graphic design trends, we’re seeing a huge rise in generically designed visuals.

For instance, let’s take a look at the two apps listed below, which are unrelated to each other:

Both of them feature almost the same geometric shapes, use the same color scheme and overlapped white sans-serif text.

Compromised Usability

While they strive to emphasize the flat design’s clean and minimalist qualities, some designers fall into the trap of focusing too much on aesthetics to the detriment of usability. This is a particular risk for the web and mobile design.

Since everything is flat, it’s hard to say what is clickable and what is not. To keep it simple, flat design projects tend to have less “information density”, so, important features and actions can be hidden from the view. Therefore, many users don’t accept with an open heart the too much simplicity in interface design that characterizes the flat design.

  Extreme minimalism

The ethos of flat design is to implement the “Swiss Style” philosophy. A philosophy that places heavy emphasis on minimalism amongst other things. But the minimalism included here is a fine line that could be easily overstepped and transform everything in a featureless site.

On the other side, it can be difficult to convey a complicated visual message in flat design. One of the arguments against flat design is the simplicity of user-interface tools. The supporters of skeuomorphic design say the effects that add a sense of realism make the tools easy to use. Frankly, I think it depends on the context.

The FUTURE

  Flat 2.0

As the flat design has been around for few years with all its pros and cons, the designers decided to adjust the style according to their needs.

In its early days, the flat design was characterized by a strict visual simplicity. However, for both aesthetic and functional reasons, the recent developments have brought the subtle reintroduction of effects like shadows and textures. The result is a style named “Flat 2.0” or “almost-flat” design.

This style is more of a compromise: you still get the clean simplicity of flat design but add some subtitle 3D effects for a visual variety and improved usability.

Material Design

Including many common characteristics with Flat 2.0, Material Design is a visual language developed by Google that accentuates grid-based layouts and features of “deliberate color choices, edge-to-edge imagery, large-scale typography, and intentional white space” to create a “bold and graphic interface that immerse the user in the experience”.

Considering the material as a metaphor, Material Design uses a paper-inspired approach with “visual cues that are grounded in reality” and “familiar tactile attributes” for helping users to quickly understand and navigate the designs. Also, the “fundamentals of light, surface, and movement are key to conveying how objects move, interact, and exist in space and in relation to each other. Realistic lighting shows seams, divides space, and indicates moving parts.”

As Google Material Design’s guide is free, the designers are encouraged to apply it to their own work, whether they chose to follow closely these guidelines or to pick up and use the elements and techniques they like.

Join the Discussion

Whether you are an advocate of flat design or of skeuomorphism, the two can certainly co-exist. It depends on the context and content. The tricky part, as the last years has shown and for sure the next years will prove, is to find the perfect balance between them.

Where do you see flat design moving? Do you think it is here to stay or taking into consideration the last evolution of the graphic design trends, it will rather evolve to something else? Feel free to share your thoughts and insights in the comments.

  Read More at The Pros, Cons And Future Of Flat Design

from IT Feed https://webdesignledger.com/the-pros-cons-and-future-of-flat-design/

[regulardomainname]

The Pros, Cons And Future Of Flat Design

With so much information related to the evolution of the graphic design, I don’t think there is any designer who can deny that flat design is one of the latest and hottest trends in the graphic design world. Having its own roots in the minimalist design, this visually simple and simplistic style can have many different forms and definitions. But to clear the things right from the beginning, I think it’s a better option to describe flat design starting from what it isn’t: * Flat design is not 3D. In simple words, the style’s name comes from its two-dimensional characteristics that are given by the usage of the flat shapes and of the details that create depth and dimension, such as shadows, textures, and highlights. * Flat design is not skeuomorphic. It started as a reaction against skeuomorphism. Designed to suggest or to look like (resemble) the real-world objects or processes, skeuomorphism uses generously effects such as drop shadows, reflections, realistic textures, bevel and emboss, glows and so on. Flat design started to be a recognizable style in 2012 and 2013 thanks to the release of Windows 8 and iOS 7. Why is flat design so popular today? There are many reasons for which the flat website design has taken the web world by storm. Easy user interface, bold colors, sharp images, simple navigation, distinctive fonts, easy to read the text, all together contribute in making flat design the best option for many designers and customers. Indeed, all designers know that flat design is two-dimensional, uses simple graphic design and icons and has some minimalist approach that makes especially the web design projects easy to manage. On the other hand, for the companies which embrace this style, it comes with attributes such as simple user interface, friendly aesthetics, clean, colorful, positive wire-framing effect, minimal, ease of use and maintenance and the list seems to continue. We see today tons of SaaS companies and products leverage flat design for creating easy to understand and simple products. Here are a few resource management software tools to online banking apps, they all started to embrace flat design and absolutely nail it. However, the web designers have to face these days not just the challenge of a new relative trend, but they also have to make sure the design is responsive enough to provide the user an easy access on other devices than just desktops. Taking into consideration the flat design has been around for a few years and is still going strong, for sure it’s more than just a passing trend and it has come here to stay. As for any other trend, there are two sides of the same coin that each designer should know and not just blindly follow the trend. So, let’s look at flat design pros and cons and also let’s see where it might head in the future. The PROS   Flat design is trendy As we’ve already mentioned, flat design is one of the hottest trends nowadays. You may see it everywhere, whether it’s about brand design, print, packaging or web design. Those visual projects that use flat design are on top and this style has gained the attention of many graphic designers in a very short time. Flat design is compatible with the responsive design Since Microsoft, Apple and other big brands have embraced the flat design, this style was also adopted as a fresh approach to delivering a great experience to the users. From its appearance until now, it has been and continues to be an excellent choice for web and mobile design – and for some good reasons. It’s true the flat design principles fits all design categories and can be applied by all of them, but its grid-based layouts and simple visual are particularly suited to web and mobile design because they can be easily resized or rearranged to display on different devices and screen sizes. Taking into consideration that the number of people connecting to the internet using mobile devices surpassed the number of those who access the internet using a desktop, the reason for choosing flat design website is more than obvious. According to Ryan Allen, flat design can be used to “dynamically scale to a content-appropriate size much simpler than a pixel-perfect design.” Flexible framework No matter how you name it – grids, cards or modules – many visuals using the flat look tend to rely their graphics on geometric shapes, especially because this type of layout is easy to scan and navigate. The grids or modules are also flexible frameworks that can be shaped into different configurations. This allows the designers to create visuals that best suits with different design projects and display their content, rather than gather the content in limiting and pre-determined layouts. Let’s take a look at the two examples listed below: The San-Francisco based agency Moniker uses grids in different ways to show their work, profile, and news. On the other hand, these brochure and flyer designs feature different geometric shapes for highlighting various design elements such as typography and icons. Also, the blocks of uniform colors and simple illustration bring the flat look for both of them. Clean typography Because of the lack of three-dimensional effects and of the quite simple visual, flat design also provoke the designers to approach the typesetting in a different way. Often, the result is a larger and more streamlined typography that combined with bright colors, bold and creative look makes it look absolutely stunning. Clean and Sharp Visuals One of the most important characteristics that make a flat design so appealing and interesting is its sharp design. The icons, shapes, lines, and buttons are all in the minimalist style, making the visual look beautiful. Also, the high-contrast features including bright colors, typography, and boldness all together make the design clean and easy to follow. The CONS   Lack of Distinctiveness In terms of visual communication, every business or brand wants its design to communicate their unique characteristics, whether they are using about brochures, posters, websites, apps or something else to convey their message. One of the downsides of flat designs is the constraints imposed to designers by the minimalist approach and relatively strict rules. With a limited choice of principles to apply, combined with other current graphic design trends, we’re seeing a huge rise in generically designed visuals. For instance, let’s take a look at the two apps listed below, which are unrelated to each other: Both of them feature almost the same geometric shapes, use the same color scheme and overlapped white sans-serif text. Compromised Usability While they strive to emphasize the flat design’s clean and minimalist qualities, some designers fall into the trap of focusing too much on aesthetics to the detriment of usability. This is a particular risk for the web and mobile design. Since everything is flat, it’s hard to say what is clickable and what is not. To keep it simple, flat design projects tend to have less “information density”, so, important features and actions can be hidden from the view. Therefore, many users don’t accept with an open heart the too much simplicity in interface design that characterizes the flat design.   Extreme minimalism The ethos of flat design is to implement the “Swiss Style” philosophy. A philosophy that places heavy emphasis on minimalism amongst other things. But the minimalism included here is a fine line that could be easily overstepped and transform everything in a featureless site. On the other side, it can be difficult to convey a complicated visual message in flat design. One of the arguments against flat design is the simplicity of user-interface tools. The supporters of skeuomorphic design say the effects that add a sense of realism make the tools easy to use. Frankly, I think it depends on the context. The FUTURE   Flat 2.0 As the flat design has been around for few years with all its pros and cons, the designers decided to adjust the style according to their needs. In its early days, the flat design was characterized by a strict visual simplicity. However, for both aesthetic and functional reasons, the recent developments have brought the subtle reintroduction of effects like shadows and textures. The result is a style named “Flat 2.0” or “almost-flat” design. This style is more of a compromise: you still get the clean simplicity of flat design but add some subtitle 3D effects for a visual variety and improved usability. Material Design Including many common characteristics with Flat 2.0, Material Design is a visual language developed by Google that accentuates grid-based layouts and features of “deliberate color choices, edge-to-edge imagery, large-scale typography, and intentional white space” to create a “bold and graphic interface that immerse the user in the experience”. Considering the material as a metaphor, Material Design uses a paper-inspired approach with “visual cues that are grounded in reality” and “familiar tactile attributes” for helping users to quickly understand and navigate the designs. Also, the “fundamentals of light, surface, and movement are key to conveying how objects move, interact, and exist in space and in relation to each other. Realistic lighting shows seams, divides space, and indicates moving parts.” As Google Material Design’s guide is free, the designers are encouraged to apply it to their own work, whether they chose to follow closely these guidelines or to pick up and use the elements and techniques they like. Join the Discussion Whether you are an advocate of flat design or of skeuomorphism, the two can certainly co-exist. It depends on the context and content. The tricky part, as the last years has shown and for sure the next years will prove, is to find the perfect balance between them. Where do you see flat design moving? Do you think it is here to stay or taking into consideration the last evolution of the graphic design trends, it will rather evolve to something else? Feel free to share your thoughts and insights in the comments.   Read More at The Pros, Cons And Future Of Flat Design http://dlvr.it/PmkhxY www.regulardomainname.com

[davidcdelreal]

What You Should Do With Your Tax Refund

Should you use your tax refund on a big-ticket item like a MacBook, designer apparel, a musical instrument, or a wall-sized TV?

If you’re tempted, I understand. Getting a tax refund can feel like the IRS just dropped free money into your account. Why not treat yourself to something cool?

But that’s not true. Your refund is your hard-earned money. It was your money all along. The government took more than you owed in taxes all year. Now it’s paying you back.

If you like the idea of using your earnings to get ahead in life, your refund — whether it’s a few hundred dollars or a few thousand — can go a long way toward giving you more freedom in the future.

And with more freedom, you can unlock more spending power throughout the year and not just when your refund comes through.

Best Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund

Reduce High Interest Debt

Open a Savings Account

Open a CD

Become an Investor

Invest in Your Retirement

Improve Your Home

Pursue Your Dreams

Improve Your Life

Give Back

How You Should Spend Your Tax Refund

Of course, nobody should tell you how to spend your money. If you’d like your refund to pay for a weekend-long shopping spree (and you and your family aren’t hungry or homeless), that’s your prerogative. You earned the money.

My job as a financial advisor is to make recommendations that could pave the way to a more stable financial future for you and your family.

With that in mind, here are some of my favorite, and some of the most responsible, ways to spend your tax refund.

With all these ideas I am assuming you already have an emergency fund set aside with at least three months worth of living expenses. If you don’t, you should use your refund to create one.   

1. Reduce High Interest Debt

Being in debt to a credit card or another unsecured lender can bleed you financially. Think about this common scenario: a $2,000 credit card balance at 26.99 percent interest. By making the minimum payment, you’ll spend about $3,800 paying off that $2,000.

Using your refund to pay off the entire $2,000 balance right now could save about $1,800 in finance charges. And you’d be avoiding future rate increases or late charges that could drive the balance even higher.

If you have more than one card with a high balance, pay off the one with the highest interest rate since higher rates cost you more over time.

It’s not only about credit cards:

Maybe you have an unsecured loan from your neighborhood bank.

Or maybe you’d love to get that car paid off.

What about those student loans that just won’t go away?

Putting your tax refund onto the principal of a higher interest loan will save you money in the long run.

Being in debt makes it much harder for your money to work toward your future. Your money can’t work for you because it’s working for someone else: your creditors.

Your tax return can help turn this around.

2. Grow Your Refund In an Online Savings Account

Are you doing OK on the debt front? If so, your refund could provide a great way to start saving for the future.

While you could just transfer your refund money directly into savings, you can unleash stronger earnings with a more strategic approach

An online-only savings account at a bank like CIT Bank can pay you a much higher interest rate — sometimes 10 times higher than your neighborhood bank.

Your $2,000 refund would gain several hundred dollars worth of interest in a year in a high-yield account. 

Open an account

Quick Look

Returns 2.45%

Highly Competitive Interest Rates

$100 minimum investment

Best suited for investors who want higher returns with zero risk

Open an account

3. Build On Your Refund With a CD

Want even more interest on your saved refund? A Certificate of Deposit (CD) can deliver. Typically, longer-term CDs offer the highest savings rates, but even short term CDs are gaining high returns historically.

At the end of the CD’s term, you can cash out or renew your CD to generate even more interest. Whether you choose an 11-month CD or a five year one, each year, this year’s tax refund would grow even larger.

A CD is a great place to invest safely, keeping you from spending your return too hastily and earning you interest simultaneously.

Compare the Best CDs of 2019

Select your state to get started

United States

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4. Start Investing with Your Tax Refund

The risk of losing your refund is astronomically low when you save it using any of the methods above.

Investing your refund puts your money at more risk, but it also opens up the possibility of earning much more. Here are some of the safest ways to invest:

A robo-advisor: Robo-advisors such as M1 Finance, Wealthfront, and Betterment can invest your money in diverse funds without charging high brokerage fees or requiring you to know exactly what you’re doing. Start investing with M1 Finance>>

Fundrise: Fundrise lets you invest in real estate development without being a developer or having the responsibility to actually manage anything. Start investing with Fundrise>>

Lending Club: You’re the banker when you invest in Lending Club, which issues loans to individuals and small businesses. As your borrowers repay, you’ll earn from the interest they’re paying. Start investing with Lending Club>>

Your own home: A refund of a few thousand dollars could go a long way toward a down payment on your own home, or at least closing costs. If you already own, check out the next section.

5. Invest Your Tax Refund in Your Future

Why not consider investing this year’s tax refund into your long term goals? The money you earn from this year’s tax returns could be a stellar starting point for your retirement account, for instance.

A Roth IRA, for instance, is one of the most rewarding retirement accounts you can invest in.

If you foresee yourself having higher taxes at retirement than you do now, a Roth IRA is perfect.

Online brokerages are a great option for Roth IRAs, streamlining your retirement and providing resources to keep you on track to meet your goals, and Ally Invest is one of our top picks.

Open a Roth IRA with Ally Invest>>

6. Use Your Refund to Improve Your Home

Homeowners probably won’t be able to get a new roof or build a garage with their tax refund. But your refund could still improve your home in ways that add value to your property:

Fresh landscaping: Curb appeal helps sell homes, and new landscaping could also help you enjoy your yard more. Your refund could buy an outdoor sitting area, a new patio or walkway, or new shrubbery, for example.

New bathroom fixtures: Realtors say better bathrooms move homes faster. Maybe some new light fixtures, a new vanity, or a better exhaust fan will fit into your refund amount.

Under-counter lighting: Your kitchen may be the room with the most potential for adding value to your home. New appliances can help if you need them; new features like under-counter lighting, a new island, or better storage could add even more value.

Insulation or windows: While home maintenance may not add value directly to your home, getting better insulation or a few new windows with your tax refund will save money on heating and cooling.

7. Use Your Refund to Get Ahead In Life

So, you’re already out of debt and already save and invest as you see fit? Your home’s in great shape, too? You’re probably looking for other smart ways to use your tax refund to get ahead in life.

Consider these:

Invest in passive income sources: With some time and money up front, you can create sources of passive income that generate income, even when you’re asleep. Here are some of my favorite passive income ideas.

Learn a new skill: Your local community college most likely offers a variety of courses. In most areas, tuition may be low enough for your refund to cover a semester or two. You can learn new software or coding. You can even start something bigger like a career in nursing, teaching, dental hygiene, or hospitality.

Plant a garden: A vegetable garden in your yard could save you money on groceries and lead to a more healthy lifestyle. You’d need some equipment, some knowledge, and some seeds. Your tax refund could get it up and running this spring.

8. Use Your Refund to Improve Your Life

There’s more to life than making smart money decisions. If you’re in solid shape financially, you may be ready to simply make your life more enjoyable. If so, you may like these ideas.

Exercise: Scientists have proven people who get physical exercise feel better mentally and physically. Using your refund to pay for a gym membership and exercise gear may be just the catalyst you need. You may even be able to hire a personal trainer for a year.

Cosmetic dentistry: Maybe you never got braces as a kid and you’ve always regretted it. Maybe you need a crown or a bridge and your insurance isn’t as robust as you’d like. Your refund could make it happen.

Redecorate a room: Your environment at home can also impact your perspective on life. New curtains, new paint, new furniture — they may not add much to your home’s property value but they can add value to your everyday life.

Bon voyage!: A warm-weather vacation or an Alaskan cruise? Whatever your preference, a refund-financed vacation may be just what you need.

Learn an art: Music lessons, painting supplies, dance or ice skating lessons, a literature class — following a passion can give life more meaning and enjoyment. Your refund could make it happen this year.

9. Use Your Tax Refund to Help Others

Helping others is contagious. People with money get a genuine thrill from sharing with people who need it:

Charitable giving: This one’s self-explanatory. Just about every community has nonprofits to help everything from early childhood education to abandoned animals. You can also get a tax break for next year with your donation.

Religious giving: If you enjoy supporting your faith community financially, your tax refund can help you help more.

Simply giving: Whether it’s taking your friends out for dinner one at a time or paying the bill anonymously for a party of six across the dining room, giving can be infectious.

Is Your Tax Refund Too Large?

Common sense says there’s no such thing as too much money. However, common sense isn’t always spot on, especially when the subject is taxation.

Getting a huge refund means the government has been holding on to a lot of your money all year. That’s OK if you enjoy the windfall of a refund every winter or early spring.

But if you’d rather have the freedom to use your own money the way you want all year, you should consider changing your withholdings at work. Your human resources department can help.

For example, you could be investing your income all year and earning interest. Uncle Sam doesn’t pay interest on your money when the IRS holds onto it until refund time.

The opposite can also be true: If the government didn’t withhold enough of your income, you could have a tax bill this year instead of a refund.

How to Optimize Your Tax Refund

Simply put, taxes aren’t simple. Tax rebates and tax credits, along with overpayment or underpayment during the previous calendar year, work together to create your refund or your amount owed.

You can’t change last year’s withholdings at this point, but you may be able to claim more rebates and credits than you thought which can increase your refund. A tax professional can help you find out. You can also get professional tax help online through platforms like TurboTax and H&R Block.

Rebates and credits will require some documentation. The American Opportunity Tax Credit, for example, can repay you for your children’s higher education expenses.

New energy-efficient appliances, child care, even money you spent on sales taxes last year — they all can add to your tax refund this year when you file.

So if you want to maximize the power of your refund to make life better this year, first make sure you’re getting as much of your money back as possible.

The post What You Should Do With Your Tax Refund appeared first on Good Financial Cents®.

from All About Insurance https://www.goodfinancialcents.com/what-to-do-with-tax-refund/

[davidcdelreal]

What You Should Do With Your Tax Refund

Should you use your tax refund on a big-ticket item like a MacBook, designer apparel, a musical instrument, or a wall-sized TV?

If you’re tempted, I understand. Getting a tax refund can feel like the IRS just dropped free money into your account. Why not treat yourself to something cool?

But that’s not true. Your refund is your hard-earned money. It was your money all along. The government took more than you owed in taxes all year. Now it’s paying you back.

If you like the idea of using your earnings to get ahead in life, your refund — whether it’s a few hundred dollars or a few thousand — can go a long way toward giving you more freedom in the future.

And with more freedom, you can unlock more spending power throughout the year and not just when your refund comes through.

Best Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund

Reduce High Interest Debt

Get an Online Savings Account

Open a CD

Become an Investor

Invest in Your Retirement

Improve Your Home

Pursue Your Dreams

Improve Your Life

Give Back

How You Should Spend Your Tax Refund

Of course, nobody should tell you how to spend your money. If you’d like your refund to pay for a weekend-long shopping spree (and you and your family aren’t hungry or homeless), that’s your prerogative. You earned the money.

My job as a financial advisor is to make recommendations that could pave the way to a more stable financial future for you and your family.

With that in mind, here are some of my favorite, and some of the most responsible, ways to spend your tax refund.

With all these ideas I am assuming you already have an emergency fund set aside with at least three months worth of living expenses. If you don’t, you should use your refund to create one.   

1. Reduce High Interest Debt

Being in debt to a credit card or another unsecured lender can bleed you financially. Think about this common scenario: a $2,000 credit card balance at 26.99 percent interest. By making the minimum payment, you’ll spend about $3,800 paying off that $2,000.

Using your refund to pay off the entire $2,000 balance right now could save about $1,800 in finance charges. And you’d be avoiding future rate increases or late charges that could drive the balance even higher.

If you have more than one card with a high balance, pay off the one with the highest interest rate since higher rates cost you more over time.

It’s not only about credit cards:

Maybe you have an unsecured loan from your neighborhood bank.

Or maybe you’d love to get that car paid off.

What about those student loans that just won’t go away?

Putting your tax refund onto the principal of a higher interest loan will save you money in the long run.

Being in debt makes it much harder for your money to work toward your future. Your money can’t work for you because it’s working for someone else: your creditors.

Your tax return can help turn this around.

2. Grow Your Refund In an Online Savings Account

Are you doing OK on the debt front? If so, your refund could provide a great way to start saving for the future.

While you could just transfer your refund money directly into savings, you can unleash stronger earnings with a more strategic approach

An online-only savings account at a bank like CIT Bank can pay you a much higher interest rate — sometimes 10 times higher than your neighborhood bank.

Your $2,000 refund would gain several hundred dollars worth of interest in a year in a high-yield account. 

Open an account

Quick Look

Returns 2.45%

Highly Competitive Interest Rates

$100 minimum investment

Best suited for investors who want higher returns with zero risk

Open an account

3. Build On Your Refund With a CD

Want even more interest on your saved refund? A Certificate of Deposit (CD) can deliver. Typically, longer-term CDs offer the highest savings rates, but even short term CDs are gaining high returns historically.

At the end of the CD’s term, you can cash out or renew your CD to generate even more interest. Whether you choose an 11-month CD or a five year one, each year, this year’s tax refund would grow even larger.

A CD is a great place to invest safely, keeping you from spending your return too hastily and earning you interest simultaneously.

Compare the Best CDs of 2019

Select your state to get started

United States

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4. Start Investing with Your Tax Refund

The risk of losing your refund is astronomically low when you save it using any of the methods above.

Investing your refund puts your money at more risk, but it also opens up the possibility of earning much more. Here are some of the safest ways to invest:

A robo-advisor: Robo-advisors such as M1 Finance, Wealthfront, and Betterment can invest your money in diverse funds without charging high brokerage fees or requiring you to know exactly what you’re doing. Start investing with M1 Finance>>

Fundrise: Fundrise lets you invest in real estate development without being a developer or having the responsibility to actually manage anything. Start investing with Fundrise>>

Lending Club: You’re the banker when you invest in Lending Club, which issues loans to individuals and small businesses. As your borrowers repay, you’ll earn from the interest they’re paying. Start investing with Lending Club>>

Your own home: A refund of a few thousand dollars could go a long way toward a down payment on your own home, or at least closing costs. If you already own, check out the next section.

5. Invest Your Tax Refund in Your Future

Why not consider investing this year’s tax refund into your long term goals? The money you earn from this year’s tax returns could be a stellar starting point for your retirement account, for instance.

A Roth IRA, for instance, is one of the most rewarding retirement accounts you can invest in.

If you foresee yourself having higher taxes at retirement than you do now, a Roth IRA is perfect.

Online brokerages are a great option for Roth IRAs, streamlining your retirement and providing resources to keep you on track to meet your goals, and Ally Invest is one of our top picks.

Open a Roth IRA with Ally Invest>>

6. Use Your Refund to Improve Your Home

Homeowners probably won’t be able to get a new roof or build a garage with their tax refund. But your refund could still improve your home in ways that add value to your property:

Fresh landscaping: Curb appeal helps sell homes, and new landscaping could also help you enjoy your yard more. Your refund could buy an outdoor sitting area, a new patio or walkway, or new shrubbery, for example.

New bathroom fixtures: Realtors say better bathrooms move homes faster. Maybe some new light fixtures, a new vanity, or a better exhaust fan will fit into your refund amount.

Under-counter lighting: Your kitchen may be the room with the most potential for adding value to your home. New appliances can help if you need them; new features like under-counter lighting, a new island, or better storage could add even more value.

Insulation or windows: While home maintenance may not add value directly to your home, getting better insulation or a few new windows with your tax refund will save money on heating and cooling.

7. Use Your Refund to Get Ahead In Life

So, you’re already out of debt and already save and invest as you see fit? Your home’s in great shape, too? You’re probably looking for other smart ways to use your tax refund to get ahead in life.

Consider these:

Invest in passive income sources: With some time and money up front, you can create sources of passive income that generate income, even when you’re asleep. Here are some of my favorite passive income ideas.

Learn a new skill: Your local community college most likely offers a variety of courses. In most areas, tuition may be low enough for your refund to cover a semester or two. You can learn new software or coding. You can even start something bigger like a career in nursing, teaching, dental hygiene, or hospitality.

Plant a garden: A vegetable garden in your yard could save you money on groceries and lead to a more healthy lifestyle. You’d need some equipment, some knowledge, and some seeds. Your tax refund could get it up and running this spring.

8. Use Your Refund to Improve Your Life

There’s more to life than making smart money decisions. If you’re in solid shape financially, you may be ready to simply make your life more enjoyable. If so, you may like these ideas.

Exercise: Scientists have proven people who get physical exercise feel better mentally and physically. Using your refund to pay for a gym membership and exercise gear may be just the catalyst you need. You may even be able to hire a personal trainer for a year.

Cosmetic dentistry: Maybe you never got braces as a kid and you’ve always regretted it. Maybe you need a crown or a bridge and your insurance isn’t as robust as you’d like. Your refund could make it happen.

Redecorate a room: Your environment at home can also impact your perspective on life. New curtains, new paint, new furniture — they may not add much to your home’s property value but they can add value to your everyday life.

Bon voyage!: A warm-weather vacation or an Alaskan cruise? Whatever your preference, a refund-financed vacation may be just what you need.

Learn an art: Music lessons, painting supplies, dance or ice skating lessons, a literature class — following a passion can give life more meaning and enjoyment. Your refund could make it happen this year.

9. Use Your Tax Refund to Help Others

Helping others is contagious. People with money get a genuine thrill from sharing with people who need it:

Charitable giving: This one’s self-explanatory. Just about every community has nonprofits to help everything from early childhood education to abandoned animals. You can also get a tax break for next year with your donation.

Religious giving: If you enjoy supporting your faith community financially, your tax refund can help you help more.

Simply giving: Whether it’s taking your friends out for dinner one at a time or paying the bill anonymously for a party of six across the dining room, giving can be infectious.

Is Your Tax Refund Too Large?

Common sense says there’s no such thing as too much money. However, common sense isn’t always spot on, especially when the subject is taxation.

Getting a huge refund means the government has been holding on to a lot of your money all year. That’s OK if you enjoy the windfall of a refund every winter or early spring.

But if you’d rather have the freedom to use your own money the way you want all year, you should consider changing your withholdings at work. Your human resources department can help.

For example, you could be investing your income all year and earning interest. Uncle Sam doesn’t pay interest on your money when the IRS holds onto it until refund time.

The opposite can also be true: If the government didn’t withhold enough of your income, you could have a tax bill this year instead of a refund.

How to Optimize Your Tax Refund

Simply put, taxes aren’t simple. Tax rebates and tax credits, along with overpayment or underpayment during the previous calendar year, work together to create your refund or your amount owed.

You can’t change last year’s withholdings at this point, but you may be able to claim more rebates and credits than you thought which can increase your refund. A tax professional can help you find out. You can also get professional tax help online through platforms like TurboTax and H&R Block.

Rebates and credits will require some documentation. The American Opportunity Tax Credit, for example, can repay you for your children’s higher education expenses.

New energy-efficient appliances, child care, even money you spent on sales taxes last year — they all can add to your tax refund this year when you file.

So if you want to maximize the power of your refund to make life better this year, first make sure you’re getting as much of your money back as possible.

The post What You Should Do With Your Tax Refund appeared first on Good Financial Cents®.

from All About Insurance https://www.goodfinancialcents.com/what-to-do-with-tax-refund/

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What You Should Do With Your Tax Refund

Should you use your tax refund on a big-ticket item like a MacBook, designer apparel, a musical instrument, or a wall-sized TV?

If you’re tempted, I understand. Getting a tax refund can feel like the IRS just dropped free money into your account. Why not treat yourself to something cool?

But that’s not true. Your refund is your hard-earned money. It was your money all along. The government took more than you owed in taxes all year. Now it’s paying you back.

If you like the idea of using your earnings to get ahead in life, your refund — whether it’s a few hundred dollars or a few thousand — can go a long way toward giving you more freedom in the future.

And with more freedom, you can unlock more spending power throughout the year and not just when your refund comes through.

Best Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund

Reduce High Interest Debt

Get an Online Savings Account

Open a CD

Become an Investor

Invest in Your Retirement

Improve Your Home

Pursue Your Dreams

Improve Your Life

Give Back

How You Should Spend Your Tax Refund

Of course, nobody should tell you how to spend your money. If you’d like your refund to pay for a weekend-long shopping spree (and you and your family aren’t hungry or homeless), that’s your prerogative. You earned the money.

My job as a financial advisor is to make recommendations that could pave the way to a more stable financial future for you and your family.

With that in mind, here are some of my favorite, and some of the most responsible, ways to spend your tax refund.

With all these ideas I am assuming you already have an emergency fund set aside with at least three months worth of living expenses. If you don’t, you should use your refund to create one.   

1. Reduce High Interest Debt

Being in debt to a credit card or another unsecured lender can bleed you financially. Think about this common scenario: a $2,000 credit card balance at 26.99 percent interest. By making the minimum payment, you’ll spend about $3,800 paying off that $2,000.

Using your refund to pay off the entire $2,000 balance right now could save about $1,800 in finance charges. And you’d be avoiding future rate increases or late charges that could drive the balance even higher.

If you have more than one card with a high balance, pay off the one with the highest interest rate since higher rates cost you more over time.

It’s not only about credit cards:

Maybe you have an unsecured loan from your neighborhood bank.

Or maybe you’d love to get that car paid off.

What about those student loans that just won’t go away?

Putting your tax refund onto the principal of a higher interest loan will save you money in the long run.

Being in debt makes it much harder for your money to work toward your future. Your money can’t work for you because it’s working for someone else: your creditors.

Your tax return can help turn this around.

2. Grow Your Refund In an Online Savings Account

Are you doing OK on the debt front? If so, your refund could provide a great way to start saving for the future.

While you could just transfer your refund money directly into savings, you can unleash stronger earnings with a more strategic approach

An online-only savings account at a bank like CIT Bank can pay you a much higher interest rate — sometimes 10 times higher than your neighborhood bank.

Your $2,000 refund would gain several hundred dollars worth of interest in a year in a high-yield account. 

Open an account

Quick Look

Returns 2.45%

Highly Competitive Interest Rates

$100 minimum investment

Best suited for investors who want higher returns with zero risk

Open an account

3. Build On Your Refund With a CD

Want even more interest on your saved refund? A Certificate of Deposit (CD) can deliver. Typically, longer-term CDs offer the highest savings rates, but even short term CDs are gaining high returns historically.

At the end of the CD’s term, you can cash out or renew your CD to generate even more interest. Whether you choose an 11-month CD or a five year one, each year, this year’s tax refund would grow even larger.

A CD is a great place to invest safely, keeping you from spending your return too hastily and earning you interest simultaneously.

Compare the Best CDs of 2019

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4. Start Investing with Your Tax Refund

The risk of losing your refund is astronomically low when you save it using any of the methods above.

Investing your refund puts your money at more risk, but it also opens up the possibility of earning much more. Here are some of the safest ways to invest:

A robo-advisor: Robo-advisors such as M1 Finance, Wealthfront, and Betterment can invest your money in diverse funds without charging high brokerage fees or requiring you to know exactly what you’re doing. Start investing with M1 Finance>>

Fundrise: Fundrise lets you invest in real estate development without being a developer or having the responsibility to actually manage anything. Start investing with Fundrise>>

Lending Club: You’re the banker when you invest in Lending Club, which issues loans to individuals and small businesses. As your borrowers repay, you’ll earn from the interest they’re paying. Start investing with Lending Club>>

Your own home: A refund of a few thousand dollars could go a long way toward a down payment on your own home, or at least closing costs. If you already own, check out the next section.

5. Invest Your Tax Refund in Your Future

Why not consider investing this year’s tax refund into your long term goals? The money you earn from this year’s tax returns could be a stellar starting point for your retirement account, for instance.

A Roth IRA, for instance, is one of the most rewarding retirement accounts you can invest in.

If you foresee yourself having higher taxes at retirement than you do now, a Roth IRA is perfect.

Online brokerages are a great option for Roth IRAs, streamlining your retirement and providing resources to keep you on track to meet your goals, and Ally Invest is one of our top picks.

Open a Roth IRA with Ally Invest>>

6. Use Your Refund to Improve Your Home

Homeowners probably won’t be able to get a new roof or build a garage with their tax refund. But your refund could still improve your home in ways that add value to your property:

Fresh landscaping: Curb appeal helps sell homes, and new landscaping could also help you enjoy your yard more. Your refund could buy an outdoor sitting area, a new patio or walkway, or new shrubbery, for example.

New bathroom fixtures: Realtors say better bathrooms move homes faster. Maybe some new light fixtures, a new vanity, or a better exhaust fan will fit into your refund amount.

Under-counter lighting: Your kitchen may be the room with the most potential for adding value to your home. New appliances can help if you need them; new features like under-counter lighting, a new island, or better storage could add even more value.

Insulation or windows: While home maintenance may not add value directly to your home, getting better insulation or a few new windows with your tax refund will save money on heating and cooling.

7. Use Your Refund to Get Ahead In Life

So, you’re already out of debt and already save and invest as you see fit? Your home’s in great shape, too? You’re probably looking for other smart ways to use your tax refund to get ahead in life.

Consider these:

Invest in passive income sources: With some time and money up front, you can create sources of passive income that generate income, even when you’re asleep. Here are some of my favorite passive income ideas.

Learn a new skill: Your local community college most likely offers a variety of courses. In most areas, tuition may be low enough for your refund to cover a semester or two. You can learn new software or coding. You can even start something bigger like a career in nursing, teaching, dental hygiene, or hospitality.

Plant a garden: A vegetable garden in your yard could save you money on groceries and lead to a more healthy lifestyle. You’d need some equipment, some knowledge, and some seeds. Your tax refund could get it up and running this spring.

8. Use Your Refund to Improve Your Life

There’s more to life than making smart money decisions. If you’re in solid shape financially, you may be ready to simply make your life more enjoyable. If so, you may like these ideas.

Exercise: Scientists have proven people who get physical exercise feel better mentally and physically. Using your refund to pay for a gym membership and exercise gear may be just the catalyst you need. You may even be able to hire a personal trainer for a year.

Cosmetic dentistry: Maybe you never got braces as a kid and you’ve always regretted it. Maybe you need a crown or a bridge and your insurance isn’t as robust as you’d like. Your refund could make it happen.

Redecorate a room: Your environment at home can also impact your perspective on life. New curtains, new paint, new furniture — they may not add much to your home’s property value but they can add value to your everyday life.

Bon voyage!: A warm-weather vacation or an Alaskan cruise? Whatever your preference, a refund-financed vacation may be just what you need.

Learn an art: Music lessons, painting supplies, dance or ice skating lessons, a literature class — following a passion can give life more meaning and enjoyment. Your refund could make it happen this year.

9. Use Your Tax Refund to Help Others

Helping others is contagious. People with money get a genuine thrill from sharing with people who need it:

Charitable giving: This one’s self-explanatory. Just about every community has nonprofits to help everything from early childhood education to abandoned animals. You can also get a tax break for next year with your donation.

Religious giving: If you enjoy supporting your faith community financially, your tax refund can help you help more.

Simply giving: Whether it’s taking your friends out for dinner one at a time or paying the bill anonymously for a party of six across the dining room, giving can be infectious.

Is Your Tax Refund Too Large?

Common sense says there’s no such thing as too much money. However, common sense isn’t always spot on, especially when the subject is taxation.

Getting a huge refund means the government has been holding on to a lot of your money all year. That’s OK if you enjoy the windfall of a refund every winter or early spring.

But if you’d rather have the freedom to use your own money the way you want all year, you should consider changing your withholdings at work. Your human resources department can help.

For example, you could be investing your income all year and earning interest. Uncle Sam doesn’t pay interest on your money when the IRS holds onto it until refund time.

The opposite can also be true: If the government didn’t withhold enough of your income, you could have a tax bill this year instead of a refund.

How to Optimize Your Tax Refund

Simply put, taxes aren’t simple. Tax rebates and tax credits, along with overpayment or underpayment during the previous calendar year, work together to create your refund or your amount owed.

You can’t change last year’s withholdings at this point, but you may be able to claim more rebates and credits than you thought which can increase your refund. A tax professional can help you find out. You can also get professional tax help online through platforms like TurboTax and H&R Block.

Rebates and credits will require some documentation. The American Opportunity Tax Credit, for example, can repay you for your children’s higher education expenses.

New energy-efficient appliances, child care, even money you spent on sales taxes last year — they all can add to your tax refund this year when you file.

So if you want to maximize the power of your refund to make life better this year, first make sure you’re getting as much of your money back as possible.

The post What You Should Do With Your Tax Refund appeared first on Good Financial Cents®.

from All About Insurance https://www.goodfinancialcents.com/what-to-do-with-tax-refund/