Money Management

Want to start a side hustle in 2024? You might get inspiration from your day job. See how DesignRush, a B2B marketplace, started as a side hustle. [[{“value”:”

One of the best ways to become an entrepreneur is to start a side hustle. Earning extra money while keeping your day job is good for your bank account, and starting as a side hustle can give you time to test the concept for a new small business, without taking on too much financial risk.

One entrepreneur who used this method to build a successful business is Gianluca Ferruggia. He is the general manager of DesignRush, a B2B marketplace for companies to hire verified digital agencies to help with marketing, design, AI, and other projects. Ferruggia got inspired to create DesignRush based on the experience he gained from his day job.

Let’s look at a few lessons learned from Ferruggia as he built DesignRush, starting from a side hustle into a global company with over 100 employees.

Starting a side hustle by building upon professional expertise

Ferruggia has extensive professional experience in digital marketing and consulting, such as SEO (search engine optimization) and other solutions like digital strategy and project management. As part of his day job, he realized there was a gap in the market: It was too hard for companies to find the right kind of help when they needed to hire for digital marketing projects.

For example, if you’re a small business owner who wants to hire a web designer, software developer, or AI expert, how do you know where to look? Sometimes business owners don’t have time for a lengthy search, don’t have people with the right skill sets in their professional networks, and need to hire fast.

This is how a lightbulb went on for Ferruggia: He realized there needed to be a better way for companies to connect with digital marketing agencies. By founding DesignRush, Ferruggia has helped companies find verified agencies and digital marketing teams that have the right skills to tackle their projects.

“DesignRush serves businesses of all sizes, helping them find high-quality digital agencies that can meet their requirements,” Ferruggia said. “Our mission is to bridge the gap between businesses and agencies and to ensure a smooth and successful collaboration.”

Starting a side hustle: Test your business idea before you scale up

By starting as a side hustle, Ferruggia was able to test the concept for his business and ensure there was strong market demand for what he wanted to sell, while still keeping his full-time job. This had a transformative effect on his personal finances and enabled him to build a successful small business.

“Guided by the need to help people find the perfect professional agencies for their needs and motivated by a gap I perceived in the digital landscape, I embarked on my side venture,” Ferruggia said. “Starting as a side hustle not only helped me meet my financial goals but also broadened my project management skills and understanding of the intricate dynamics of the digital landscape. The incremental success of my side hustle led me to scale it up, eventually giving life to DesignRush.”

How a side hustle can become a global business

The market for digital consulting, marketing, and design solutions is diverse and international, because people all over the planet can contribute their skills and talents. Ferruggia’s DesignRush company operates in Lisbon, Portugal; Rome, Italy; and has recently posted job openings in Bulgaria and Serbia.

“An intriguing learning experience from our early days at DesignRush was transitioning from a small team to an international company,” Ferruggia said. “It involved navigating diverse cultures, understanding global market demands, and building a resilient and skilled team that could meet these demands.”

Because Ferruggia’s company was trying to communicate — and create business hiring relationships — with people and teams all over the world, DesignRush needed to scale up its brand presence. The company needed to be reputable and top of mind for digital marketing agencies and corporate hiring teams in a wide range of countries and languages.

“One of the major challenges we faced at DesignRush was building a global brand presence,” Ferruggia said. “We tackled this through robust digital marketing strategies, SEO, and creating unique user experiences for our site visitors.

Small business advice from Ferruggia, DesignRush

We asked Ferruggia to share some software recommendations and advice for other side hustlers and entrepreneurs. Ferruggia’s favorite small business software includes:

Asana and Trello for project managementGoogle Workspace productivity toolsSlack for communication and team coordinationQuickbooks for small business accounting

“My advice to other side hustlers and small business owners would be to start with a clear understanding of what problem you’re solving and who you’re solving it for,” Ferruggia said. “And remember to stay flexible. It’s not a linear journey, but the learnings you gain along the way are invaluable. Perseverance and a clear vision are essential in overcoming obstacles and ensuring the continuous growth of a small business.”

Learn more at DesignRush.com or follow Gianluca Ferruggia on LinkedIn.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Being late with your tax return could have serious financial consequences. Read on to learn more. [[{“value”:”

Taxes are basically due on the same date every year — April 15. Sometimes, the IRS will push back the tax-filing deadline by a day or two if April 15 falls out on a weekend or conflicts with Emancipation Day, a mid-April holiday recognized in Washington, D.C.

But for the most part, when it comes to the filing deadline, there really shouldn’t be any surprises. Many folks have ample opportunity to get their taxes completed in a timely manner.

But what if you’re late with your tax return? Here’s some good news: If you’re due a refund, the IRS won’t care one bit. You’ll delay your refund from hitting your bank account, but that’s a self-imposed penalty — not an IRS one. (For the record, you actually get three full years from a given return’s filing deadline to claim a refund. So for 2023 taxes, you have until April 15, 2027 to get your money.)

But when you owe money on your taxes and you don’t file a return on time, you could face serious IRS penalties. Thankfully, though, there’s a pretty easy way to avoid that situation.

You could get slapped with a major penalty

Let’s say you underpaid your 2023 taxes by $2,000. In that case, the IRS won’t charge you interest or penalties as long as you submit that sum — and your 2023 tax return — by April 15 this year. But if you’re late paying that money, you’ll face a failure-to-pay penalty equaling 0.5% of that $2,000 for each month or partial month you’re late, up to a total of 25%, plus interest.

And if you think that sounds bad, get ready for this: If you’re late with your tax return in that scenario, you’ll face a failure-to-file penalty. And that one is way worse than the penalty for failing to pay on time, as it amounts to 5% of your unpaid tax bill per month or partial month you’re late, up to a total of 25%. (There are no interest charges associated with this penalty since it relates to tardiness with a return, not with a payment.)

So let’s break things down. You owe $2,000 to the IRS and get your tax payment and return in a week late. For the late payment, you’re losing $10 in penalty form plus some interest. For the late tax return, you’re losing $100. That’s a harsher blow.

How to avoid a penalty for filing your taxes late

If you want to avoid a failure-to-file penalty, don’t be late with your tax return. And if that’s unavoidable, request a tax extension by April 15. That won’t give you extra time to pay your tax bill, but it’ll give you six more months to complete your tax return.

So let’s say you owe $2,000 from 2023, get an extension, and file your return and pay your bill on May 16. You won’t be charged $100 in the form of a failure-to-file penalty. But you will owe $20 plus interest for paying late.

Of course, all of this underscores the importance of starting your taxes early in the season. If it’s too late to do that this year, aim to do so next year. Also, line up tax help ahead of the season so you don’t run into issues with being late due to your accountant not being available.

In fact, if you sign up to work with a tax professional, they’ll often send out a gentle reminder early on in the tax-filing season to get your paperwork in as soon as possible. So that’s a good way to stay on track.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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CDs offer a major benefit that high-yield savings accounts don’t. Keep reading to learn why it’s worth considering, especially right now. [[{“value”:”

If you want a safe place to put your money and not risk losing any of it, you have a few options. A high-yield savings account is one choice. A certificate of deposit is another.

Both savings accounts and CDs are FDIC-insured for up to $250,000 so you don’t have to worry you will end up with less than you started with if you invest your funds in either of them. And both are offering pretty competitive yields right now, with some savings accounts and CDs paying over 5.00% APY.

While the two types of accounts are similar in certain ways, there are some big differences between them. And CDs offer one key benefit that savings accounts don’t. Here’s why you cannot overlook it as you choose where to put your money.

This benefit of CDs could be more important now than ever

CD rates typically tend to be higher than the rates on high-yield savings accounts, which is definitely a good thing. However, there’s actually a potentially bigger and more important advantage CDs have: Certificates of deposit can come with guaranteed fixed interest rates. If you buy a 5-year CD with an interest rate of 4.00% (which is entirely possible right now), you will earn that 4.00% return for the entire five years your funds are invested in the CD. This is true regardless of what happens to interest rates in the market as a whole.

High-yield savings accounts, on the other hand, don’t guarantee that the rate offered when you open an account is going to last for any specific period of time. In fact, the rate you’re offered on these types of accounts is typically variable. This means while it may be pretty high right now (with some accounts offering rates upward of 5.00%), today’s high-yields could quickly fall tomorrow.

In 2020, for example, the best high-yield savings accounts offered rates around 0.40% to 0.50%. That’s not a typo with a decimal point in the wrong place. While it’s not a given that rates will fall that far any time soon — those very low rates were during the highly unusual pandemic period — it’s almost inevitable rates won’t stay where they are right now near recent record highs. If the Federal Reserve (the U.S. central bank) reduces interest rates or demand for credit falls, rates may drop substantially pretty quickly.

This means if you want to take advantage of the opportunity you have now to earn a generous 4.00% or 5.00% on your money without taking any risk, you may want to choose a CD.

If you want to guarantee your returns, opt for a CD — if doing so makes sense

Getting a guaranteed rate of return by buying a CD is a big benefit in today’s market where these safe investments offer very competitive yields. But you do need to make sure a certificate of deposit is right for you.

The biggest downside of CDs is that you face penalties if you don’t wait out the CD term to withdraw your funds from the bank. So if you need easy and quick access to your money soon or you won’t know exactly when you’ll need the money (such as for your emergency fund), a CD isn’t right for you.

If you can leave your money invested for around three months to five years or so, though, consider the big benefit of consistent earnings that CDs offer.

These savings accounts are FDIC insured and could earn you 11x your bank

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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There’s no denying that auto insurance is expensive. Keep reading to learn how to snag the deals and discounts that will bring your policy cost down. [[{“value”:”

An estimated 12% of drivers in the U.S. lack auto insurance, and in some states, the number is even higher. For example, 29.4% of Mississippi drivers are without coverage. While driving uninsured is a dangerous financial practice, it’s easy to understand why so many drivers cross their fingers and hope for the best. Auto insurance is expensive, with rates increasing dramatically since the onset of the pandemic in 2020. Still, there are deals to be had — as long as you know where to look.

Take full advantage of auto discounts

The goal is to find the cheapest auto insurance with the highest level of coverage. However, prices can vary dramatically. For example, you could ask three companies about a specific discount and find out that each offers a very different percentage off. As you shop for auto insurance, it pays to keep a list of which discounts you qualify for and how big a break each company gives.

Once you know which discounts a particular insurer offers, make sure the company knows that you qualify. If you have a teen driver in the family or a driver with a speeding ticket, it’s especially important to snag every discount available to your household.

You have other options

Discounts may be one of the easiest ways to lower your premiums, but they’re not the only way. Here are other options to remember:

Check out rates before purchasing your next vehicle

Some vehicles are simply more (or less) expensive to insure than others. Sometimes it’s due to safety ratings, although that’s not always the case. For example, the Honda Accord is one of the most stolen vehicles in the U.S., making it more expensive to insure than rarely stolen cars. Before you buy your next vehicle, shop around to learn how much it will cost to insure it.

Look into usage-based insurance

With usage-based coverage, an insurance company monitors your driving habits to determine how much you drive and how safely you drive. If you’re a safe driver who isn’t on the road much, you could save up to 40%.

Shop around

Loyalty is a good thing, but you’re not married to your insurance company. At least once a year, take a look at different insurers to learn how much you could save by switching.

Bottom line

Few people would describe shopping for auto insurance as “fun,” but it’s an important way to protect yourself financially. The main thing to keep in mind is that good deals do exist if you’re willing to dig for them.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Tax deductions can save you money, but they’re not always so easy to calculate. Read on to learn more. [[{“value”:”

When filing your taxes, your goal may be to eke out the most savings possible. And that makes plenty of sense.

Now, there are different ways you can shave money off of your IRS bill. One is to claim different tax credits, which reduce your tax liability on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Another option is to claim tax deductions you’re entitled to.

Deductions work a little differently from tax credits in that they exempt some of your earnings from taxes. And your associated savings will hinge on the tax bracket you fall into.

A $1,000 tax deduction, for example, will be worth $220 of savings for you if you fall into the 22% tax bracket. But it will be worth $240 if you fall into the 24% tax bracket. The higher an earner you are, the more you might benefit from certain tax deductions.

However, being a higher earner could also make it harder to claim certain deductions. Such is the case with the medical expense deduction, which is known to be a tricky one to calculate. Here’s what you need to know about it.

How the medical expense deduction works

If you spent a lot of money on medical expenses in 2023, you may be eligible for a deduction on this year’s tax return. But to claim a medical expense deduction, you need to:

Itemize on your tax returnHave medical expenses that exceeded 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI)

Let’s say your AGI in 2023 was $80,000. This means you can only claim medical expenses beyond the $6,000 mark. Because of this threshold, higher earners may have more trouble qualifying for a medical expense deduction than lower earners.

So here’s how the deduction might work, assuming that $80,000 AGI. If you racked up $5,000 in medical expenses in 2023, you get no deduction. If you racked up $6,000 exactly, you also get no deduction. However, if you racked up $6,500, you get a $500 deduction — because remember, the medical expense deduction only lets you claim any sum you incurred beyond 7.5% of your AGI.

There’s also another catch. If you had money in a health savings account or flexible spending account, and you took withdrawals from one of these accounts to cover some of your medical expenses, those specific bills won’t be deductible. And the reason is because you paid for them with tax-advantaged funds.

It never hurts to get some help

The medical expense deduction can be confusing. Not only do you have to make sure to claim the right amount, but you also need to know which specific expenses of yours count for this purpose. That’s why it could be a good idea to enlist the help of a tax professional when claiming this deduction, since it’s not the most straightforward.

A professional may also be able to identify other tax breaks you’re entitled to. So even if you don’t get much — or anything — out of the medical expense deduction, there may be other savings coming your way.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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