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Top 5 cost-effective and fuel-efficient cars

Need wheels, but short on cash? Not only are there great financing options out there for those who are counting their nickels, buying certain vehicles will help you save money in a variety of ways. Below, we’ll talk about five cars that go easy on the wallet.

1) Toyota Corolla L

Of all the things working against you as a car owner, its rate of depreciation is one which doesn’t get enough attention when it comes to the overall cost of ownership. After all, why wouldn’t you consider this factor when it drastically affects how much you can sell your vehicle?

This is what makes the Toyota Corolla L such a great option, despite the fact there are cars with a cheaper sticker price out there. With a depreciation rate of only 43% over five years, this car can still be sold for more than $10,000 if it is kept in mint condition.

2) Nissan Versa Note

For all the strengths of the Toyota Corolla, its has a number of drawbacks, like its insurance expenses and appallingly average fuel economy. For a few thousand dollars more, the Nissan Versa Note offers a better deal on insurance, and you’ll head to the gas pumps less often than its competitor.

All things considered, those looking to spend the minimum on a car when it is all said and done will be happy with purchasing this fine economy car.     

3) Toyota Prius

A pioneer among electric cars, the Toyota Prius hybrid is an excellent choice for those not just looking for a fuel efficient car, but a cost efficient one as well.

With a MSRP around $25k, it may not be competitive compared with cheaper gas cars on price, but when you consider the fact it uses far less fuel, its insurance bill is one of the lowest in the industry, and that it only has a depreciation rate of 38% over a five year period, it comes out in front in the end.  

4) Honda Fit

Need a car that is affordable, efficient on fuel, and has plenty of space for passengers and cargo?  The Honda Fit may be the vehicle you’ve been looking for.

Priced at 17k, it is easy on the budget when it comes to car payments, its depreciation isn’t as bad as others in its class, and with an MPG rating of 33/40 (city/highway), you won’t be heading to the pumps as much as you would had you bought a crossover or an SUV.

While it may not have the space of those larger vehicles, it has a sizable trunk for all the outdoor gear you’ll use this summer plus everybody’s luggage, and the seats in the back are plenty large enough to keep your kids comfortable.

5) Honda Civic

Is a peppy car important to you, but fear spending too much on said vehicle? The Honda Civic is a great alternative in this case, as its sale price comes in just under 20k. You won’t be running down any Mustangs at red lights, but with a model that possesses a 2.0 liter engine that maxes out at 174 horsepower, you’ll be able to pass other cars with ease.  

Photo credit – Unsplash

How to leave work at work once and for all

At the end of your rope mentally because work is bleeding into your personal time? You aren’t alone – 43% reported doing office tasks at home in 2017, according to a recent survey. Many people hare having issues with the question of how to leave work at work.

Want to create boundaries between work and home? Below, we’ll discuss a few tips that will help reclaim your evening for you and your family.

1) Be organized when you are at work

One of the big reasons why many of us end up taking a pile of work home: we didn’t get all that much done when we were at the office. While the cubicle may not be the most inspiring place in the universe, it is preferable to get your stuff done there than have it creep into your personal time.

If you want to increase your work productivity, it starts the evening before. Take out a sheet of paper and write down 1-3 important things which need to get done the next day – and no more. Very few people have more mission critical tasks than that, so resist the urge to write out a huge laundry list.

Once you pour your morning coffee and plunk your butt down in your chair, it’s go time. If you can’t stop yourself from visiting your favourite websites (like YouTube), download Leechblock and use this program to bar access to them (except during lunch).

By doing this, you’ll force yourself to focus on what needs to get done, minimizing the chance of having to work off the clock because you’re on deadline.

2) Silence / turn off your work phone after a set hour

While some people are compelled by their bosses to be respond to their work phone at any hour, most opt into it by responding to inquiries that can wait until the following day. At 5:00 pm (or whenever you normally leave the office), silence or turn off your work phone.

This can be an anxiety-inducing act, but remember that in order to reclaim your home life, you’ll need to stand up for yourself at some point. Don’t even make up an excuse if you end up getting called out for not responding – be honest with your boss about the stress you’ve been feeling about having work invade your personal time. 

Unless you are in charge of a mission critical post (like a network administrator) or you are on deadline, text messages and e-mails after hours can and should be ignored.    

3) Craft a series of enjoyable activities when you get home

The second you leave work is when you should start creating a clear separation between what you do at work and your life at home. Make your commute an enjoyable one – blast your favourite tunes or listen to an interesting podcast or two. When you get home, make some food which speaks to your soul.

Make time for a hobby which engages you physically/mentally. Have a bubble bath after a particularly tough day. These activities and others won’t just relax you – they’ll explicitly define your home life, and why it shouldn’t be infringed upon by work tasks.

Photo credit – Unsplash

How to increase average time spent on site with Youtube videos

In the last few years, people have become increasingly aware that video adds value to your audience. It’s also important to increase average time spent site. Video can help explain a point, increase engagement, showcase a destination and increase time spent on a page. Yes, that’s right, placing a video towards the top of an article can increase your ‘average session duration’ in your analytics. Here’s how:

By placing a high-quality video at the top of a useful page, one of the following is likely to occur:

1.    The person is lazy or short on time so they watch the video to get the information instead of reading the content. 

2.    They read the content then watch the video they noticed at the top because they found the article valuable and want to see more.

Both of these are great for your blog.

Did you know that the average time spent on a page is logged within analytics only if the page has an “engagement” during that time? 

Here’s a scenario. You have an amazing blog post that someone reads for 10-minutes, they find a range of useful information, and then they simply close the tab or window. This is NOT counted as engagement and therefore the time spent on that page is lost forever. 

However, if they click through to another page, share it or click to watch your video, the time on page is logged in Google Analytics. For more information as to WHY Google calculates the average session duration this way, please read this article.

Now that we know this, how can you use video to increase the average time spent on a page, if you don’t make videos? 

You embed someone else’s video. 

Although I make my own videos, I also post other people’s videos if I haven’t made something suitable. 

Here’s how you can safely and legally find YouTube videos to post in your own blog posts.

Embedding someone else’s video the safe way

This is my preferred way because I know it’s 100% legal and I don’t have to contact the owner of the video for their permission because they have already given it to me!

1.    Search for videos using the search bar

2.    Once there are results (don’t look at them – you’ll be tempted!) click the top right ‘Filter’ button

3.    Filter the results by “Creative Commons”

4.    Check the license of the video by looking in the description area

5.    When you find one that fits the post, feel free to embed it!

When someone uploads and flags their video as Creative Commons, they are essentially giving the audience free use to copy and reuse their video without payment. This contract is usually specified as “with” or “without” credit to the original maker of the video. By embedding instead of downloading and re-uploading you are essentially giving them the credit that is required for the use of their video. 

This is the safest way to use someone else’s video on your blog. You are also free to download this video to use in your own edits if you wish. 

It could take a few tries before you find something good enough to embed on your site. You may have to try a few different search terms, but remember to filter by Creative Commons every time you do a new search because YouTube defaults its searches without this filter. 

Embedding someone else’s video legally

It is within YouTubes terms of service that so long as the embed button on a video is enabled then the owner of the video is giving permission for you to embed that video on your website. However, some Youtube creators may not know about this, or the video they have uploaded contains copyrighted material that the uploader themselves do not own. This is where things can get a little murky.

1.    Search YouTube and find a video that you like

2.    Check whether the share and embed buttons are enabled

3.    Watch the whole thing and take note of whether you can tell that this is the original work of the owner of this particular video

4.    If it is, according to the terms of YouTube you are free to embed this on your site

You may want to go one step further and quickly ask the owner of the video for permission to embed. You can do this by writing in the video’s comments section on YouTube. This is courteous and if you get a ‘yes,’ you will be safe in the knowledge that this will never come back to bite you in the butt. 

But don’t just embed any old video to your blog posts. If the video isn’t at the same quality of your blog post, you may do more harm than good. When choosing a video, keep the following in mind:

1.    Is the video relevant to the post?

2.    Does it provide value to the reader?

3.    Has it been created recently? People like the fresh content!

4.    Is it visually appealing? Don’t post ugly videos. This won’t help you.

If you aren’t yet convinced to use video in your blog posts, according to this article, tere are even more reasons to use video on web pages:

•    Video increases SEO: You’re 53% more likely to show up on page one of Google if you have a video in your article

•    Video builds trust for your brand

•    Video appeals to mobile users who are on the go

•    Video marketing can explain important information in a short period of time

•    Video engages even lazy readers and buyers

•    Video encourages social shares

So this is some solid reasoning as to why you need to add videos to your blog posts now. What is your experience with video? Do you use it?

This post was written by Crystal from Castaway with Crystal. You can also follow her on Twitter and Facebook. If you’re an experienced blogger who would like to share some wisdom with our readers, contact us.