Intro
Hello
I'm writing this article to help people save money better. I am not a
financial adviser nor am I good at grammar. But I'm trying to get
financially smart and I just want to let people know how they can do
the same. I don't know any of the people that I have put in the
sources, they didn't tell me to mention them I'm just giving credit
where its due and letting you know where I got some of my information
from. The reason why I wrote this is because I don't like the whole
crab in a barrel thing like if I know something I let people know
because it makes no sense to see people struggle. Anyway here you go
you can like it or hate it I don't care any comment is a good comment
to me. And the links are put up of the websites are not referral
links there just links so you can sign up if you want to. Also know
there are plenty sites out there that I didn't mention I just feel
like these are the most important. I also understand that people
don't like to read they just want to slim to get the answer so I kept
it pretty short but I put the most important parts in each
section in bold.
RecycleBank.com
www.Recyclebank.com is
a website where you read about recycling. They give you different
ideas on how to recycle things that you don’t want any more. You
learn to be more eco-friendly while gaining points. Recyclebank does
not give money but I like recyclebank because I feel like it stops
you from impulse buys like buying magazines at the counter. They also
have coupons like $2 off regal movie theater or gift cards like
earning $2 Amazon gift card when you spend $10 at Burger King. Right
now they have 2 opportunities where you can get 100 points for just
reading information on recycling. They also have easy greens (which I
think are either 5 or 10 points each) where you answer questions and
take the pledge. It’s a great site for you to check out and it doesn't take much time. I use recycle bank and they do give you
rewards so its not a scam or anything like that.
Track
Your Spending
This
will probably be the hardest thing to do. But if you track your
spending you see how much you actually spend and what you can cut
down on. If there is something you can cut try to put that money in
your savings account instead. I understand that you have to pay bills
but if there is something like your morning coffee you can skip try
to. www.Mint.com helps
you to track your spending and make goals or budget for yourself. I
just joined it not to long ago and I’m still trying to get the hang
of it. You do have to give your bank account info though. If you feel
uncomfortable giving out account info, then try to track your
spending or make a budget on excel. Also make sure you check your
account everyday because it will show you what you spend that you’ll
be able to cut out and also you should always check for things like
identity theft and monthly fees on your account.
Bank
Fees
Speaking
of bank fees, depending on what bank you have they may charge you a
monthly fee. I know with my Bank of America account they charge me a
monthly fee of 12 dollars. I called and ask them why turns out they
change my account from a student account because they automatically
change your student account after 5 years. They didn’t send an
email or anything to let me know. Of course they send email to let
you know they have cut your card off because of suspicious activity
(which ok I’m glad they are alert but it hasn’t been identity
theft yet and I have a feeling if that does happen they probably
won’t be as on it) So if you don’t have a student account anymore
they charge you 12 a month if you don’t have a direct deposit of
$250 or $1500 in your savings account (O_o).
Keep
the change
So I
guess you get the point that I’m not crazy about Bank Of America
but what are you going to do its all over the place so I need this
account for now. But anyway Bank of America has the option to keep
the change where your changes roll over to your saving account. Good
idea right? You get to save your change. What's wrong with that? Well
I’m not a fan of it. If you have it on your account and it works
for you cool keep it. But I found that when I paid for something I
would get over drafted because I thought I had a certain amount in my
checking account but I didn’t because the change went to my saving
account. Also even though I had overdraft protection they charged $10
for the transfer fee to take money from my saving to my checking
account. I changed my account to take the keep the change and
overdraft feature off and if I don’t have enough my debit card just
gets declined.
I
am a fan however of keeping your own change, even though people
always discredit the power of change. People sometime feel like
change is beneath them or like if its not a dollar it doesn’t
count. I used to work as a cashier and people used to leave change
behind all the time, I never understood that. If you ever watched the
50 cent movie he excepted change from people because he knew that its
still money and it still adds up. (Disclaimer I’m not condoning
drug dealing) When you break a dollar save your change and roll it up
and put it in your bank account. (Duh because your change is still
your money) You can buy the rollers or you can get them from the
bank for free. Don’t go to the ghetto banks go to the banks with
that have better customer service.
$2 in
nickels = 40 nickels
$ 5 in
dimes= 50 dimes
.50
cent in pennies= 50 pennies
$10
quarters= 40 quarters (you might not want to roll these because you
might need it for the bus or laundry but if you don’t roll quarters
too)
I know
people probably have endless pennies in there house, when you have
time roll them up and put it in the bank.
Online
Banks
Now
everyone is trying the new online banking thing because they give
more on interest. I have an online banking account and I know people
are skeptical about things like this but if you don't feel
comfortable you don't have to use it. I got an online bank account
because I want my money to work for itself it makes no sense to have
money in your account if it is gaining little to no interest. 0.90%
in interest is not that great but its better than 0.10%. Online banks
are great for saving because you can't go to an ATM to get money out,
so you won't have the urge to take money out all the time. But you
can transfer money from your online bank to your main bank account
but it takes a couple of days to get to your account. You do have to
give this bank account some banking info so like I said if your not
comfortable with that then you don't have to sign up for one. You
should also chose what every bank you think will benefit you the
most. Capital one 360 bank online gives you 25 dollars for signing up
but the interest rate is 0.85%. I didn't chose this one because I
wanted a higher percent but you should always compare and see which
one is best for you. They don't charge as much fees because they
don't have banks nationwide so they don't have as many people to pay.
I know with the bank I have I think they only charge fees if you
account is under 1 dollar.(don't quote me because I’m not sure) But
always check the fine print on things like this.
Surveys
Doing
surveys online is a great way to make extra money whether you need
the money for bill or you just want to save money. Do know though
that if you make more than $600 in surveys in a year you have to pay
taxes on it. The company will send you a form. I watch videos and
read blogs on surveys to take and this one guy on youtube
(http://www.youtube.com/user/TheGoToGuy81)
has 2 really good ideas. 1. Before you sign up for survey sites make
a separate email just for survey sites so it doesn’t flood your
inbox. 2. Diversify where your getting money for surveys from. In
other words don’t put your eggs in one basket. Survey money is slow
money (but slow money is better than no money). But if you have 30
from one site, 10 from another, and 20 from another site you now have
60 in your bank account. Some survey sites pay through paypal while
other send you a check or debit card. Other will pay you buy gift
cards from different stores like Amazon, restaurant.com,
visa gift card, etc. Here are some panels that I used below:
Pinecone
Research
Pinecone
Research is actually looking for people who are African
American/Hispanic and/or people who are between the ages of 18-24.
You can still sign up for it if you’re not African
American/Hispanic and/or 18-24. But they are probably looking for
African American and young people because they don’t have enough of
people in the categories taking surveys. You get paid $3 per survey
(300 point=$3), which isn’t a lot but it adds up. You don’t get
paid for answering the household questions but you get enter into
sweepstakes plus the household questions are used for you to get
surveys. You can get paid by paypal or a check. You have to be
eligible to sign up for paypal though and you have to e-mail them to
ask them if you can get paypal payments. They let you know if you can
get it or not. I got my first payment today and it a check so it is
legit and they do give you money for taking surveys. You do have to
be active and take the surveys or they will kick you off the panel.
But if you e-mail them and tell them that you haven't been able to do
surveys because of work or because your been traveling they will put
you back on and you'll get all your points back. Trust me I know it
happen to me.
Opinion
Outpost
Okay so
Opinion Outpost is one of my favorite survey sites because they pay
out really fast. I put it second only because I think telling you
about pinecone research is more important since they are looking for
African American/Hispanic and/or young people. Opinion Outpost gives
you points for the surveys you do and the point system is really easy
to understand and follow. These points can be use to get cash, gift
cards on Amazon or Itunes, as well as other rewards. They pay you
through paypal. 100 points equals 10 dollars and you can cash it if
you have a 100 points on Opinion Outpost. For an Amazon gift card it
will be 50 points which equals 5 dollars. Itunes is also a 100 points
to cash out which is again 10 dollars. This comes in handy if you
need some extra cash or if your in college on a budget you can get
money off of your textbooks. For example if you have 300 points you
can get an Amazon gift card for 30 dollars. You can get money off
your book and shipping. I've actually cashed out with opinion outpost
a couple of times and they pay out the fastest as soon as you ask for
it they send you an e-mail with your code or put your money in your
paypal account.
Freebieshark
Freebieshark
is a place where you can get things for free. This comes in handy if
you run out of something in your house you may have a little sample
or even a whole bottle of something like soap, vitamins, lotion, etc.
They put different things on there website. Some are samples, some
are full sizes and they also put up movie tickets. I have actually
got a free movie ticket to see the lone ranger but I didn't go I just
had to fill out a form. I also got 2 free tumblers from Toyota which
comes in handy if you need some glasses. Somethings you get free
through your email like the movie tickets or coupons but somethings
take 6-8 weeks to get to you. If you like them on Facebook you can
see offers on your newsfeed which is good because these offers end
very quickly. There is also a website called www.freefly.com
but I like freebieshark better because the website is structured
better. You can also sign up to get e-mails from freebieshark as
well. I live in Brooklyn and I have a hood post office so one time I
was suppose to get my black is beautiful kit (it came with a mirror,
pens, different boxes had different things) but all I got was the box
and the stickers. It said the package was damage(bs they took my
stuff at least that's my theory). If your post office people aren't
hood then your packages should be fine.
Inboxdollars
Inboxdollars
is very popular and many people have heard about it. Basically you
get money to do stuff like read e-mails, use there search engine take
surveys, do cash offers, watch videos use coupons etc. You don't have
do the cash offers that cost anything. Read the fine print on the
offers because it will tell you how long you have to stay with the
company to get the cash offer. Even free cash offers have a limit.
Sometimes it takes a while for you to get the cash with the offers
because they have to see that you actually did what they ask for. For
example if you sign up with a survey site you may have to answer a
certain amount of surveys before you get the cash with inboxdollars.
You can cash out with inboxdollars after you get 30 dollars. There is
a processing fee of 3 dollars so try to get 33. They send you a check
or a debit card. I haven't cashed out yet because I want an even
check so I'm waiting to get to a certain amount.
Referrals
On most
survey sites or get paid to sites (like inboxdollars) they a have a
program where you can get paid for referring other people. Sometimes
you will get 15% or you get a dollar amount from $5-$25 each site
varies. If you know you have friends that you know are going to do
the surveys or join sites, add them. Do know that they have to
complete certain things before you can get your rewards. (This is why
I said add people you know will follow through all the way) My
friends don't so I don't do the whole referral thing.
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