Monday, June 29, 2009

11 Ways to Save Money

You know that feeling of excitement you get when you reach into the pocket of a jacket you haven't worn for a while and pull out a $10 bill you'd forgotten? I love when that happens. That's the same burst of joy you're going to get every time you discover a new way to spend less. Here are 11 super-simple ideas that are like found money.

Entertain the Family for Free

Bank of America has an agreement until April 2009 with 73 museums across the country that allows you to get in free the first weekend of the month if you show them your Bank of America debit, credit or ATM card. Go to bankofamerica.com/museums to find museums and other attractions in your area. Not a B of A customer? Call or check the website of a museum near you to find out if it offers free days or evenings like the Chicago Children’s Museum does on Thursday evenings and New York City’s Museum of Modern Art does on Friday nights. Show me the money Admission to the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana, California, is $46 for a family of four; the Bronx Zoo in New York City, $52. Both are part of Bank of America’s Museums on Us, which saves you a small bundle when you visit.


Get a Good Rewards Credit Card

If you use a debit card to pay for day-to-day expenses (food, gas, etc.), switch to a credit card that has a great rewards program—but be sure to pay your monthly balance on time. Rewards cards carry higher interest, so if you let a balance roll over from month to month, the interest you pay will eat up any rewards cash you earn. Cards vary, so look for one that gives cash back on gas and food purchases, and read the fine print. Go to indexcreditcards.com for a current listing of cash-back rewards cards. Show me the money If your card gives back 6% on gas and grocery purchases, plus 1% on everything else, that adds up—and will be reflected as a credit on your statement. If you buy 40 gallons of gas each month at $4 a gallon, 6% cash back is $9.60. A family of four that spends $400 in groceries for the month could expect $24 cash back.


Gather Your Books

Do you have books in good condition? Go to cash4books.net, type in the books’ ISBN numbers (which you’ll find on the back cover or on the copyright page in the front of the books), and see if you can get cash for them. Complete the transaction online, print out a prepaid mailing label, pack up those books and send them in. In just a few days you will either receive a check in the mail or a deposit to your PayPal account. You won’t pay a cent—not even for postage. Show me the money The first time Emily Towne of Prairie Home, Missouri, tried this system, she sold six books and received a check for $42.30. Your humble columnist has been cleaning out her burgeoning library, pocketing more than $200 so far.


Start a Blog

You can write about nearly anything—from what it’s like to be a mom to politics. It’s free to set one up (visit blogger.com), and once you do, you can place ads using an easy program like Google AdSense (google.com/adsense). Each time a visitor to your blog clicks on an ad, you earn money. (Once you’ve earned $100, you’ll get a check in the mail.) Show me the money You probably won’t replace your paycheck by blogging, but it’s a good way to make extra money. Denise Sawyer, a second-grade teacher from Summerville, Georgia, blogs on how to use coupons and other ways to cut the cost of raising a family. She averages $80–$100 per month in ad earnings, and her best month yet brought in $500.


Do It Yourself

Pick out one item or service you purchase each month, and make or do it yourself. Then pocket the money. For example, make your own laundry detergent with out easy recipe (go to womansday.com/diy); it works extremely well, and boy, will you save. You can make your own all-purpose cleaner and window cleaner, too. Show me the money The cost to make the laundry detergent is about 2¢ a load versus 25¢ a load for a commercial detergent. Do the math and you’ll see how much that can be in a year’s time. Have you checked the price of window cleaner lately?10 cents an ounce! Instead, pay less than a penny an ounce for your own brew, which works even better.


Take Advantage of Online Rebates

With Microsoft’s new Live Search Cashback program, customers who make an online purchase after using Live Search (Microsoft’s version of Google or Yahoo!) are eligible for a cash-back rebate from Microsoft. Once you have accumulated at least $5, you can request a payout by check or have the money deposited into your bank or PayPal account. Go to live.com/cashback to learn more. Show me the money The amount of cash back varies from one retailer to the next. At presstime, a purchase from Zappos will net you 9% cash back. Buy from PetSmart and get 12% cash back. Go to live.com/cashback to learn more and to discover all the online retailers who are currently participating.


Shop Your Life Insurance

In the ’90s, term life insurance dropped considerably in price, and rates have continued to decline since then. If you’re currently paying for whole life or term life, get a few quotes online. Websites such as FindMyInsurance.com, AccuQuote.com, and InsWeb.com can give you plenty of pricing information (all of it will be subject to a more detailed application process and medical exam). Show me the money If you bought a $500,000 20-year guaranteed level term policy in 1994 when you were a 40-year-old female nonsmoker, you qualified as “preferred” risk and have been paying about $795 a year. Today you’re 54, and if you’re still in good health, you should be able to replace the remaining six years of the same coverage for $600 a year and get four extra years of coverage, says Byron Udell, founder and chief executive of AccuQuote.com.


Refinance Your Car Loan

Did you know you can refinance a car? Interest rates are likely lower now than when you signed up for car payments several years ago, so you may be able to cut your payment significantly. Generally, banks require your car to be a 2001 model or newer, with fewer than 80,000 miles and a loan balance of $8,500 or more. Give your credit union or bank a call, or apply online at sites like hsbcusa-autoloans.com or rategenius.com. Show me the money If you started with a 66-month, $19,560 loan at 17.26%, your payments are $461. Refinancing today at 9.29% would drop your payments to $380, for a savings of $81 a month.


Tap into H20

Some people consider bottled water a necessity, even though a great low-cost alternative is available from any faucet in their homes. Try this for just one month: Switch from soft drinks and bottled water to good old tap water, and see how much you end up saving. Show me the money Off the bat you can pocket the $25 to $40 monthly fee if you have bottled water delivered. And drinking tap water is almost free: The average household cost for town water is $2.77 for 1,000 gallons, which would last the average family of four almost three years if they used it only for drinking. And consider this: If you pay $1.50 for a 20-oz bottle of water, you can fill the same container with tap water every day for several years for the same price, says Greg Kail of the American Water Works Association.


Ask for Lower Interest

Call the customer service number on the back of your credit card, and ask to speak with a supervisor. Say that you’re receiving offers to transfer your balance, but you prefer to stay, provided they reduce your interest rate to match the offers. Even if you’re paying a higher interest rate because you were a late payer in the past, Paul Hartwick of Chase Card Services says, “If a customer signs up for automatic payment and makes on-time payments for 12 consecutive months, Chase will reset that customer’s rate to the lower, original rate.” Show me the money If you currently have a $2,500 balance at 18.99%, a rate reduction to 7.99% means $275 in your pocket annually.


Save on Children's Clothes

Possibly the best deals on high-quality, gently worn (often brand-new) kids’ clothes are at consignment and secondhand stores. With more than 230 locations nationwide, the resale chain Once Upon a Child (ouac.com) features name-brand fairly new clothes up to 70% off retail. And as a bonus, you can sell your children’s gently-worn-but-outgrown items back to the store for immediate cash or credit. When you consider how quickly children outgrow their clothes, paying a lot less makes a lot of sense.

Show me the money Rock & Republic Urban jeans for girls are $154 at a department store. You could expect to find those jeans at a consignment or secondhand store for $46. A boy’s Ralph Lauren polo shirt currently retails for $45. But the price would be slashed to about $13 when sold at 70% off retail at a consignment store.


Source: Woman's Day

10 Smart Ways to Make Money From Home

Whether you’re in between jobs or looking to pad your savings account, chances are, you could use a little extra cash right now. Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to make a little money without committing to a new career. Robyn Freedman Spizman, coauthor of Will Work from Home, shares 10 innovative ways you can earn a tidy living—from your own living room. Read on to realize your undiscovered earning potential.

Service on the Dial

• A people person who enjoys telephone contact might find work as an at-home customer service rep. Visit Alpine Access and apply to be one of their Customer Care Professionals. The company hires you as an employee (not an independent contractor), guarantees your schedule and pays for your training. You coordinate with them to decide when you’ll work, then you’re on standby (from your home) for the customers of one of their many clients.



Tech Genius

• Tech savvy? If you have a background in information technology, you can troubleshoot other people’s computer snafus from home. Apply to be a remote IT professional with 1-800-GeeksOnTime or Support.com. Customers register with either site, and call you when their hard drives go on the fritz or their documents disappear. They’ll permit you to tap into their computer systems, then you can point and click your way to a solution.



Craft for Cash

• If you have a knack for knitting or an eye for embroidery, why not hawk your handmade wares via a virtual shop? Crafty women can set up an e-storefront on Etsy, which charges a nominal startup fee and takes a small percentage of all your sales, says Spizman. You can sell a variety of one-of-a-kind goods, or focus on a particular type of item, such as handbags. If you’re a better bargain shopper than you are a crafter, try scouring local yard sales for vintage pieces; many Etsy shoppers are in the market for secondhand buys.



Savvy Seller

• Are you the most organized of all of your friends? Most people don’t have the patience to clean out storage spaces and resell their unwanted goods. Offer to help neighbors declutter their garage or closets; then, coordinate eBay sales of their used baby gear or abandoned exercise equipment and you can collect a percentage of the profits. Not sure how to get started? Write a catchy ad listing the organizing services you can provide, and post it on the Domestic Gigs page on Craigslist.



Office Organizer

• Former office coordinators can exercise their skill set on Office Arrow, an online community for office professionals. Share expertise you’ve garnered from previous jobs and get “smart, up-to-the-minute” information on providing business support services—including coordinating travel, scheduling meetings, organizing contacts and creating presentations—from your home. Don’t miss the Careers section on the site, where you can find aggregated job postings for virtual office coordinator positions from all the major career sites. As long you have a phone, a fax machine and a photocopier, you can manage a small business without ever setting foot in an office.



The Write Stuff

• Wordsmiths can offer their services on numerous sites: Elance, oDesk and EditFast allow writers and editors to register to join their databases. (EditFast requires applicants to take a test, so study up first.) Fill out a profile to share your experience with potential employers; you tell them what type of work you’ve done—and what you’d like to do—and they’ll hire you outright or allow you to bid on specific assignments.



Virtual Support

• If you have super typist skills and a can-do attitude, you can spend a few hours a day as a “virtual assistant.” Team Double-Click retains tens of thousands of on-staff virtual assistants to help businesses meet their staffing needs; they evaluate each client’s project and match up the client with an assistant who has relevant experience. If you’re not sure your skills are up to par, apply to AssistU, which offers a training program for potential contractors.



VIP Treatment

• Former travel and hospitality workers are in high demand: VIPDesk trains its home-based concierges to handle the personal and business needs of its professional clients. You might be asked to procure dinner reservations or sporting event tickets, make travel arrangements or schedule a car rental. If you can handle these tasks, not only will you get to work from home, you’ll get medical and dental insurance, among other competitive benefits.



Teachers for Hire

• You don’t need a teaching degree to put your knowledge to work. Tutor.com hires college graduates to work as virtual tutors for five to 30 hours a week. You get paid by the hour to chat with a student, draw problems on an “interactive whiteboard” and review essays. The site caters to tutors with English, math, science or social studies expertise, and is especially in need of bilingual applicants who speak English and Spanish or English and Vietnamese.



Sales Maven

• If you’re willing to make the initial investment, direct sales might be your calling. You host a party in your own home—or a friend’s—and showcase your wares. Choose something you enjoy, and you’ll enjoy sharing it. Sell jewelry through Silpada, Lia Sophia or Cookie Lee, or cooking tools through The Pampered Chef. Depending on the company, you can earn free merchandise, or a percentage of your sales.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Employee Benefits 101

Would you ever want to give up a healthy chunk of your salary? In effect, that’s what you’ll be doing if you disregard the various employee benefits you’ll have access to in your first job.

Many new college graduates simply don’t understand their employers’ benefits programs or their significance in real-dollar terms. “They underestimate the value of their benefits and don’t take advantage of benefits that defer compensation until later,” says Terese Corey Blanck, principal of College to Career, a career consulting firm in suburban Minneapolis.

Your total benefits package could potentially add 30 percent to your overall compensation. So it’s foolish to remain in the dark. Here’s a quick rundown of the benefits you’ll most likely be offered and what they can do for you.

Health Insurance

When you’re young, it’s easy to think you’re invincible and practically immune to disease or injury. But a single trip to the emergency room or being diagnosed with a relatively common condition can quickly turn into an overwhelming bill.

Medical insurance helps cushion the blow. If you’re lucky, your employer will pay your entire insurance premium each month. It’s more likely you’ll pay a small percentage, and your employer will cover the rest. Whatever the arrangement, it’s almost certainly in your best interest to sign up.

Don’t forget to check into additional forms of health insurance as they apply to you:

  • Dental Insurance: This helps you keep your teeth healthy by covering preventive maintenance and repair.
  • Disability Insurance: This will help you pay the bills if you’re somehow temporarily or permanently disabled.
  • Life Insurance: This covers the cost of your funeral if you die and, more importantly, provides for key loved ones you leave behind.

Retirement Plan

Who wants to think about retirement when you’re just starting out? Whether it’s a 401k or a 403b or some other type of employee-sponsored retirement plan, you should strongly consider this option.

You’ll be able to contribute to the plan without first paying the usual federal (and in many cases, state) income tax on your contributions. You won’t pay that tax until retirement, when your money is actually distributed back to you. Better yet, your employer may contribute to your account as well, usually matching a percentage of your contributions.

Paid Time Off

This benefit is exactly what its name implies: Paid time away from work for vacations, holidays or illness.

Feeling so crummy you’ve just got to stay in bed today? Your pay won’t be docked as long as you still have allotted time left in your bank.

Flexible Spending Account

You may know this benefit as a Section 125 plan. Whatever the terminology, a flexible spending account allows you to set aside some pretax money to pay for things like health insurance premiums, child care or even that new pair of glasses you’ve been meaning to buy. This helps you reduce your income tax bill at the end of the year, thus saving you money you otherwise would have to give to the government.

Tuition Assistance/Reimbursement

Perhaps you see a graduate degree, certification course or industry-specific training program in your future. Many organizations offer partial or even full tuition reimbursement for educational activities they see as benefiting not only you but also the organization as a whole. That’s the equivalent of being handed hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

It’s impossible to describe every possible employee benefit here. Every company offers different benefits, and individual situations vary. So don’t be afraid to get some guidance from your organization’s HR department, a trusted campus advisor or your parents. After all, most schools don’t teach you this stuff.

But you don’t want to learn your benefits lessons the hard way.

For more information on benefits plans, visit Monster’s Salary Center.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Best Prepaid Wireless Provider 2009

This author has been looking for a site that details reviews on the best service providers that cater to prepaid plans. In the event that this author will fly to the US soon, this list (and link) would probably do wonders to a very budgeted lifestyle. Cheers!