Your credit score and credit report may not be something you think about often, but the fact is, when it does come time to need your credit score, it really does matter. Your credit score and report is a reflection all of your past credit history. A credit card company or someone looking to give you a loan, wants to know how much credit you have, what is the ratio of debt to credit, do you make your payments on time, and how much other accounts do you have.

Photo Courtesy: i am real estate photographer

Why Your Credit Score is Important

A good credit score is important if you want to get a new credit card. Not only does it determine if you are approved or not, but it can also determine your available credit limit and interest rate. Credit scores also play a vital role if you are taking out a mortgage to buy a house, taking out a loan to pay for college tuition, to buy a car, or start a business. Even things like signing up for a new phone plan may require a credit history check. When you are signing a lease to an apartment, you may be subjected to a credit check as well since landlords want to be sure you’ll be paying rent on time. If your score isn’t good, you can be turned down or asked to pay a higher security deposit or additional fees to ensure payment.

Even in some careers, future employers may, with your knowledge, want to know your credit score or credit history. This is especially true if your position requires you dealing with money. But some employers just want to know how responsible and diligent you are with paying your bills and paying them on time.

How to Improve Your Credit Score

Now that you realize just how important your credit score is, you’ll want to start taking steps to improving it, or if it’s already good, keeping it that way. Keep in mind that if you have a weak credit score or a troubled credit report, you can’t fix it overnight. It takes patience and a lot of hard work. Here’s how to improve your credit report:

• Check your report.
  Whether you think you have excellent credit or a less desirable credit report, be sure to check your credit report. This will allow you to see any errors or any suspicious activity associated with your credit. You could have paid something on time but it came up as a late payment or opened an account a while ago and forgot all about it. This is also a great way to check if you’ve had a problem with identity theft. If there are any accounts you don’t recognize, you’ll want to report them immediately to the credit bureau. You can check your report for free by visiting AnnualCreditReport.com. It’s free to see your credit report, but you’ll have to pay a small fee to see your actual score.
• Get organized with your bills.
  It’s pretty easy to get disorganized with bills. For me, I have a lot of bills. Some I pay online, others I write a check for, and others are direct withdrawal. Some are due at the end of the month, and some at the beginning. Since late payments are horrible for your credit score, you need to pay your bills on time. Late payments are flagged on your credit report and cause your score to go down. It can also cause your interest rate to go up and late payments added to your bill. On the other hand, making your payments on time, will start to improve your score. Keep track of when your bills are due. The same way you mark on your calendar doctor’s appointments and items due for work or school, mark down when your bill is due. Some company’s offer customers to enroll in reminders that will be e-mailed to you when your bill is almost due.
• Consider automatic payments.
  Since making your payments on time is crucial to improving your credit score, consider signing up for your monthly payment to be automatically withdrawn from your checking account. This is a solid action to ensure you won’t be late. Some companies, like U.S. Cellular, may even offer you a small discount for enrolling. If you’ve been trying to deal with your student loans, some lenders, like Sallie Mae, will lower your interest rate if you qualify and sign up for automatic debit. But you have to be sure you always have enough money to cover any bills since it could then result in late payments plus overdraft fees. Also, keep track of your checking account because you might forget about payments deducted and then end up overdrafting.
• Make a payment plan for your debt.
  If you’re struggling with debt and also dealing with a less desirable credit report, it can feel overwhelming. But it is possible to deal with it and come out on top. Make a plan of paying off any debt you have as well as any accounts that are past due. Your plan may have to include finding ways to save money in your monthly budget so you can put it towards bills and/or debt payments. There are ways you can save money on food, try to make more careful choices about purchasing wants over needs, and try to lower your utilities.
• Work with anything you have past due.
  If you have an account that is past due, the worst thing you can do is just ignore it. Call the company, and face it. It is possible that they will work with you to go on a payment plan. For student loans, it is possible you can defer your payments if you are unemployed, still in school, or experiencing economic hardship. You can also put your loans in forbearance, which means you pay a fee, then you do not have to make a payment for a certain amount of months without any penalties.

Do you check your credit report every year? How do you try to improve your credit score?

More on Credit

• How Much Do Credit Inquiries Really Matter?
• How to Get a Free Credit Report
• Free Credit Monitoring from Credit Karma
• Credit Sesame Free Credit Score
• Credit Scores: VantageScore vs Fico

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My friend Helen introduced me to Mystery Shopping about two years ago. I had heard about it, and was very curious (if not a little skeptical) about its potential in my money-saving toolbox. She mentioned in a conversation that she had not paid for an oil change in over three years. Boy did that pique my interest! After conducting two oil change shops and being fully reimbursed for the oil changes that I needed for my car, I was convinced that I had uncovered a small goldmine.

Reasons to Consider Mystery Shopping

I took a break from mystery shopping after completing these two assignments. That is, until something very interesting came across my inbox. While completing this glamorous one (more to come below), I took the time to think about reasons why you might want to give mystery shopping a shot.

Earn Extra Cash to Supplement Your Budget

While you will not become rich off of my level of mystery shopping (think fast food shops and oil changes), the extra income can certainly supplement parts of your budget. A good way to look at it is perhaps sign up for assignments and use the cash or experience towards a certain goal. For example, sign onto additional shops around the holidays in order to purchase gifts for others. You could save on food costs by only eating out when you get a restaurant/fast food assignment, or mystery shopping could help you to afford some wonderful dates for with your significant other.

Experience Something New

In my inbox I receive lots of emails from the mystery company I am signed up for (Intelli-Shop). Most are for fast food restaurants, car dealerships, and an occasional insurance company. Don’t get me wrong, getting a meal for free is nice and all, but you do need to write up a report afterwards and so I haven’t found all of these types of shops to be lucrative or even worth it at times (though worth it when I need an oil change!).

Even with two past scores of 8 out of possible 10 for my past efforts, I have rarely seen an interesting or glamorous assignment like those advertised. Until now, that is. Last weekend, I snagged an assignment that would ensure a great date night with my husband completely for free: an evening at a racetrack. You might remember I mentioned this mystery shopping assignment when I talked about it in Do You Have to Pay Tax on Gambling Winnings?

Not only did this shop include the general admission, valet parking, and three bets, but it also included a buffet dinner for two and two alcoholic beverages. What a deal! On top of the reimbursements, I was paid $60 for my time. Because I helped the company out in a pinch (two of the scheduled people had backed out last minute), I was given a “hero” status in my profile. This means my chances of getting really cool assignments in the future are higher than before. It was a win-win-win situation!

Help Fulfill a Shopping Addiction Void

If you have a shopping addiction or spend too much during the month, then mystery shopping could help to fill the void while offering reimbursable items. Instead of spending your own money, you can spend a company’s money (though of course you need to cover the cost upfront). You might be able to find a shop that you were wanting to go to anyway, or a type of assignment where you get to purchase and item you had needed/wanted to buy anyway (word of warning: some shops make you take the product back as part of the experience). Who knows, perhaps writing the reports out will give you enough work to do that you will go out shopping less.

Get You Out of the House

Perhaps you don’t have much money in your budget for entertainment. If you are home most of the day, or on weekends, then you might like a good excuse to leave the house. Mystery shopping can certainly provide this for you. You will be on an assignment, focused, yet able to enjoy whatever venue you were given a free ticket to, or whatever meal you purchased (though reimbursable, so you have to pay upfront). Some mystery shops you can even take a friend along, so be on the lookout for these.

Because of my great experience with mystery shopping thus far, I wanted to share with you reasons why you might want to give mystery shopping a chance. It’s not for everyone, and you might question if you are wasting your time with lower-paying shops (think $7 for a fast food restaurant). But after picking up assignments and proving to be consistent, better assignments should be on their way!

Mystery Shopping Referral

If you are interested in becoming a Mystery Shopper with Intelli-Shop and would like a referral, please contact us using the subject Mystery Shopping and include the following information: Name, email address, city, state and zip. We will submit your information under their refer-a-friend program. Intelli-Shop will then send you information about how to sign up.

Have you ever participated in mystery shopping?

More on Making Extra Money

• Are Paid Surveys a Waste of Time?
• 12 Ways to Generate Extra Income
• 5 More Ways to Earn Some Extra Cash
• 14 Ways to Make Extra Money
• Donating Bodily Fluids for Cash
• 10 Surprising Things You Can Turn Into Cash

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This week’s Free Money Friday offer is a good one for anyone who is saving for college because Upromise is offering a $50 sign-up bonus on their Upromise World MasterCard!

Even if you don’t need to save for college, you can still get in on this bonus!

How to Get Your $50

1. Open a Upromise World MasterCard.
2. Make your first purchase within 90 days.
3. Earn $50 cash back on your statement!

Terms and Conditions

• No annual fee.
• No limit to cash back earnings.
• You must sign up for Upromise rewards before you can earn cash back using this credit card.

More on Upromise

Earning Cash Back. You can earn 1% on all of your purchases, 2% back at eligible movie theatres, up to 3% at Exxon or Mobile gas stations and 4% back at participating Upromise restaurants. You can also earn an extra 5% on any eligible online shopping done through Upromise.

What is Upromise? If you’re unfamiliar with the Upromise rewards program, it’s a great way to save a little bit more towards any educational costs you might have coming up. You can contribute towards a Upromise 529 plan, make deposits in a Sallie Mae High-Yield Savings Account or make payments towards a Sallie Mae loan.

No need for college savings? If you don’t need any of those services, you can also request a check for your Upromise earnings, including the bonus and cash back from the Upromise World MasterCard. You can request checks of $10 or more once per quarter.

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© My Dollar Plan

You look at your credit card statement. There’s a charge for about $700 from a merchant you’re not familiar with.

“Honey, did you buy something from so and so for $700 last month?”
“Why no, dear, I would never spend that much without talking it over with you first.”
“Hmmm; I wonder where that charge came from, then?”
“I know! You can call the phone number listed for the merchant on the statement!”
“That’s a great idea!”

The merchant confirms that the charge was made. It was a telephone order, and the merchant confirmed the ZIP code and security code on the back of the card to verify that the purchaser actually possessed the card.

You call the bank and explain the situation. The bank refunds the $700, cancels the card immediately, and sends you a new card with a new number.

Was I a Victim of Identity Theft?

This is the ideal situation of what happens when your credit card is stolen. This is what happened to me a few years ago. Some banks are a little less helpful in situations like this, but generally speaking, I think most will do what they can to resolve the issue.

Was I a victim of identity theft? I don’t think so. To me, someone simply got hold of my card information, used it for a large purchase, and then my bank and I resolved the situation. Case closed. My social security number was not compromised, there’s no one applying for credit cards pretending to be me, and no other aspect of my financial identity has been taken.

I personally don’t think that identity theft is as common as most statistics show. I generally agree with statistics that come from reputable sources, but I just can’t see how the average person, using simple techniques, can’t prevent this. Granted, there are crackers (as a computer person, I prefer this word to “hackers” as hackers are not criminals, in the original sense of the word) out there that exploit commercial web site databases and steal tons of personal information. By law, when these incidents happen, the company must contact all of their customers and let them know. I’ve received a few of these letters over the years, but again, I’ve never had any problem with identity theft.

Likewise, I don’t know that I believe there are many “dumpster diver” identity thieves; I find it unlikely that this is an efficient use of a potential identity thief’s time.

Identity Theft Prevention

I offer the following steps to help prevent you from becoming a victim of identity theft:

• If you are concerned about the garbage identity thief, buy a shredder. Keep it next to your workspace area for going through your mail. Shred credit card offers, bank statements that you can review electronically, and anything else that you would normally throw away, that may have personal information on it.
• Keep your social security number secret. Unless you have a valid reason to carry it somewhere, keep it in your home in a secure location.
• When sending out mail with personal information in it, drop it in a “blue box” instead of your own mailbox.
• Log on to your credit card websites regularly, just to make sure there are no charges that look suspicious.
• Don’t give personal information to anyone over the phone, unless it is a call that you initiated.

This is what I do. It has worked for me for years.

Have you been a victim of identity theft? What methods do you use to prevent identity theft?

More Information on Identity Theft

• How to Protect Yourself from Identity Theft
• How To Recover From Identity Theft
• How to Get a Free Credit Report
• What Happens When Your Credit Card is Stolen
• Credit Sesame Free Credit Score

You can also sign up for identity theft services, like LifeLock or Trusted ID, which offers a 14 day free trial. However, there is a charge after the first 14 days to continue the service.

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© My Dollar Plan

On account of our three year anniversary, I thought it would be a great idea to discuss the finances of a newlywed couple since it’s so fresh on my mind. Based upon the decisions that you made in the first article in this series, 6 Financial Topics to Discuss Before Marriage, there are several things you will need to do for a smooth financial transition after the honeymoon.

Word of warning: Try to hold onto that wedded bliss and smile throughout this process, as you are bound to run into some situations, issues, or get frustrated at the amount of time and paperwork all of this can take. I know I was surprised!

Change Names on Financial Accounts

Once you have your new identification (if you chose to change your name), or once you are ready to combine finances (if you chose to combine finances), then it is time to actually add names to accounts. You might want to take this as an opportunity to open a new account together with a bank offer attached to it (replenish some of those savings or kick start that emergency fund!).

Be ready with your new identification (driver’s license) and potentially your social security cards. Check with your financial institution to find out what specific documentation they require. I found that it was just easier to do this entire process in person, and we used our lunch breaks to take care of one institution at a time. You may be able to accomplish this online, but be prepared to submit documents with potential notarizations through the mail if you choose to do so. In addition, be sure to ask about any fees to change your name.

Agree on a Budget

I would like to say that our first budget meeting was smooth sailing, and that we both agreed on all of the amounts in each category. This was simply not the case, and it’s okay that it wasn’t. There are now two people involved in finances, and each of you will be bringing a different set of priorities for saving and spending. Take this time to educate each other on your priorities, suggest ways to budget, compromise, and try out a few budgets until you both feel comfortable. There are many ways to manage money in your marriage.

Change Beneficiaries

Sadly, it took us over two years to finally change all of our beneficiaries to reflect our new circumstances. I do not recommend this, as it could cause a huge financial hassle on top of the emotional upheaval death or disability can bring.

This is not to say that it will not be a huge hassle. We had to call and/or fill out paperwork for each of our accounts. Some required a notary, others did not. A good time to take care of this would be when you are already changing names on accounts above. Might as well just make one trip to the bank, right?

Combine Insurances for Potential Savings

If you both have employer-sponsored healthcare plans, then you will want to check the cost of putting a dependent onto each. For my husband and me, it would cost $130 to put me onto his insurance, and almost $200 to put him on my insurance. My own health insurance was free to me, and his cost for himself was $160 per month. Therefore, it did not make financial sense to change either of our healthcare plans.

Also, check out your car insurance policies. You may want to go with the same company and policy. A marriage financial perk is your car insurance should lower now that you are no longer single, so be sure to ask the company that you choose to go with.

Fill Out Your First Tax Return Together

Decide on who will fill out the income tax returns (alone, or together), or if you will have a service do your taxes for you. It is easiest to have a large envelope in a central location so that when each of your tax documents comes in the mail (employer documents, interest earnings, student loan debt, charitable tax deduction sheets, etc.) you can make sure they end up in one location. Before you begin the process remember to go through all of the documents in this envelope together to ensure that everything has been accounted for on each of your sides.

Be aware that there are two different ways to file your taxes when you are married: married filing jointly or married filing separately. You will most likely want to determine which way will ensure you owe less tax for the year. You may also wish to familiarize yourself with the “marriage tax penalty”, which may impact some couples.

Remember that you are in a transition period right now, and that things will take time to run smoothly. Take this time to learn how to delegate and to work together. Here’s to your future!

More Finance Topics for Newlyweds

• Should You Have Joint Credit Cards?
• Are You Aware of Your Joint Financial Destiny?
• 6 Financial Topics to Discuss Before Marriage
• Financial Management For Newlyweds
• Newlywed Finances Part II
• 5 Ways to Save Money When Your Spouse is a Spender
• 7 Financial Consequences When You Say “I Do”

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© My Dollar Plan

You’re engaged! Congratulations! I mean that from the bottom of my heart, as it was only three and a half short years ago that I was in your position. Announcing to everyone that we were engaged was such a fun time, and it was so nice to receive everyone’s genuine well wishes and excitement for us.

Financial Topics to Discuss Before Marriage

It’s time to get serious about your life with your partner, and this includes having several financial discussions to help shape your future course together. You may be uncomfortable bringing some of these topics up, but having these conversations now can really help versus wishing you had had some of these conversations years down the road.

Decide on Whether or Not to Change Your Name

While this decision may have been cut and dry in your parents’ and grandparents’ day, now it is a discussion that you should have before getting married (if for the simple fact that you will need to do a lot of paperwork to change accounts after saying “I Do”).

In our marriage, I decided to change my last name to my husband’s but to keep my maiden name as my pen name. It felt like a good compromise to both of us.

Read More: Brokers Charge Fees to Change Your Name

Decide on Where the Two of You Will Live Together

Does one person have a home? Are both of you in apartments? Do you live together already? Sometimes it is easiest to move into a new apartment or new home together rather than one person move into another person’s place. Of course this will work as well, but there may be a bit more discussions on making room for each other rather than if you move into an empty space together from the start.

Read More: 7 Frugal Moving Tips

Decide on Whether or Not to Combine Finances

Once again, in most of history this was a given that finances would be combined. But it turns out that you are free to make your own choices for what will work best for you and your partner in your marriage. I know of couples who have combined finances, and I know of couples who have not done so. I also know of couples who have pursued a hybrid approach where they each have their own account and then have an account together from which bills are paid. The point is to make sure that it works for both of you.

My husband and I chose to combine our finances, and began doing so while we were paying for things towards the wedding. This eased the transition period; however, many financial gurus will tell you to not combine finances until after you are married.

Read More: How to Manage Money in Your Marriage

Discuss Any Debts You Each Have

If you both have not disclosed your debt loads (if any) to each other yet, now is the time to do so. How will you handle these debts together? How much are the monthly payments? What is your plan for paying off your debt?

Read More: Why You Should Tell Your Family About Your Debt

Map Out Future Financial Plans

Where do you see yourself in 2 years from now? 5 years from now? 10 years from now? You need to ask your partner these same questions. It is important to know what each other wants and what each other needs.

Read More: Are You Aware of Your Joint Financial Destiny?

How to Pay for the Wedding

Weddings can be a huge expense. I’ve discussed before about how to save money on the wedding, but did not discuss one of the most important parts of it all: how it is going to be paid, and who is going to pay for it. You can choose to go to a courthouse and get married, or you can choose to have a wedding and reception. While the choice is definitely up to you, there are huge variances in what it will cost.

As someone who pretty recently went through the process, I can say that you should never assume who will or will not pitch in, nor should you assume that everyone has the same thoughts or values as you when it comes to your wedding. You will need to have discussions between you and your fiancé, as well as with any parents that you feel may wish to contribute towards your wedding. If parents bring the topic up first, that is wonderful! If not, then you will need to talk about how to approach the topic to whomever you will want to ask.

Read More: 10 Budget Wedding Ideas From a Satisfied Bride

Our number one goal was to not go into debt for our wedding, as well as to pay down our non-mortgage debt at the same time. And I am happy to report that we only missed this goal by four months. We have been consumer debt-free since September 1, 2010 (married on April 17, 2010). You might wish to work on the same goals, as going into our marriage without massive amounts of “his” and “her” debts has only made us stronger.

Some of these conversations and decisions may not be fun, and may feel awkward. But it is important to have them in order to understand each other better. Chances are that up until now you have not sat down to have deep financial discussions. Now is the time!

More Finance Topics to Discuss

• Financial Management For Newlyweds
• Newlywed Finances Part II
• It’s Wedding Season! Tips to Keep the Costs Down
• 5 Ways to Save Money When Your Spouse is a Spender
• 7 Financial Consequences When You Say “I Do”

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

Saving money doesn’t have to be hard. When you start saving money, you’ll be able to put that money towards any debt you may have or be able to save for the future. Here are simple ways to save money.

Photo Courtesy: Kristen

Simple Ways to Save Money

1. Be light conscious. Use daylight as much as possible. Turn off the lights when you aren’t in the room. Use solar lights outside instead of electric for energy efficiency.
2. Cook at home. Cooking at home is cheaper than dining out.
3. Cancel or reduce your cable. You can borrow movies and television series from the library for free. Certain stations have all of their television show’s episodes available online for free. You can also watch movies on Hulu for no charge. Sign up for text and e-mail alerts for Redbox, and you’ll receive codes for free rentals every now and then.
4. Eat and drink local. Produce, beer and wine, and other products are generally cheaper when they’re produced nearby.
5. Downgrade your phone plan. Call your cell phone provider to see if what you can do to lower your bill. Maybe if you reduce your data, minutes for phone calls, or texts, you can cut down your bill. If you’re not in a contract, consider switching to save.
6. Brew your own coffee. If you bought a coffee everyday for $5, you’d end up spending $1,825 a year on coffee.
7. Buy produce in season. When a fruit or vegetable is out of season, it’s much more expensive since it’s harder to produce.
8. Stop or reduce your beauty treatments. I stopped dying my hair and limited the amount I get it cut, and I’ve saved probably $500 per year from it. Services like manicures, pedicures, and facials can be done at home.
9. Use cold water when you can. If you can, wash your clothes in cold water instead of hot water to save money. Take a little colder shower, wash your dishes in cooler water, and limit any time you’re using hot water.
10. Use coupons. Don’t leave the house before looking for a coupon. Find coupons in the newspaper or in magazines. Visit the specific product’s website, the store where you’re shopping, and coupons sites, like Coupon.com.
11. Shop generic. A lot of times the ingredients are exactly the same in generic cleaning products, beauty products, or foods. Compare the ingredients of your favorite name brand product along with the price.
12. Sign up for automatic payments. For every bill you pay, check if there is a benefit to enroll in automatic payments. For Sallie Mae, they will lower your interest rate if you sign up for your payments to be automatically deducted. Other companies and cell phone providers offer a discount for customers who sign up to have their payments debited automatically. Just make sure automatic payments aren’t secretly costing you money.
13. Unplug your electronics. When you’re not using any electronics, unplug them. They are still using up power even if they’re not in use. See 13 more ways to save money before walking out the door.
14. Reduce car use. If you don’t really need a car, sell it. You’ll save on gas, insurance, maintenance, registration, fees, and much more. Either way, use your car as little as possible to save on maintenance and gas. You’ll also save on other driving costs like tolls and parking. Instead, walk or bike whenever possible. Also take public transportation when you can. Consider the surprising benefits of the one car household.
15. Travel during the off-season. When you travel, choose to go when it’s less popular because prices will be better.
16. Sign up for e-mail alerts. Wherever you spend money, sign up for e-mail alerts and rewards programs. Grocery stores, restaurants, bars, and clothing stores all have email lists. Sign up and you’ll receive alerts of sales and promotions or coupons.
17. Find free or cheap entertainment. Search for alternatives to spending money for fun. Check out free nearby activities like local concerts, plays, festivals, or other events. Enjoy outdoor activities like hiking, biking, or walking. Get together for a game night, movie night, make dinner with friends, or have a potluck.
18. Use leftovers. Whenever you cook and there are leftovers, be sure to store them properly so they’ll remain usable. Be sure to use them. Get creative, and use them to create a whole new meal.
19. Keep track of purchases. Stick to your budget, and keep track of every dollar you spend.
20. Plan your route smartly. Whenever you’re driving, plan the most efficient route. Instead of running to the store a bunch of times during the week, plan it so you are only going once. Besides saving time, you’re also saving gas. Anytime you’re driving somewhere, opt for the most gas efficient route. You also want to choose a way that avoids traffic or tolls as well.
21. Avoid money-robbing temptations. If you’re trying to not spend money, don’t go anywhere you’d be tempted to spend like a mall or out to a bar.
22. Think before you buy. Before you make any purchase, wait a while. Sometimes you have an impulse to buy something, but if you wait a while, you may realize you don’t want it as much as you thought. Also take time to compare prices at other stores, find any coupons or deals, and read reviews to see any pros or cons to it.
23. Don’t just make minimum payments. Whenever you’re dealing with debt that is accruing interest, make more than the minimum payment. You’ll save hundreds or thousands by paying more than the minimum due since your payments are always going towards interest before paying down the principal balance.
24. Carpool when you can. Whether it’s to work, school, events, or even the store, carpool with your co-workers, friends, family, and neighbors to save on gas and also help the environment.
25. Shop used when you can. Before buying something brand new, check out Ebay, Amazon, or second-hand stores for gently used items. Also consider shopping at a thrift store or second-hand store for used clothes.
26. Use reusable items whenever you can. Reusable water bottles, containers, and coffee mugs are much cheaper than constantly buying plastic or paper disposable ones. Instead of packing food in plastic baggies, use reusable Tupperware. Instead of constantly using paper towels to clean, use rags and wash them in the washing machine when you’re done cleaning with them.

What are your favorite money saving tips?

More Money Saving Tips

• 30 Money Saving Tips
• 11 Ways to Save Money This Month
• 12 Things to Stop Doing to Save Money… Right Now!
• 5 Ways to Access Extra Cash
• 15 Budget Trimming Tips

Written by Kristen

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© My Dollar Plan

This week’s Capital One Free Money Friday offer is a good one! They’re offering a $300 sign-up bonus for their business checking account.

How to Get Your $300

1. Open a Capital One Business checking account by August 31, 2013.
2. Deposit at least $3,000 within 30 days of account opening and make one online payment.
3. Get a $300 credit to your account!

Terms and Conditions

• Promotion expires 8/31/2013.
• New customers only.
• You’ll receive your credit 10-12 weeks after the end of the promotion.
• Account must be open and in good standing to receive the credit.

More on Capital One

Starting a New Business? If you are thinking of starting your own Amazon selling business, this could be a great opportunity to take advantage of!

Personal Account. This bonus is in addition to the Capital One 360 $50 Sign Up Bonus for personal accounts we featured last week.

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© My Dollar Plan

You should not stress over what to get mom for Mother’s Day. (Believe me mom doesn’t want you to stress out over her.) You can get a thoughtful gift for not a lot of money. The key is to THINK about who you are buying for. For instance my mom likes flowers so that would be an ok gift. If someone bought me flowers I would know they had lost their mind.

Mother’s Day is this Sunday, May 12, 2013.

Here are some of my favorite mother’s day gifts. Some I have given and some I was very excited to receive (note lack of flowers on the list….)

10 Mother’s Day Gifts

1. Operating Instructions by Anne Lamott. My mom got me this book during my first pregnancy. I’ve read it many times since then and also given it to new moms. Lamott is a wonderful writer but what makes this book especially great is that it’s an unvarnished account of her first year of motherhood. It has the highs and the lows and is also very funny. One of the few books on motherhood that I think anyone could relate to.
2. Nail Polish Basket. This is a gift where you can either go for volume or uniqueness. I only wear polish on my toes and personally haven’t noticed a difference between $10 and $1 nail polish. You can easily find $1 / bottle at your local drug store. I like grabbing a bunch of different colors (that I think they would like). So when I bought for my niece she got some sparkly blue. My mom gets a deep red. You can also go upscale and get her favorite brand (that she rarely treats herself to). As far as luxury items go, this is a low cost one.
3. A Class. My sister and I once got my mom (an amazing cook) an Indian cooking class at a local school (completely new cuisine for her to cook but one she loved to eat). It was something she’d never done but we thought she would be interested in. She loved it and we also got to benefit by being her tasters. Yum. There are lots of one-day classes offered by local schools and adult learning centers. Look around for a unique gift to give as an inexpensive experience gift.
4. Coffee (or Tea) Basket. This is another one where you can adjust to the tastes of your mom. I’ve given coffee from a local roaster as well as a selection of teas from my town’s Chinese market.
5. Photo Mug. I love photo mugs. It’s a very personal gift both to give and to get. You don’t need to worry about having the perfect picture either. One year I wanted to give both my mother and mother-in-law photo mugs of my son. Of course he was going through a period where getting him to sit still for a photo was hard and getting him not to make a face was impossible. So instead of pulling my hair out I asked him to make a goofy face. He did and both moms laughed out loud when they got their cups.
6. Make a Meal. Chances are that your mom has cooked waaay more meals for you than the other way around. It doesn’t need to be a fancy meal – mom will appreciate the effort more than the food anyway. One of my favorite recipes for brunch is a dutch baby (baked apple pancake). It’s easy, delicious and impressive.
7. Plants. Everyone gives flowers but plants are a bit different. On my last birthday my sister gave me a bunch of little veggie plants to go in my garden. It was very appreciated now and will be again when I’m harvesting the food.
8. Baggu. I received Baggu bags as a gift when I was looking for re-usable shopping bags. I appreciate them more as time goes by. They’re washable, they don’t disintegrate like some cheaper bags, they hold a ton and can fold up into nothing. We use them all the time for just about everything. I’ve had more positive comments from grocery baggers than I can even count (and who would be a better expert on bags?).
9. Gift Card (Discounted of Course). Gift cards don’t need to be bland gifts – just keep her interests in mind. A gift card to her favorite store will be appreciated because she knew you were thinking of her (not just picking the first thing you saw). Many credit card companies offer a discount on gift cards if you get them through their rewards program or buy through Plastic Jungle.
10. Decoupage Box. Even if you’re not very crafty you can decoupage. All it takes is gluing some images to a box and then layering over with decoupage (like Mod Podge). You can make a unique one of a kind gift with images or words that are meaningful to you both. Believe me if I can do it, anyone can!

What are you planning to buy your mom for Mother’s Day?

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It’s all over the news about how the stock market is now trading at all-time highs. For many investors, your portfolios should now be worth more than they were back in 2007 before the financial crisis hit. I say should for two reasons, the first being this assumes you actually stayed invested in the market. The second reason is because many of the investors that I deal with have already recouped their losses from the financial meltdown, and they did so back in 2011. You may be asking how this is possible and what sorts of tricks were used to achieve this. The truth is there are no tricks. It was done by doing what any investor should do that wants to be successful when investing in the stock market.

Photo Courtesy: worradmu

Diversify

On order to be successful when investing you need to diversify. This is where the old saying “don’t put all of your eggs in one basket” comes into play. You need an asset allocation with a healthy mix of stocks, bonds, real estate and commodities. From there, you need to break down the asset classes further into small and large cap stocks, and domestic and international stocks. As most of you know, the reason for this is because many times, when one asset class is declining, another is rising. This offsets your losses. For help with creating portfolios, I highly recommend Paul Merriam’s book, “Live it Up Without Outliving Your Money”. It’s a short read and he creates portfolios that you can use.

Rebalance

Rebalaning, by some experts gets a bad rap. If you do it too often, it can backfire against you (don’t worry, I won’t go into the heavily technical reasons why). You should look to rebalance annually. I say look because you won’t always have to rebalance. You should only do so if your investments stray by 5% or more from their targets. By rebalancing, you ensure that you are always in-line with regards to your risk tolerance and you will also ensure that you buy low and sell high. The reasons for this are clear:

On the topic of risk, if you take on more much risk than you want, you could set yourself up for losing more money than you wanted it. On the flip side, if you take on too little risk, you might not have enough assets to last you through retirement.

When it comes to buying low and selling high, rebalancing forces you to sell your positions that have risen in value (sell high) and buying those that have decreased in value (buying low).

Read more: Should You Rebalance Your Portfolio or Let it Ride?

Stay the Course

It is very important to stay invested in the market at all times. Trying to time the market by buying in and selling out does not work. Recent studies show that the average investor, one that is constantly in and out of the market, earned 2.3% over the last 20 years. Had you just invested in the S&P 500 you would have earned close to 8%.

Let me say this again: you cannot time the market! No one knows what is going to happen in the market. If someone says they do, ask to see their bank account because it better have gazillions of dollars in it. Think about it, if someone says they know that the market is going to rise or fall on certain day, wouldn’t they use every cent they could get their hands on and put it in the market to make more money? I know I would.

I realize that this step is not very easy with all of the media coverage blowing issues out of proportion. But you have to do your best to ignore it. Turn the channel or go for a walk. Do anything that will get your mind off of the movement in the markets. The less you hear the noise, the less you will worry about it or be inclined to take action. Many investors that sold out of the market in 2008 never came back in and have missed this great run up in prices. Some of those that did enter back into the market sold out at the end of 2012 because of the fiscal cliff fiasco. What happened since? The market kept rising. This isn’t to say the market is going to continue to rise, but to show you that we have no clue where the market is headed. Don’t trust anyone that tells you otherwise.

Final Thoughts

If you follow these 3 steps, you will be ahead of the majority of investors out there. You may not be able to retire tomorrow if you follow these steps, but it will put you in a much better financial situation if you do. As I pointed out, some of these are easier said than done. But do your best to stick with the plan so that you can realize your financial dreams.

More on Investing

• New 2013 Investment Tax: What it Means For You
• 11 Reasons Why Investors Fail
• How to Calculate Annual Investment Returns
• 2013 Roth 401k and Roth IRA Limits
• Unveiling The Retirement Myth Book Review
• Can You Have a 401k and an IRA at the Same Time?

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Dominating the news headlines currently is the topic of student loan debt and a possible student loan crisis. For the first time ever, the total amount of student loan debt has surpassed the $100 billion mark. This is more than consumer credit card debt and is second only to housing debt (mortgages). Many experts are saying that the next bubble to burst is the student loan bubble. Below I present a few reasons why the so-called student loan bubble isn’t really a bubble at all.

More Students Are Going To College

More people are going to college to get an education. As a result, more people are going to be taking out student loans. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, college enrollment from 1990 to 2000 increased 11%. From 2001 through 2010, enrollment jumped 37%. This includes both full-time and part-time students. It appears that everyone is buying into the message that you need to go to school to get ahead. I am not going to argue for or against this point; I am simply saying that more people are going to college. That 37% jump in the last decade correlates to 5 million students.

Let’s just say for argument sake that only 500,000 of these students needed to take out student loans and each one took out a loan of $20,000 total. That’s $10 billion right there. I’m sure many more than 500,000 took out student loans.

Average Student Loan Debt Isn’t High

You may argue about how much student loan debt college graduates have when they finish school. I’ve read the stories of the girl with $120,000 in student loan debt working at McDonald’s. You have to realize that this story is the exception, not the norm. The media is playing into your emotions. In fact, 43% of students have between $1,000 and $10,000 of student loan debt. That girl in the news I mentioned above, she and others like her account for roughly 3% of student loan debt. See the chart below.

Photo Courtesy: The Atlantic

When I graduated from college, I had about $12,000 in student loan debt. Most of my friends had the same. I don’t know anyone who had over $25,000 of student loan debt. This doesn’t mean that it doesn’t happen, but it just furthers the point that huge amounts of student loan debt is not the norm, it’s the exception. If we look at the chart above, we can see that students with student loans up to $25,000 make up over 72% of the total student loan debt. This is saying that close to three quarters of all students that have student loan debt have $25,000 or less. When I see my friends and people I know that have had this amount of student loan debt, we are all doing OK financially.

College Graduates Do Have Jobs

While the unemployment rate for the nation still hovers around 8%, for college graduates the unemployment rate is under 4% as of November 2012 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The peak unemployment rate for this group was just over 4%.

Now granted, this does not take into account those that are underemployed or those that have completely given up looking for a job. If we look a little deeper into the statistics, the average weekly earnings of a college graduate are $797. A $25,000 student loan that has to be repaid in 10 years and carries an interest rate of 6.8% has a monthly payment of $287 per month. If you are making close to the average earnings mentioned above, you should have no issue making your monthly student loan payment. See 6 Mistakes of New Earners and How to Fix Them if you are struggling to meet your obligations.

For those that are underemployed, student loans are more generous in terms of payback options. If you have federal loans, you can stretch out payments to 20 years and you can defer payments or forbear payments as well. You can even take part in a new income based repayment plan called pay as you earn where your payment will increase as your earnings do. In addition, for public service workers there is a student loan forgiveness program. The point is, if you have a monthly student loan bill of $300 and you cannot afford it, you should contact the lender and work something out with them. Since student loan debt cannot be discharged in the event of a bankruptcy, lenders are more open to delaying payments because they know they are getting paid regardless.

Where The Student Loan Crisis Is

For the majority of students, there is not student loan debt crisis, as I pointed out above. Where the crisis is though, in my opinion, is hidden in the above numbers. The number of people going on to college is increasing each year. This is a good thing, as a more educated work force is a more productive work force. The problem though is that a healthy part of this group is from low income families. These families tend to not attend the typical four-year non-profit college that most go to. They instead go to the for-profit colleges who in some instances mislead potential students into thinking they will be earning a high salary once they graduate and saddle them with student loan debt that they will have a difficult time repaying.

I think the media should focus on this aspect as this is the real crisis. We need to educate these young people so that they understand what they are getting themselves into. They are blinded by the fact that they are the first one in their family to ever go to college and end up getting hurt. By helping these people out through educating them on student loans and what they can expect once they graduate will go a long way in bettering their financial future.

Final Thoughts

I don’t want this post to come off sounding as though I don’t think students are in trouble when it comes to repaying their debts. As I pointed out, I think that the majority of graduating students can handle their student loan repayment and that the media really is blowing smoke. I just want you to think about what you hear in the media and not take it for face value, but to question it and look into it. Yes, for the first time ever, total student loan debt has surpassed $100 billion. But is that really a bad thing? It shows that more people are attending college and continuing the lifelong pursuit of knowledge. And according to the chart I showed you, the majority of students don’t have a significant amount of student loan debt either. So why worry about a problem if it really isn’t the problem? By breaking the numbers down we can see what the problem actually is and hopefully we can make strides on correcting it.

What are your thoughts on the student loan bubble the media is currently hyping?

More on Student Loan Debt

• New Pay As You Earn Student Loan Program
• Student Loans: The Effect of Extra Payments
• New Student Loan Forgiveness Program
• Student Loans: Repayment Options
• Student Loans: Consolidation
• 6 Ways to Deal with Student Loan Debt

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
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One of the trendiest and most pressing topics in personal finances is the devastating amount of debt graduating with college students. Large debt loads saddle new graduates with large monthly payments. Couple this with sometimes unmarketable degrees that do not translate well in the workforce and a wavering economy, and we see that some students are taking a two-punch to the chin.

My Student Loan History

I remember my own exit interview with the financial aid office just before graduating in 2005. For weeks I had felt that intangible peace and excitement that comes when you know that exams and papers are all behind you, you have a job lined up with a decent salary, and life just seems completely conquerable. Then I opened up my packet to find various loans adding up to the sum of around $36,000. Yikes! That heady feeling turned into a dollop of panic. The term of loan repayment that my creditors had chosen was 11 years. I looked around the room at everyone else’s reactions, determined to never be in debt for such a long amount of time. And I wasn’t; I managed to pay everything off within 5 years of graduation by making extra payments.

Even though I suffered through two lay-offs in those five years, I was never unemployed for more than three months at a time. In the summer that I graduated, interest rates for student loans were at an all-time low. I was able to consolidate the majority of my loans to lock in a 2.65% interest rate, and after 36 consecutive payments, the interest rate decreased to an amazing 1.25%. Also, my federal student loans had been subsidized, meaning that while in college the interest accrued on the loans was paid for by the government. But some graduates have not had it so well.

Let’s take a look at a new program that may help ease federal student loan payments for college grads in the future.

New Pay As You Earn Student Loan Program

As of December 21, 2012, a new program called Pay As You Earn (PAYE) is available as an alternative to the standard repayment plans of loans from the Direct Loan Program for eligible people. This program goes even further than other federal loan income-based repayment programs by reducing the maximum monthly payments from 15% to 10% of discretionary income as well as accelerating loan forgiveness from 25 years to 20 years.

The Juicy Details

So what exactly is the federal government offering in this new plan?

• Decreased Monthly Repayment Amount: If you qualify for this plan, your monthly repayment amount will be 10% of the difference between your AGI and 150% of the Poverty Guideline for your family size.
• Debt Forgiveness: After 20 years of payments, the remainder of your loan will be forgiven.
• Credit towards the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program: PSLF, another federal student loan repayment program, can be earned after 120 qualifying payments through the PAYE program (FYI: PSLF is not taxable as income, whereas debt forgiveness under the PAYE program is taxable income).
• Potential Interest Subsidies: It turns out that there is a way to get your loans subsidized outside of college again. If your monthly payment amount does not cover the full amount of interest that accrues on your loans each month, your unpaid accrued interest on any subsidized loans (and on the subsidized portion of your consolidation loans) will be paid for up to three consecutive years from the date you began loan repayment.
• Capped Interest Capitalization: The capitalization of interest is capped to 10% of the original principle balance.

Tax Implications

There appear to be two potential tax consequences of enrolling in this program. First of all, student loan interest is generally deductible, so if you are paying off your loans for an extended period of time, then you can benefit from a tax deduction over many years (though be careful, as you are also paying more interest than you would under the standard repayment plan). Also, if you reach 20 years and have the remainder of your loans forgiven under this program, then the forgiven loans will be taxed like income.

Eligibility Requirements and How to Apply

Each year you will need to prove your eligibility in order to take advantage of this program. This means that, along with the first year, you will need to complete the electronic Income-Based (IBR)/Pay As You Earn/Income-Contingent (ICR) Repayment Plan Request. This process includes providing your previous year’s federal income tax documents, being a “new borrower” as defined by this program (someone who both did not owe any money on any federal student loans as of October 1, 2007, and also received a disbursement of a Direct Loan on or after October 1, 2011), having loans under the Direct Loan Program, and demonstrating partial financial hardship in repaying these loans.

Student loan debt is not something to take lightly. While other debts may be written off in bankruptcy (though not recommended), your student loan debt is very difficult if not impossible to discharge in bankruptcy. The only real option you have is to confront it, and to pay it off in manageable chunks. Good luck to you!

Stay tuned! Next up we’ll discuss if there really is a student loan crisis!

More on Student Loan Debt

• Student Loans: The Effect of Extra Payments
• New Student Loan Forgiveness Program
• Student Loans: Repayment Options
• Student Loans: Consolidation
• 6 Ways to Deal with Student Loan Debt

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Buying a house is for many people the largest purchase we will make in our lives. During the home buying process, many of us get caught up in the excitement and don’t think about all of the increased expenses we will incur as a result of purchasing the home. For me personally, I didn’t realize all of the “little things” that I needed to buy: mats for the bathrooms, a toaster oven, shelving units, window shades, etc. These items individually don’t cost much money, but when you combine them, they do end up costing you a decent amount of money.

Photo Courtesy: Stockimages

But even after the home purchase is complete, there are other often overlooked expensive home repairs that you need to know about. If you don’t budget accordingly, having one or two of these items fail in a short period of time could easily wipe out your emergency fund. Even if you have a good sized emergency fund, these repairs could leave you vulnerable to going into debt. Below I list some common large ticket items that will need to be replaced at some point during your ownership in the home. I provide how long they typically last as well as how much you can expect to pay to replace them.

Windows

If your house was recently built, you need not worry for some time. But if your house is 10 years or older, the clock is ticking on your windows. There are three common construction types for windows: aluminum, vinyl and wood. Typically, aluminum framed windows last about 20 years whereas vinyl windows last close to 50. Wood framed windows typically last 30 years, but if you maintain them correctly, they could last much longer than that.

The price to replace windows is around $600 per window. There are “new construction” windows available as well, which cost closer to $1,000 per window.

How do you know if you need new windows? There are various ways to tell. Some of the more common giveaways are windows that are hard to open, windows with single panes of glass, windows that are drafty or fog up, or rotted frames. Note that if you have double pane windows and there is condensation between the two panes, you don’t necessarily need a new window. You could just need a new pane of glass. Additionally, any condensation on the inside of the window could be there because of trapped air. This means that if it is cold outside and you pull a shade over the window, the varying temperature is most likely causing the condensation.

Hot Water Heater

The type of hot water heater you have determines how long it will typically last. Both gas and electric hot water heaters usually last around 10 years. If you have a tank-less version, you can expect that to last closer to 20 years.

The price to have your hot water heater replaced can range from $500 up to $2,000.

If your current hot water heater leaks around its base, works intermittently, or is older than 10 years, you should begin the process of looking for a replacement.

Roof

Roof shingles typically last around 20 years, assuming they are asphalt. To replace them, it will cost roughly $5-$10 per square foot.  If you have a house of 2,500 square feet, you are looking at a total bill of around $5,000.

How can you tell if you need a new roof? First you should check for missing shingles, or cracked or curled ones. Another tip-off is looking for granules in your gutter. As the shingle deteriorates over time, the deposits will end up in the rain gutter.

Another giveaway is done by inspecting inside your house. In the attic, look for stains or wet spots on the underside of the roof. You can also go room by room in the upstairs and look for discolored drywall, soft spots on the ceiling or peeling wallpaper.

Electric

For the most part, copper wiring will not degrade over time, so you don’t have to worry about re-wiring your entire house. But you may need to update the electrical box or panel. The typical electrical panel lasts about 25 years.

There are various fixes for a panel. To replace the panel, you are looking at around $1,000 whereas rewiring a circuit or installing a circuit will run you around $500.

There are many signs that you should pay attention to in order to determine if you need to upgrade your electrical panel. The primary one is lights dimming when you turn on an appliance. Another sign is if a circuit trips frequently. Personally, I’ve had to deal with both of these issues. First, the power in the house would go out when we would have various appliances running. We ended up having to install a larger breaker coming into the house. Then, the breaker for the upstairs bathroom would trip constantly. It turned out the breaker was bad and we needed a new one.

There are a few other signs as well such as rust on the electrical panel or lack of ground-fault circuit interrupters in bathrooms and your kitchen that tell you it is time to update your electric service.

Central Air Conditioning

Now that we are heading into summer, many people will come to find their central air conditioner needs replacement. The average lifespan of an AC unit is roughly 10 years. When it is time to replace the unit, you can expect to pay around $3,000.

You know you need to start looking for a new central air conditioner when you are frequently repairing the unit, have humidity problems or have rooms that are too hot or cold. An important note is that if you do end up replacing your AC unit and it is tied into your furnace’s blower motor, you will have to replace the furnace as well if you want the AC units rated energy efficiency.

Final Thoughts

Overall, replacing these items will run you around $1,000 for the most part. But many people assume their homeowners insurance will cover these items, which it will not. Make certain that you have an adequate emergency fund so that should one (or more) of these items needs replacing, you not only have the funds to do so, but also enough of cushion to not put you in jeopardy should another emergency arise shortly thereafter.

More on Home Ownership

• Current Mortgage Rates
• 16 Ways to Lower Your Housing Costs
• 6 Defects Our Detail-Oriented Home Inspector Missed
• 6 Ways to Save Money on Appliances
• How to Make Your Home More Energy Efficient

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Capital One 360 has taken over ING Direct and they’re offering a $50 sign-up bonus. This week’s Free Money Friday may be just for you!

How to Get Your $50

1. Open a 360Checking account.
2. Make a total of 3 card purchases or Person2Person Payments (or any combo of the two) within 45 days of account opening.
3. Get a $50 bonus!

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• 360 Checking cannot be used for business, power of attorney, beneficiary or individual retirement accounts.
• Account opening deposit must be from a personal checking account only.

More on CapitalOne360

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Online Benefits. With CapitalOne360, you can deposit your checks via your mobile phone, and get free online billpay, P2P payments and more!

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Moonlighting—working at another job, often at night, in addition to a full-time job—has been gaining in popularity over the last several years. This is because of the need for more income due to Recession financial messes: furloughs, lower wages, and higher mortgage/apartment rental payments. Aside from financial need, many people choose to moonlight in order to pursue a hobby career, build up a side business, or just to feel out whether or not another line of work is really what they want to do.

My Moonlighting Background

I moonlighted for close to four years. From March 2009 through January 2013 I worked as an environmental investigator for the state of Texas by day, and as a blogger/freelance writer by night/weekend. I am not going to lie to you; it was a lot of work. While I always over-performed at my daytime job, I also overworked myself at times. I only had a handful of weekends off over those four years, and to do so I had to write articles ahead of time and schedule them. Even though it was a lot of work (approximately 70 hours per week), looking back over the last four years I know that I would not have changed anything. I learned how to prioritize my time, I brought in a side income stream to our household during some crucial years of paying off non-mortgage debt, purchasing our first home, getting married, etc. And on top of all of that, I also just recently quit my daytime job to become a blogger/freelance writer—so it truly paid off!

In case you are looking to moonlight, I have written down a few thoughts and pieces of advice for you based on my own experiences. Please note that I do not assume your employer is as flexible as mine was, but it is important to point out that working certain jobs make it easier to moonlight than others.

Heed Your Employer’s Policies

Since we are talking about side income, I am assuming that you want to keep your full-time income. No matter what your reason for moonlighting is, it’s important that your current, full-time employer is okay with the idea. Some companies and firms have strict rules against moonlighting for a variety of reasons while others force employees to disclose outside employment to their HR department (the policy for this is typically on one of those sheets of papers you sign when you are first starting out at your company/government agency/non-profit).

This means that you need to first learn about your employer’s policies regarding taking a second job, and then heed their requirements. Policies may include prohibition of moonlighting, having to notify your employer of other employment, clearing any conflicts of interest, etc.

Carve Out the Time

Being able to carve out the time that you need to pursue a side career is partially based on you, and partially based on your current employer. If you have any say in the matter, make sure you work at as flexible a job as possible. I worked for the state government, and so we had a healthy set of holidays off each year. I also had a flexible boss. This worked out on the occasion that I had to be somewhere urgently for my second job (if I wanted an opportunity), like when a local television station called to ask if I would interview for them that afternoon. Having a flexible boss meant I was able to leave and do the segment.

You will want to take advantage of any flexible work schedule options that you can. I did this by turning my 5-day work week into a 4-day workweek (four 10-hour days). This gave me a three day weekend each week to really delve into my blogging and writing, and to keep up some sort of social life.

Even if you cannot carve out this sort of time through your employer, realize that you have evenings and weekends at your disposal. You need to either wake up early or go to sleep later (or a combination of both) during the week and take advantage of the weekend as true work days. If you have a lunch hour and a few breaks in your workday (or sufficient downtime and your boss’s blessing), you can get some work done during the day as well. For this, think about small tasks that you can accomplish in the short amount of free time you may have. And look at some of your holidays at your day job as bonus work days for your side job.

Learn to Prioritize

In the beginning of my moonlighting it seemed like I was working around the clock, all week long. And “beginning” means probably the first two years. But one day I realized that I had to have more balance in my life if I was going to sustain the two jobs. Slowly but surely I learned to prioritize my work and my life so that I could spend ample time with family and friends, reading, knitting, and doing all of the other things that make life worth it. I achieved this by first becoming more aware of my time, and then by making the following changes: my articles were to be scheduled on my blog by Sunday at 10:00 a.m. so that I could have the rest of the day for relaxing and spending time with my husband, and by gaining efficiencies in my work such as learning to write a little more quickly rather than the leisurely pace I was used to. What sort of efficiencies can you gain in your own moonlighting career? Is it possible you could set a deadline for yourself in order to move things along more quickly than with no deadline at all?

Moonlighting is not for everyone, and for those that pursue it, there are probably days when you wonder if you will ever be able to dedicate all of the time and energy you wish to your side career. In these cases, just remember that by moonlighting you are giving yourself a head start that you otherwise would not have. This should help alleviate some of your moonlighter’s guilt!

Do you moonlight, or have you done so in the past? What are your two jobs? How did everything work out?

More on Making Extra Money

• 5 More Ways to Earn Some Extra Cash
• How to Make Money Blogging
• How to Make Money Selling on Amazon
• Donating Bodily Fluids for Cash

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Happy May Day! As springtime rolls in, it’s time for my semi-annual credit card application spree. We finished up the spending requirements for my husband’s holiday credit card application spree, so it’s back to my turn. If you are following along, here are the details from our other application sprees over the past year.

You’ll notice my list is a little shorter this time around. Normally, I wait until I have at least a dozen target cards. However, because there are two limited time offers for free money I want to take advantage of as soon as possible, I’m planning a quick application spree to pick up the following cards:

Credit Card Application List

1. Barclaycard Arrival World MasterCard $440 sign up bonus. I want to get the $400 bonus (plus the $40 bonus on redemptions) on this card before the offer ends and it goes back to the normal $200 bonus.
2. Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express This is another limited time offer that I want to pick up before they take it away again.
3. Chase Ink Bold Business Card. $500+ sign up bonus. The sign up bonus is worth $625 towards travel when you redeem through Ultimate Rewards. If you remember correctly, I already have this card, but I heard a rumor that you can have a second Ink Bold card if you apply for it under a different business. Since I have various businesses to choose from, I’ll go ahead give it a shot under another business and let you know if it’s a go.
4. U.S. Bank FlexPerks Business Travel Rewards. $175 bonus. I have the personal version of this card and redeeming the bonus via statement credit is easy, so I want to pick up the business version for an easy $175.
5. Citi Dividend Platinum Select $100 cash back. I had to skip this Citi card during my last application spree, since it fell to my 3rd choice (and Citi limits you to 2 new cards at a time). It’s time to circle back and pick up this card along with the $100 sign up bonus.
6. Chase Freedom Visa. $100 cash back bonus. I have a Chase Freedom MasterCard already which I use for the rotating cash back. Can I have both versions of this card? Time to find out. This card also has a 0% balance transfer. More on that below.
7. Priceline Rewards Visa. $50 sign up bonus. Anytime companies offer a 2% cash back card, I like to scoop it up. My 2% cards make up most of my default purchases that aren’t gift card or category specific.
8. USAA Rewards American Express The USAA card only has a $25 sign up bonus, but I want to pick up this USAA card to open up some other options for cash back at the grocery store since my Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express will be capped soon. The USAA card has tiered earnings up to 2.25% cash back on gas and grocery purchases. It’s not the best cash back card, but I also like to diversify across banks, and I don’t currently have a USAA card.

More Application Spree Offers for 0% Balance Transfers

In addition to the sign up bonuses, I also continue to play the credit card 0% balance transfer game. I’m planning to scoop up the following cards to flip a few balance transfers expiring soon (in addition to the Chase Freedom card mentioned above):

• Discover it. 0% intro APR for 18 months from the date of the first transfer made by June 10, 2013. There is a 3% balance transfer fee.
• Citi Diamond Preferred Card. 0% Intro APR on balance transfers and purchases for 18 months. There is a balance transfer fee of 3%.

Overall Value

The total for all of the sign up bonuses is: $2015. Not bad for a quick 8 card application spree, especially since you can get over $1500 of it with just the first three cards!

More on Credit Card Application Sprees

• How to Collect Multiple Credit Card Sign Up Bonuses
• How to Prioritize and Maximize Credit Card Sign Up Bonuses
• How Much Do Credit Inquiries Really Matter?
• Avoid Joint Credit Cards to Double Your Sign Up Bonuses
• Credit Card Application Spree Q & A
• $825 Beginner Credit Card Application Spree
• Beginner Credit Card Application Spree Q & A

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When I shared How I Made $10,000 Selling on Amazon, I received lots of emails from readers who wanted to explore it some more, but didn’t know quite how or where to get started.

When a friend of mine started selling on Amazon recently, I emailed her instructions on how to get started. Sharing those instructions would be helpful for many of you who want to learn more about it. Here is a copy of the email I sent her:

Selling on Amazon Background Information

I’m assuming you found and read these articles that provide some background information:

• How to Make Money on Amazon
• Examples of Profits from Selling on Amazon
• How I Made $10,000 Selling on Amazon

How to Get Started Selling on Amazon

1. Join the FBA forum. It’s on yahoo groups: FBA Forum. Just start reading there and anytime you have a question, search for it in the old posts. I think I learned more than half of everything I know about selling on Amazon just from that forum alone.
2. Get the app on your phone. It’s called Profit Bandit. It’s $15 from Seller Engine. That’s the best way to learn I think. Just get it on your phone and start scanning. Scan everything in your house for practice.
3. Start shopping. I think the easiest way to start is at Target. Look at the clearance endcaps. I start with the items on clearance for 70% off and then sometimes glance at the 50% off. When you scan items, look for how profitable it could be and compare to the cost. Don’t forget to use your Target 5% Discount Credit Card. When I scan items, here is what I look for:
   • Selling Price. My rule of thumb is that I like to double the cost. That allows for some price erosion before I list it for sale and for the cost of returns, damages, etc. For example, if I find an item that costs $10, I will look for a selling price that offers me a $10 profit.
   • Sales Rank. I also look at the sales rank (1 is the fastest selling item in each category). For example, in toys, a sales rank of 1-50,000 will sell relatively fast. At Christmas time my items with a sales rank of up to 100,000 sold pretty well. I don’t sell books, but a lot of people have mentioned that sales ranks of 1-1 million in books sell pretty well. I also like the electronics section at Target. I don’t have a rule of thumb for electronics, but if I see it’s 1-25,000 or so, it usually sells pretty fast.
4. Expand to other stores. I would master Target first before going onto other stores. I feel like you can learn everything and test it all out with Target, then once you feel comfortable and get the hang of it, move onto other stores you like to shop at.

Helpful Places to Learn About Amazon FBA

Websites. Another good site I like to read when starting out is FBA Step by Step. And the software I use (and the app) has a good blog too: Seller Engine Blog.

Books. I read these 2 books (since they were free on kindle), which were somewhat helpful. They both contain basic information about the process:

• Selling On Amazon: How You Can Make A Full-Time Income Selling on Amazon
• Retail Arbitrage

Learning by Trial And Error

Overall, after I spent a few hours reading through the forums, books, and blogs listed above, just getting started and learning by trial and error which worked really well. I just started really small, just a few items at first, and then just grew each time as I learned more and more.

Stay tuned for more about Amazon including a Selling on Amazon Q & A!

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© My Dollar Plan

I purchased a smartphone for the first time a year and a half ago after attending a personal financial conference where all of the other writers were running circles around me on social media and the like. As a writer myself, I realized that having one could be very helpful for me as well. However, the data package added an extra $40 (two gigabytes) onto my overall bill.

Over the last year and a half I got to thinking: wouldn’t it be neat if I could offset my data usage charges by downloading free apps that save me money in other areas? What a worthy goal! Below are ten apps that can help me, and you, in my quest.

Apps to Save You Money

1. Gas Buddy: Use this free app to find the cheapest gas places around where you live or along your commute route to work. It is community-updated, and if you upload a gas price you get points towards a prize giveaway.
2. Free WiFi: If you like to work outside of your house or office, you can use this free app to locate places with free WiFi (locally, and in over 140 countries). This app also provides driving directions to whichever WiFi spot you would like to go to. Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.
3. RedLaser: Use this app to scan in the barcode of something you are thinking about purchasing and compare prices online and locally. In other words, it does the comparison shopping for you!
4. Airport Parking: This app will help you to find the cheapest parking available at over 100 airports in the United States and the UK. You can also use it to reserve parking at a location you find.
5. Coupon Sherpa: This is a mobile coupon app where you can search and use coupons for retailers or products.  As long as the store has these capabilities, the cashier can scan the code straight from your smartphone. This app also works with your store loyalty cards, allowing you to upload manufacturer coupons. So no clipping involved!
6. Key Ring: Instead of carrying around (or forgetting) your store loyalty cards, load them into this free app and keep them with you all the time. This also keeps track of your gift cards and health club card.
7. RepairPal: If you’re like me, then you typically purchase “beater cars” instead of new ones. This means your car might come up with some interesting issues and problems. This app will help you estimate the amount of money the repair should cost, which means you can make sure you are getting an okay deal at the shop.
8. Happy Hour: If you want to head out for a night on the town but are looking for cheap, happy hour deals, check this app out. There is information on over 275,000 places across 107 cities.
9. Carticipate: Use this app to find a carpool located near you.  You can coordinate rideshares, car pools, and car plans with others. If you do carpool, make sure you see if your city is covered by the Nuride rewards program (and if so, sign up to earn reward points towards free gift cards!).
10. Google Maps Navigation: Instead of purchasing a GPS, you can use your phone with this app. This includes voice navigation.

More Free Apps to Save You Money

• 7 of the Best Free Finance Apps for the iPhone and iPad
• 11 Free Travel Apps to Save Money
• 8 Best Personal Finance Apps for Android
• 5 Helpful Android and iPhone Tax Apps
• Readers Share More Free Finance Apps
• Free Apps for Business People

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© My Dollar Plan

American Express is offering an awesome bonus that could be worth $500 – a great Free Money Friday!

The sign up bonus from American Express is for a limited time only.

How to Get Your $500

1. Apply for the Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN.
2. Spend $5,000 in purchases on the Card in the first 3 months of Card membership.
3. Get 50,000 Membership Rewards points that can be redeemed for $500 in gift cards!

Terms and Conditions

• No annual fee first year; $175 annual fee after that.
• Offer not available to applicants who have had this product or any other Business Gold, Green or Platinum Card account within the last 12 months.

More on the Business Gold Rewards Card

Earning Points. This American Express card has great earning potential if you travel – 3x points on airfare and 2x points on gas! You can also earn 2X points on US purchases for advertising in select media and shipping.

Business Card. If you’re exploring a new Amazon business, you can list your new business. But don’t forget, most credit card companies also allow you to open a business credit card as an individual. You just need to list yourself as a sole proprietor using your name for the business name and your SSN. If you don’t want to open the business card, the personal American Express® Premier Rewards Gold Card currently offers a 25,000 point sign up bonus.

Redeeming Points. We have some great ideas for how to maximize your American Express Points.

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I first heard about a spending fast a few years back while watching as episode in Oprah’s money class series. The couple stopped spending money on anything they didn’t need, and because of their sacrifice, they were able to save more than $10,000 for the year. In a nutshell, a spending fast or a spending freeze is a period of time that you do not spend any money unless you absolutely have to.

If you have ever considered a spending fast, but were afraid to try it, here are tips to help you get started!

Photo Courtesy: Kristen

When You Should Try a Spending Fast

Get out of debt. You can choose to do a spending fast for several reasons. Probably the most popular reason would be to get out of debt. Now that I’m trying to deal with my student loan debt, I know how hard it is to be overwhelmed in debt. Even if you’re working hard and earning money, it is sometimes hard to see that debt go down. So one way to make a dent into the debt is to go on a spending fast. Then, you can take all of the money you saved and apply it towards your debt.

Saving for a large expense. If you’re saving for something quite costly, a spending fast is a good way to bulk up that savings. Many times people that are taking time off to travel the world do this to make sure their travel budget is fully prepared. A spending fast might be good if you’re saving for a down-payment for a house, a wedding, going to graduate school, a new car, or something else that is costly.

Simplify. Besides saving money for a particular item or event or getting out of debt, there are other benefits to going on a spending fast. A spending fast can allow you simplify your life. Many people that do a spending fast say it puts things into perspective for them, and they realize how little they actually need to be happy.

Determining Between a Want and a Need

The first step is realizing how much you spend on needs versus wants and what are your current needs. You can do this by gathering your credit card statements and bank statements from the last three to six months. Highlight your needs in one color and your wants in another. You might be surprised at how much you are spending on your wants opposed to your needs.

Second, you really need to think about what is a need or a want. There is a pretty big gray area for many things. For example, cable might seem like a need, but it is most definitely a want. Even your cell phone could be a want. Sure, in most cases a cell phone is a need as it is a means to communication. But it could be possible that you are greatly overpaying for an unlimited plan with special features. So go back to those bank and credit card statements, and rethink what is really a need.

Here’s how to break down those needs:

• Housing: Mortgage and rent is definitely a need. But living in a super expensive apartment is not a need, it is a want. Do you need to be spending what you are currently spending? If you could save a few hundred dollars every month on moving to a cheaper apartment or downsizing, that dollar amount will really add up over the year. Also consider 16 Ways to Lower Your Housing Costs.
• Utilities: Gas, water, heat, and electric are needs. But you can find simple ways to lower costs for all of them. Explore How to Find the Best Deals on Electricity, How to Make Your Home More Energy Efficient, and the Nest Thermostat review.
• Food: Food is definitely a need. But here’s another one of those gray areas. Yes, food is a need, but it can also be a want in many ways. Going out to dinner, over paying on groceries, and not keeping your food purchases within a budget is a want. Skip going out to dinners, grabbing a coffee in the morning, drinking at bars, and spending too much on groceries. Find recipes that are budget friendly and learn how to save money on your groceries.
• Transportation costs: We all have to get to our jobs or to school, run errands, go to the grocery store, stop at the bank, visit the doctor, and the list can go on and on. For the most part, this is a need. But if you are able to walk but choose to drive because it’s easier, then it becomes a want. If you are driving because taking public transportation is less comfortable, that’s a want. Could you consider becoming a One Car Household?

Ultimately, before you spend every dollar, ask yourself is this a need or a want. If you could get by without it, try to avoid buying it for your spending freeze.

Tips for a Successful Spending Fast

• Make your goals clear. You’ll stick to it better if you know why you’re doing it.
• If you have them, get your spouse and kids on board so it’ll be that much easier.
• Anytime you want to buy something but reconsider, write it down. Keeping track of what you are not spending your money on, will show you how much you would have spent and how much you are now able to put towards debt or savings.
• Get your friends and family involved. It’ll make it fun to have them on board. You can also find free activities to do together, share tips and suggestions for how you are not spending money, and encourage each other to stick with it. Plus, telling them what you’re doing will make them aware and they won’t be hounding you to go out to dinner or expecting an extravagant gift for their birthday.
• Avoid unnecessary temptations like browsing clothes websites online and visiting the mall or other stores.
• Just because you are not spending money, don’t be miserable. You can sacrifice without feeling unhappy everyday. Find fun, free activities in your area. Borrow books or movies from the library. Explore free hobbies like writing, reading, listening to music, playing games at home, and cooking your meals.

Would you ever having a spending fast? What are some “wants” you could do without?

More on Budgeting

• Is a Financial Fast Right For You?
• Do You Save First or Spend First?
• Give Yourself an Allowance to Control Spending and Save Money
• How to Get Control of Your Budget
• You Need a Budget Review

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© My Dollar Plan