I first stumbled across CashCrate on accident, and boy I am glad I did. I was randomly reading an article on MSN from Prime Time Money about ways to make extra money. One that really stood out for me was for a website that claimed to pay you for simply doing free offers and surveys. But was this too good to be true?
Like many people, I was very skeptical to begin with. How could a company pay you to do free offers and surveys? Because I am a very cautious person, I first did some research. Everything looked legit so I decided to give it a try and it has been paying off (literally) ever since.
How CashCrate Works
The way that CashCrate works is companies need consumers to try and review products, services, and websites and are willing to pay money to have them do so. Most of the time you’re asked to do this without any compensation, and sometimes without even knowing. What CashCrate does is take the money that companies give them for your participation through offers, and give you back up to 75% of it!
I have found that doing offers is the quickest way to get money through CashCrate. There are two different types of offers. 100% free offers make up the majority of the offers available. Most of these offers take only minutes to complete and require no further action on your end.
Completing 100% Free Offers with CashCrate
An example of a free offer that I have recently completed is titled “Free Blackberry Phone.” Next to the name of the survey will be a description stating what you need to do to fulfill the requirements to receive credit. In this example the description states, “Participate in the survey.” You DO NOT have to do anymore than what is in the description. Once in the survey there may be several different offers, only sign up for these if you are interested, otherwise you can keep pressing skip until you get to the end.
This offer took me just over a minute to complete and I was credited $0.50 to my account. This may not seem like much but it adds up extremely fast. Once completed, the offer will move into a ‘Pending Offers’ category until CashCrate receives credit for it.
Completing Trial Offers with CashCrate
Another type of offers are trial offers. Most of these are also initially free. All of the trial offers require credit card information to verify the account and for after the free trial is done. I suggest only signing up for the free trails if you are truly interested in the product or service because if you do not cancel within the trail period you will then be charged for normal member price.
I have good luck with these by putting a reminder in my phone the day before the trial is up to decide whether or not I would like to keep the product or service. An example of this is “Google Home Business.” I had to pay $2.95 for the service but was then credited $15.00 to my CashCrate account.
Earning Referrals with CashCrate
The final way to make money is through referrals. This may take a while to get your referral numbers up there but once you do it is the way to make the most money. CashCrate gives you 20% of whatever people that you refer make, plus 10% of whatever people that they refer make. As you can see, if you have a lot of referrals this money can add up very quickly.
Final Thoughts on CashCrate
I highly recommend CashCrate for anyone that wants an easy way to make some extra money. If you are still skeptical, you can sign up through cashcratey.com and message me with any questions you may have. I would be glad to help out as would the wonderful CashCrate community readily available through the CashCrate.com Forum.
Good Luck.
This post comes from reader Zach who’s had a positive experience using CashCrate to earn a bit of extra money.
Credit card reward programs can be an excellent way to bring in a little extra money each year. Depending on your reward program and how much you spend, you can earn $500, even $1,000, by the end of the year. But there’s a right and a wrong way to earn and redeem your points. Follow these 5 tips to make the most of credit card rewards.
Analyze Your Spending
Before you can know what type of card to get, it’s a good idea to take a moment to determine what type of spender you are. Are you a big traveler, racking up lots of hotel charges and airfare? Do you spend a lot of money on gas, or groceries? What about entertainment?
The idea here is to understand what type of spender you are so that you can be sure to only have the reward cards that line up with your current spending. (e.g. someone who commutes using public transportation wouldn’t make the most of a gas reward card).
Avoid Credit Cards with Fees
Make sure that the card doesn’t have an annual fee that might negate any amount you earn from having the reward card. I try to avoid cards with fees all together. If you’ve just got to have a particular card that has a fee, make sure you’re including this fee in your analysis prior to signing up.
Try to Avoid Spending Just to Get Points
Don’t put the cart before the horse. Make sure the rewards cards in your pocket aren’t influencing your spending. If having a reward card will just end up causing you to spend more, don’t get one.
Don’t Carry a Balance on Your Credit Card
This goes without saying for my readers, I know, but make sure you pay off your credit card balances in full each month. Like the annual fees, monthly interest charges will eat up any rewards you plan on earning.
Know When to Redeem Your Points
Before you cash in your rewards, take a second to understand the pay out structure. Most reward programs have a certain level to be reached prior to receiving optimal benefit for your reward. I stick with cash rewards mostly so here’s an example for you:
My credit card reward program will reward me for cash back at these point intervals:
As you can quickly see, the ideal time to get a cash back check would be when 25000 points are attained. Anything less than that and you don’t get optimal value for your points. So make sure you reach your optimal level prior to pay out.
It’s also good to be aware of reward point expiration dates. To avoid expiration, I’ve got into the habit of using my credit card rewards for Holiday spending every year. Giving yourself a self-imposed annual pay out date will keep you from letting points expire. Best of luck.
This Tuesday Tax Tip comes from my friend Jason, who blogs at MyMoneyMinute.Com: Personal Finance & all that implies… in minutes a day! I encourage you to check out his companion post on W-2 Forms.
Last year I did some work for a venture capital-backed company in Houston, about four or five hours away from my home in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. I would travel and stay in Houston on the weekdays and come back home on weekends. I was to be reimbursed all my travel expenses, including gas, hotel, meals, and incidental company purchases, but I paid for these expenses out of pocket.
Two months into the project, we were informed that investors had backed out, and funding was never secured. Ouch. I was out a couple thousand in actual dollars spent, not to mention several thousand more for non-payment of mileage, company purchases, and wages payable. The only money I received was one check for $1,000 to help offset some of the expenses I had already incurred.
A 1099 Form?
Much to my surprise, I received a 1099-Misc Form from the Houston company last month in the mail. Setting aside “employee vs. independent contractor” issues, I was first curious why I received a 1099 Form, since I received no compensation but a $1,000 reimbursement check. I was even more shocked when the amount listed on the 1099 form was six hundred and some-odd dollars and change. Great — not only did I have an unexpected 1099 form, but the amount was totally random and didn’t even match the dollar amount I did receive!
Options for an Incorrect 1099-Misc Form
I was at a loss as to what to do with my situation. So after a bit of searching, here’s a few options I came up with:
1. If your 1099 form includes expenses and income
A bankrate.com article suggests that sometimes a 1099 issuer includes payment for items that you don’t consider income, such as reimbursement for expenses. For example, you were paid $10,000 to remodel a kitchen, and were reimbursed $5,000 for materials. When the 1099 arrives, the amount is for the entire $15,000, rather than the $10,000 you received as actual income.
The simple solution is to report $10,000 as income, and take all the deductions that you are entitled, which in this case, would be at least the $5,000 in materials. With this method, all will even out, and no correction is needed.
2. If your 1099 form is plain wrong
If you cannot get the issuer to amend a completely wrong 1099, what do you do? Well, I called the IRS help line: (800) 829-1040. The representative told me I can go through the same process as above (claim income & deduct expenses), and include a note explaining why the particular 1099 form was wrong, and what the correct figures were for income and deductions.
Since my former employer refuses to cooperate (after at least three attempts to request it changed), my best option is to go ahead and claim $1,000 of income and offset the rest as expenses, while leaving a detailed explanation as to why there is a discrepancy.
Now I’m back to the W-2 life: working close to home, avoiding long-term travel, and actually being paid for work completed (what a concept!). Here’s hoping for an easier tax season next year!
Over the last couple of weeks we’ve been discussing life insurance here on the blog. See Life Insurance Round-Up and a guest post titled Do You Need Term Life Insurance?. I thought I’d wrap it all up with my somewhat scattered thoughts on the issue and tell you what I plan to do.
If you’re in the market for some life insurance, I encourage you to do your own research or visit with a fee-only financial planner before making your own decision. Most of what I’ve learned on the topic recently has come from the round-up post and from Liz Weston’s book, Easy Money.
Who Needs Life Insurance?
The idea of life insurance never popped into my head until I had a kid. No one was solely dependent on my income until that point, nor did I have any debts jointly owned with Mrs. PT that she couldn’t handle on her own. That view was probably a bit short-sighted, but since I have a small policy with my current employer, I thought I was fine.
Mrs. PT even had a small policy of her own when I met her and I encouraged her to drop it, thinking that no single person should ever own life insurance. I mean, who’s going to benefit besides her creditors? Bob at Christian Personal Finance discussed life insurance for people with no kids in greater detail. I encourage you to check out his thoughts and the comments.
Anyway, the general rule of thumb here is that if you’re single or married with no kids and each spouse has their own solid income, it’s unlikely that you need life insurance. Everyone not in that group should seriously consider life insurance, to protect those dependent on their incomes.
How Much Life Insurance Should You Get?
The next logical question is “how much to get?” Again, I’m going to throw out another rule of thumb here: 8 to 10 times your current annual income. Your particular situation may warrant another number, but it’s best to be conservative and over insure.
Things to consider: ages of your kids, whether your spouse also brings in a equitable income, your level of dependence on both incomes, the amount of debt jointly owned by you and your spouse (the surviving spouse becomes solely responsible upon your death), and other factors. Do a search for “how much life insurance” calculators and work the numbers for yourself.
If you’re already getting life insurance from your employer, don’t heavily count on it. You’re likely to change jobs at some point and your coverage typically won’t follow you.
Can Insurance Be An Investment?
Something brought up in the comments of the guest post was the use of the term “investment” when discussing life insurance. Some find that offensive and label it a sales trick to convince you to move away from term life insurance products to the more involved (commission friendly) whole life insurance policies.
What’s the Deal with Whole Life Insurance and is it an Investment?
A friend recently contacted me through my Facebook profile saying that he had someone trying to sell him a whole life insurance policy. My friend is a single guy with no dependents. I immediately advised him that he doesn’t need life insurance at this point and that anyone suggesting he “invest” in a whole life policy is likely just wanting a commission. My friend, who’s in his 30’s with little or no debt, could do much better to invest his extra money in index funds and interest bearing savings accounts.
So are whole life policies inherently bad? I think they’re not. It could be said though that most people just don’t need them. Liz Weston points out a couple of situations where whole life might be a good choice:
People with disabled and/or permanently dependent children
People that are extremely wealthy that need insurance money to cover their estate taxes
Although there are many types of insurance products that fall under the “whole life” umbrella, it can generally be said that they are often more expensive, unnecessarily complex, and make poor use of your extra savings.
Still, insurance in whatever form, is simply a financial product that can be used for positive or negative results. A quick example:
Who’s the smarter investor:
the 60 year old widow who currently has her money “invested” in a whole life, cash-value insurance plan? Or,
the 60 year old widow who currently has her money invested in a diversified (defined prior to 2008) portfolio of stocks and bonds?
The former is likely retiring when she originally planned. Due to the downturn in the Market, the latter is potentially re-thinking her strategy and planning to retire later in life now that her investment has gone south.
We plan on purchasing a term life insurance policy (likely 20-25 yrs) on me, the primary earner, for 5 times my current income. We’ll shop around at the following providers to determine the best place to purchase the policy: Allstate (current home and auto insurer), Zander.com (Dave Ramsey recommendation), and through my professional organization discounts.
We’re also going to insist that the policy is convertible to a whole life policy (should we need it) and from a provider with a high rating.
One last point: we plan on living well within our means throughout our lives. In fact, our goal is to be able to live within one of our incomes at all times. Even when Mrs. PT (who’s now in grad school) goes back to work full-time. That being the case, we hope that life insurance is never a big part of our overall risk reduction plan. We plan on “self-insuring” as much as possible by eliminating our debts and building solid savings and retirement accounts.
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Okay. This is topic is officially dead (pun intended). Mrs. PT said she is tired of this topic and wants to just buy it and move on. So that’s what we’ll do. As usual though, I welcome your comments below if you’d like to carry the conversation forward.
In this video from Face the Nation, Bob Schieffer reports that due to the current state of the U.S. Economy, there’s been a decline in the amount of consumer waste. Down as much as 30% in places.
Do you really need term life insurance? Term life insurance can offer your family many benefits. Before you decide on a policy, you should determine your specific needs. Knowing more about this insurance option will help you find an affordable term life insurance plan with the benefits you want for your family.
The Benefits of Term Life Insurance
Term life insurance can be purchased for the specific times in your life when you need some extra insurance. Since you are not expected to keep the policy for your entire life, the they are often cheaper than whole life insurance options because there is a smaller chance that your family will actually need to use them. In comparison to the alternatives, many industry experts argue that whole life policies are not the best investment as the return on investment is very low. Thus it might make more money by investing in the term life policy, as it is cheaper, then use the excess to invest in stocks or a different long term investment.
The Disadvantages of Term Life Insurance
While it is something you buy hoping to never collect on , one of few disadvantages of term life insurance is that you can only get a return on your investment if you die, unlike whole life which gives a return at the end of the policy regardless if the party is living or deceased. Some insurance companies will give you the opportunity to extend the term of coverage, but the rates can become much higher and discourage consumers from continuing their coverage
Who is the Audience for Term Life Insurance?
Term life insurance policies are useful for families that significantly rely on the incomes of one or two people in the household. Typically, couples buy term life insurance when they have children and need to take their financial well being into account. If one of the parents dies before the child is grown, the other will get money from the policy to help raise the child and pay any expenses.
As your children grow up, though, you might not need the extra insurance. They can take care of themselves, so there is not a reason to continue paying for the term life insurance. Likewise, at this point in your life you are probably more financially secure. If you suddenly died, your spouse might be able to live without your monetary contribution much more easily than when you were younger and had children in the house.
As with any investment, it is best to take into account all factors that surround it (including how much life insurance do you need?) to ensure that you will receive adequate coverage for the investment.
Today’s post comes from Barbara Waltz at 247QuoteUS.com:The Smart Insurance Blog [RSS]. Barbara was kind enough to expound on the benefits or term life insurance, a product Mrs. PT and I are interested in since having our little girl.
Before marriage, the thought of having kids meant giving up on my savings goals and spending more money on activities and toys for them. I couldn’t have been more wrong. My children continue to teach me ways to save money and we even have fun doing it. If I knew my kids would challenge the way I thought about money, maybe I wouldn’t have waited so long to start a family. Well, maybe. First, raising children is not inexpensive. The cost of food, diapers, insurance, and daycare can be very expensive for families. But, children can lead you to find some wonderful money saving opportunities that you might have missed.
Some wonderful frugal opportunities for families:
Kids love to play in the park. Disneyland is fun, but public parks can offer some incredible opportunities for families to relax and enjoy nature. Bring a soccer ball or just play on the jungle gym. Kids need exercise too, and you don’t need to join an expensive gym for family exercise. If you visit your local park several times a week, you could save hundreds or thousands off a gym membership. Grab a stroller and start jogging to your local park.
Read to your children. Kids love to hear stories and your public library is probably your best frugal deal around. Get a free library card and start reading to your kids. Check your local library for special reading events and activities. The library has probably saved my family hundreds of dollars on books.
Mac and Cheese Please. Having kids actually improved our grocery budget. Instead of eating out several times a week, our kids enjoy the simple meals like mac and cheese and pizza. Making a healthy salad together as a family can also be a fun activity for the kids. Since the kids don’t enjoy sushi yet, we can save more money by eating at home. Homemade pizza is also a big hit with the kids as they enjoy selecting favorite toppings for the pie’s.
Game night. Grab one of your favorite games and take the time to teach your children how to play. If they are still young, try kid friendly versions of Yahtzee or Old Maid. If they are over 5 years old, you can teach them checkers or introduce some fun board games. Puzzles are also fun for kids of all ages.
Need a date night with your spouse? You can still go out on a date without breaking the bank. Offer to watch your friends kids one night of the week in exchange for them doing the same. A frugal date idea: rent a movie and make your wife her favorite meal at home. No parking issues, no tip for the waiter, and you can sneak treats into your home movie theater.
Start a savings fund together. Before children I was fascinated with finding high growth technology companies that were poised to be the next Microsoft or Cisco. Now I still enjoy investing, but I gain far more joy finding ways to teach my children to save money for a special event. Maybe your kids would like a new baseball glove or a new pair of shoes. Start a savings fund for them and help them find ways to achieve that goal. Educate your children on the benefits of saving money and waiting to buy an item when they have cash in hand. Take the piggy bank to your local bank or roll your coins and allow them to see how much money they have saved.
My children have certainly taught me how to find more ways to live frugally and look for savings in ordinary things. To find more money saving ideas for your family, you can visit my blog The Passive Dad and share your frugal stories or how your children are challenging you to save money.
Great news! Little Miss PT was born late last week. Everyone is healthy and doing fine. Mrs. PT and I are relaxing and enjoying getting to know the newest member of our family.
A big thanks to everyone who’s chipped in with guest posts and contributed to the roundups on 529s and Life Insurance.
In the midst of this very exciting time for us a lot is going on with the blog and with my writing. Here’s a few of the recent happenings:
Next Week’s Schedule
Next week I have a few more guest posts scheduled. One from the Passive Dad on kids and frugality and another from 247QuoteUS.com about term life insurance. I’ll try and roll out a post of my own by Friday. Be on the lookout for a H&R Block TaxCut software giveaway as well as another book giveaway.
Book Giveaway Winner
Speaking of giveaways…The winner of The Finish Rich Dictionary is Cassidy. Congrats! I’ll send you your copy of the book via media mail very soon.
I’m a Quicken Online Blog Contributor
Tomorrow a guest post of mine will be shared over at the Quicken Online Blog [RSS]. I’ll be contributing there at least once a month from now on. I encourage you to swing by and check it out and try out the free Quicken Online software.
Find Out Where Your Money is Going
I participated in Mrs Micah’s Where’s My Money Going Month by contributing a guest post about two spreadsheets I’ve used in the past to help me with my finances. I encourage you to visit that post and to check out the rest of the series.
To win a free entry you’ll just need to leave a comment in this post stating that you’d like to attend and telling me why you need it. I’ll select one person who leaves a comment to receive the free entry.
Great Reads This Past Week
Kacie from Sense to Save shared her get out of debt story on Blog Talk Radio.
I am NOT a finance professional and no content within this website should be considered financial advice. Please consult a certified financial expert before attempting any of the ideas described in this site. Please read the disclaimer for more information.
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Hi, I'm PT. No, I'm not a millionaire ...yet. But I have a big desire to help you learn to live a limitless financial life. more...
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